Day 4 – Packers and Northport
After breakfast and quiet time this morning (which I promised some pictures and was only able to get a few, I will try again tomorrow) we had a worship session here at the TC, which was such a joy to hear these 18 students crying out to God for peace, for strength, for his presence.
From there we packed sack lunches to take with us to our daily outreach which today was an opportunity to play with children in two neighboring low-income housing developments at their summer programming. One of the locations is known as Packers and the other Northport. Eight of the students went to Northport while ten went to Packers.
We drove into town and had lunch with our teams and received our final instructions before heading to our outreach destinations. We were informed that these communities were no longer allowing YWAM, or its guests, to speak the name of Jesus.
While this has been a real difficulty for YWAM, their thought is to continue to keep building this relationship and focus on spreading Jesus through our actions. What a great lesson for the students to be reminded that their actions carry a ton of weight. That no matter what we are doing, people are watching and they are going to either want what we have, or want nothing to do with us. We took this opportunity to love on these kids, praying before and after, that we would be Jesus to them today.
Packers
This was our opportunity to perform our skit that we had learned yesterday. I can speak from personal experience at Packers that the kids there were very attentive (minor miracle) which speaks to the preparedness and performance of our students. It was so fun to watch the 3-9 year-old children watching our student’s performance. The interaction with the show was special, the curiosity was captivating, the giggles were frequent, and the wide smiles were so very infectious. What a gift it was for us to bring joy into those kids lives.
There were coordinated relay races, sharks-and-minnows, duck-duck-goose, pushing on swings, coloring with chalk, piggy-back rides, push-up contests, playing catch with balls, friendship bracelets, snacks, tons of smiles and laughter, hugs and high-fives, and of course sadness when we had to say our goodbyes. However, the sadness was okay, it meant these students were invested, that they loved these kids in Jesus’ name!
Northport
The group that went to Northport started in quick with their skit after a warm welcome from the kids. The skit was a rousing success with great participation from the 5-11 year-olds and also an adult participant who jumped right in and joined the skit.
They then hopped into craft time where they were able to do friendship bracelets and art for hanging in windows and also some board games. Then outside there were games of tag, catch with balls and fun connections with the kids.
All of our students agreed that the hardest part of the whole thing was leaving. Which again, points to just how seriously our students are taking the opportunities that are thrown at them, how eager they are to show God’s love, and how willing they are put themselves out there to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ.
Swimming
The last couple of days have been very hot here and the students had been begging for an opportunity to do some swimming. We carved time out of the afternoon to swing over to a nearby lake and jump in and cool off. It was a great time of physical and mental refreshing.
Gratitude Night
One of my favorite parts about this trip when we were able to take it two years ago was Gratitude Night. Just to take a few minutes and remember all we have to be grateful for, and specifically the people that God has put into our lives that have been such a blessing. The students were challenged to write a paragraph to one or two people in their life that they were grateful for, not knowing what came next. After spending some time writing they were then challenged to call that person and read what they had written, or at least express their gratitude for them.
There were many heart-felt conversations among team members and many great phone calls that I hope several of you were able to receive. It really was a beautiful thing, something that we just don’t do enough!
We ended with a bonfire and smore’s and now it’s time for bed!
One more day before our return trip. Speaking of which, we are now able to take the return trip on the high-speed ferry back to Muskegon instead of having to drive all the way around. ETA does not change, we will see you at 5pm on Friday!