Week 5-Oh, How He loves us!

This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. -1 Corinthians 2:13

Can I just say that God is amazing for the millionth time?! After a rough first week of groups on site, we were truly blessed with the second round of groups from North Carolina, Illinois, and Tennessee. We had 57 total participants and all 57 were wonderful to get to know! Many great things happened this week, which was a given when it comes to Jesus. Monday night I had a great conversation with an adult leader who I found was really hurting because she is going through a divorce. She told me her story as tears welled up in her eyes (and mine). Her daughter was along with her on the trip, as well. My heart broke for her and her family as I know the hurt and the deep wounds that come from divorce. The Lord used my family's story to encourage her and help her to know that she is not alone. Later in the week, I was able to talk to her daughter and we had a conversation about unconditional love, how we hate change when it comes to family, and how important it is to seek the Lord at all times. I plan on keeping in touch with them and was truly blessed by them this week. They were both so helpful, loving, and truly had servant hearts. I got to spend a lot of time with them and their crew as they helped sort bedding and paint at the church and the homeless shelter here in Daytona.

The youth really enjoyed the ministry sites that they went to during the week and seemed to connect well with the people that they met. Speaking of meeting people, I want to tell you about someone I met while I was with the crew at the homeless shelter. A guy was volunteering in the clothing storage room when we arrived and as the youth were getting instruction on what to do, he leaned over and showed me a picture of his 4 month old baby boy. Within minutes he was telling me about his life. He had just moved to Daytona from New Jersey to get away from gang life. After his son was born, he knew he needed to get out and he did not want his son to be anywhere near a gang. He was/is a Blood and has been since he was 14. Because of his involvement, he has been in and out of jail several times and never finished high school. He is 21 and was helping at the shelter so he would stay out of trouble. In 2008, his mother and grandmother died in a house fire. He told me, with tears in his eyes, that he didn't think life could continue after that. I asked him about God, and he said that God was his best friend, that it was only because of God that he is alive and that he is able to get away from gang life. He has hopes to get his high school diploma and eventually get a college degree. Hopefully, I will see him again next week. It was crazy how such an amazing conversation stumbled into my lap and it is only because of how the Lord prepared me that I was able to ask the questions that I did. I praise the Lord for Darnell, that's his name, and for the shelter that is able to provide support and services to those who have stories like his. I was truly humbled by this encounter.

I love going to the homeless shelter (STAR Family Center) and the soup kitchen (Bridge of Hope). I know I shouldn't have favorites, but I do! It's awesome to see how God provides for these places every day of every week. They help so many people and in doing so, share God's love with them.

If you are not familiar with YouthWorks! programming, on Thursday night the program staff gives a talk about when Jesus washes his disciple's feet and we facilitate a foot washing ceremony. It is quite intense and truly my favorite part of the week. We as staff have the privilege to wash the adult leaders feet and pray with them. Then, the adult leaders wash the feet of their youth. This is very moving, powerful, and emotional. God is present, of course, and it is amazing but hard to be broken each week not only before the Lord, but before a group of 57 youth and adults. A couple of the adult leaders asked if they could wash our feet. This was so humbling and brought all of us to tears. We were truly blessed by this group, but we found that they felt really blessed to have met us. Amazing. I know I say that alot, but that seems to be the only descriptor that seems to be at least some what close to what we experienced. Our team has continued to bond, and foot washing seems to bring us closer every time.

One more thing, a wonderful youth named Amy approached me one afternoon during free time and shared with me that she had never felt so connected with YW staff before this trip. Come to find out, she has been on 6 other YW trips! I was honored. That spoke volumes to me and again reminded me why I am here.

I love my job. Thank you Jesus!!

Prayer Requests: The groups (we have 70 participants coming) that are traveling this weekend and for their hearts to be open to what God what's them to see, hear, and do. Also, for our team and ministry sites.

Love in Christ,

Jessica

P.S. I got a little sunburnt today...laying by the pool...haha. :)

Week 4-First week of groups on site

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

This week was beyond words, but I am going to do my best to do put my experiences into words. This past week was our first week with groups at our site here in Daytona Beach. We were excited to see what God had in store and it was beyond what we could imagine. We had groups from Texas, Georgia, and Florida. Through out the week, the youth spread the love of the Lord throughout the community as they worked with servant hearts at various ministry sites. Everything went extremely well at each ministry site and our ministry contacts raved about the groups that served them. It was so amazing to watch the youth just jump into whatever the ministry contacts had for them to do so willingly and in the Florida heat. As staff, we have begun to connect on a deeper level with our ministry contacts and we have begun to get to know many people in the community like the man who checks us out at Sam's Club, the woman at the cheesecake shop, and the people in the congregation.

Slowly, but surely, the groups began to bond and open up. We asked the group from Atlanta to lead worship for Club on Wednesday night and their youth leader was led to give the message as well. God showed up in a big way that night as many of the youth were broken and felt as if the speaker was speaking right to them. Many of their fears and life challenges came out as they shared their hearts and tears with their brothers and sisters in Christ. I was able to connect with several youth this week and it was an extreme privilege to watch them begin to understand and grow in John 3:30.

We found through our experiences this week that our schedule is just a general time frame, that time is not always going to happen...on time, if that makes sense. We found that a smile amidst frustrations is key and knowing when to pick your battles is helpful. I also realized that I can be really focused on the rules and that kept me from really connecting with some of the youth. Going with the flow and remembering my true desire to share Christ's love with the youth that come through this summer are my goals for this coming week. As a team, we also realized that God will show up, no matter what YW rules are broken, despite the varied attitudes of the youth, and whether or not the schedule is followed. He will be there and with intensity every time. It's ridiculous how easily I forgot how reliable God is. No limits can be placed on our Savior, that is for sure.

Please pray for the groups traveling this weekend and for patience, kind spirits, and open hearts.

Love in Christ,

Jessica

Week 3-Savannah Earlybird

"Jesus must become greater, I must become less." -John 3:30

As we traveled to Savannah, GA to help the GA team with their first week of program, we could not have prepared ourselves for a more connecting and moving experience. We were rather reluctant to leave our new found home of Daytona Beach, but would not trade this past week for anything. We had 5 different church groups and they were all awesome, including the adult leaders. I got to spend a good amount of time with one of the crews and connected with many of the youth and the adult leaders. We worked at the Union Mission, a homeless shelter, weeding flower beds and doing other landscaping tasks. We met a guy named Howard who had quite the story. He we a drug dealer and had been shot, beaten, and everything else you could think of. His right side was paralyzed and he could not speak other than "hey" and "man." He had a great smile and a computer that talked and told his story for him. He is a huge advocate for staying out of gangs and away from drugs and taking a good path. He told the group that he wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for Jesus. It was an amzing testinmony that he tells anyone who will listen. The youth were shaken by his story and the comfort of his smile. He shares his story with the groups that come through the YW site in Savannah. At the end of his time with the groups, he has them circle up, hold hands, and sing "Amazing Grace." Talk about a moving experience. I saw Jesus in Howard, and it left me speechless.

As the week progressed, I saw youth go from only caring about themselves, to having a heart for the community of Savannah and their brothers and sisters in Christ. Sadly, we weren't able to stay for the foot washing ceremony. But, one of the youth that I connected with shared with me later that they had been moved in a way they never thought possible, their world was shaken, and they had never before felt the joy and rejuvenation that comes with living out John 3:30. And that is why I am here. :)

We are now back in Daytona Beach putting the finishing touches on our housing site and programming. We dearly missed our Daytona friends and are excited to be "home." We are pretty much ready for our groups that are arriving on Sunday afternoon, which means we have some time to go to the beach. :) It will be a great blessing to rest. Our trip to Sam's club today to buy 8 pallet carts full of food and supplies for this week was quite exhausting. I'm so excited to see the youth just jump right into the ministry here in Daytona. It's going to be a great week.

I hope all is well with all of you back home. I miss all of you so much.

Please pray for this next week as groups arrive and that they are open to God's will for them and that this is not just a week of their life, but a week that they live their life by. Also, please pray for the staff and perseverance through the week and the summer.

Thanks y'all!

Love in Christ,

Jessica

Week 2-Prep Week

Hello from HOT and RAINY Daytona Beach! I don't think I have ever witnessed so many 5 minute thunderstorms in my life! It's very bizarre....at least to me. Anyway, we arrived at out housing site on Saturday night and were welcomed by the pastor, youth pastor, and several members of the congregation. We got a tour of the facility (it's pretty big) and found out the kitchen that we were going to be using for the summer hadn't been used/cleaned for almost 2 years! Not going to lie, I was a bit thrown off by it. I was not expecting that and neither was my team. But, after talking with Pastor Jack and hanging out with the youth pastor, Zack, we felt better about things. We found out that the church had been going through quite a rough time and that Jack and Zack had only just started at the church a month or two ago. We met many of the congregation members (there's only about 50) on Sunday and were welcomed with smiles and high hopes. I know that having the youth here this summer will be very helpful and encouraging to this church. :)

As a service coordinator, my job is to set up serving opportunities for the youth in that community. This week I have met with amazing people who work with homeless families and provide meals to the homeless, amongst other things. I was blown away by the passion and hard work that they put into their work. The soup kitchen, "Bridge of Hope" feeds up to 300 people a day, and numbers are even higher towards the end of the month. There's a security guard there named Bob, big biker dude, and he gives and gets respect like nobody's business. The area that the soup kitchen and the homeless shelter is in is pretty sketchy, but those people, many being volunteers, still go every day to help those in need. The executive director, Troy, told me a story about a man named Ezra who volunteered every day in the kitchen as the pot scrubber. He wore a floppy hat and talked to the people when he took breaks. He died two years ago, and come to find out, he was crazy rich. How amazing is that! Troy said nobody knew that he had money, and you wouldn't have known unless he told you. "Bridge of Hope" was designated the #1 charity for Ezra's foundation. I was almost in tears! I hope that I can live my life that way.

There's a lot of great people that we have met here in Daytona, and I am so excited for the youth to meet them as well. We still have a lot of programming and kinks to work on, but things are coming along. This week was tough, not only because of all of the tasks that needed to be completed, but it was also my brother's birthday. Even after 4 years, grief still hits me like a brick. I want so badly for him to just be here, to be present on earth. Thankfully, God has given me courage, determination, and a new day. I'm hoping someday He may give me understanding, too.

Tomorrow, we leave for a week in Savannah, GA. We are are all very tired. We are little reluctant because we feel we still have so much to do, but we also are very excited to see the GA team and interact with the youth.

Please pray for safe travels and for open hearts. Thanks!

I miss y'all!

Love in Christ,

Jessica