Our last service day in Knoxville! Crew 1 Crew one went back to KARM today. Some of the team members did some work outside in the garden planting strawberries and also pressure washed the cement in the courtyard. The rest of the team painted the bathrooms at KARM. Crew 5 Since the boys finished the deck yesterday, they moved to a new site today and started a ramp on another home. Because this is our last day of work, they were not able to complete the entire project. The local ministry who is the partner of Next Step will gather a team from a local church to finish the ramp on this house next week. Despite starting a project they would not finish this week, our crew dug in and worked hard to finish our service out well. Crew 7 As our crew of ladies had finished all of their…
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June 29 (Day 4) The first two days have been off to a great start as the Knoxville team has grown significantly in their relationships with each other and with God. The team started the morning with a southwestern stable of biscuits and gravy. After a quick morning devotion all three teams headed out. Crew 1 Crew one spent the day at the Knoxville Area Rescue Mission, and had the great opportunity to serve KARM’s guest’s face-to-face for the first time and experiencing the heart behind the thrift stores we had been in the first two days. We spent the morning handing out water and granola bars in the courtyard then had the privilege of serving lunch from 11am-1pm. Several of us were able to sit down and hear the stories of God at work in the lives of those we met and pray with them for God’s continued presence. …
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Tuesday, June 28 Our second full day of serving! Crew 1 Crew 1 went back to another KARM thrift store for some more volunteering. In the morning the team sorted books and organized toys. The team had a great time hanging out and getting to know one another better as we served. We saw Jesus show up through our discussions on the team, and were encouraged to hear that our volunteer hours and purchases all went towards providing a significant number of meals for those who are hungry. Crew 7 It was a very messy & productive day today at the house as the girls finally got to paint after yesterday’s humidity kept them from that part of their service project. The girls painted a side of the house and a fair amount of paint also found its way onto them! Crew 5 The boys continued to work on the…
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June 27. Our team was treated to a good ole pancakes breakfast and then a nice morning devotional. All three teams headed out to different work sites. Crew 1 Today the KARM team went to one of the many KARM thrift stores in the Knoxville Area. All of the proceeds from each store go to help support their mission to provide meals and care for those in need. The team helped with a variety of tasks including sorting clothing, moving furniture, and helping to stock employee resources for assisting patrons. After a long day’s work, the team cooled off with frosties from Wendy’s. Tomorrow the team will head to another one of KARM’s stores. Crew 5The building team headed over to a nearby house in Knoxville. The team started the day by painting an ADA ramp at the house. While the painting was going on the other half of the team…
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Day 1 (June 26) It was an early morning for the Knoxville team yesterday as a 7 AM departure came quick for most of us! Each van enjoyed very valuable time to bond with each other on the long drive. The team also enjoyed some hangout time over lunch. God has blessed us in many ways so far including clearing some accidents and traffic on I-75 in response to prayer. We drove through some heavy rain just over the Kentucky Tennessee border that lasted until we arrived at Hope Fellowship, but even the rain increased the beauty of our view of the mountains. We arrived to a nice warm dinner and an enthusiastic welcome from the Next Step team. Today, our teams are hard at work at KARM and two other work sites. Check back tonight for details on our day!” – Dakota Tomac & Josh Karhan on behalf of…
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To say that Rodney and I (Lydia) were very excited for our first team meeting was an understatement. Seeing all the members of the Madison WI team come together for the first time definitely made this trip more of a reality! There were a few new faces to Calvary as well as students who had been attending the 7/8 grade programming all year ranging from 13 years old to almost 15 (not including Rodney or me. Ha!) While we were eating our pizza lunch, we got to spend a lot of time playing get to know you games. It can be challenging and awkward at times to force yourself out of your friend group to meet others. We challenged them to do just this and play the game two truths and a lie. Our team had to work together to figure out what each student was lying about. It was…
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Do you want to experience new areas, new people, and new ways to be like Christ to His people? Calvary’s 2020 Short-Term Mission Teams are now forming. There are opportunities for nearly all of us! For Students: 5th-6th Grade Camp Serve: Learn about the ministries of Calvary Church and how you can be a part. 7th-8th Grade Madison, WI: You will do service projects & have opportunities to share your faith. High School Poland: Help with a local summer camp and VBS as you serve together in Poland. For Families: The Spring Break Family Trip is for families with kids in fifth grade and up! Come to Kentucky and serve together. For College Students, Young Adults, and everyone else: Mozambique is for anyone who has a heart to encourage our missionaries Lucky and Sonnet, spread the word of Jesus, and help both adults and children dig deeper into God’s…
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Short-Term Mission Teams are now forming. Applications are available in the Connection Point or online at calvarygr.org/trips. Trips include: May 14 to May 26 – Mozambique. We work alongside missionaries Lucky and Sonnet to provide encouragement, spread the word of Jesus, and help both adults and children dig deeper into God’s word through oral Bible storytelling. Chuck Ely, a seasoned team leader, will help anyone new to short-term missions hit the ground running. You will learn Simply the Story a life-changing and fun method of telling Bible stories. Co-ed team. May 1 to May 10 – Guyana. Calvary men, this is your opportunity to help build a structure and build the community of Christ. Caleb Marcus is the leader of this trip. We will be partnering with missionaries Andy and Kathleen Girwarnauth. Come prepared to sweat, build stuff, and labor for God. Both skilled and unskilled workers needed. Men only…
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I used to think short-term mission trips were only for the “super-spiritual, bilingual, uber Christian” who had the entire Bible memorized. Then I was challenged to go to Kiev. With some skepticism, I asked God for everything to fall into place logistically before I would commit, and sure enough God orchestrated some amazing details! Despite this, I told God “I am not qualified,” God broke down that barrier and not only did I go to Kiev, but God awakened my heart to His love for the nations. That trip created a new awareness in me so now when I read, “People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God” (Luke 13:29) I find myself almost in tears rejoicing at what a great God we have who loves all His children. In spite of your own…
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Our last day at the Center. We were a bit run down, five of six team members battling sickness. But we pushed through knowing this was our last chance to serve the precious women, kids and All4Aid workers. An electrician was finally able to come today. It had been scheduled at the beginning of the week, but due to strikes and other delays the service upgrade didn’t happen until today. This meant canceling some of the day’s previously scheduled laundry appointments and offering fewer showers in order to close the Center early. (School went on as usual, without electricity, the students don’t even flinch when the lights go out.) It was hard to face the disappointment of the women and very difficult to explain that the temporary inconvenience would mean better service in the future – more washing machines, consistently hot showers, fewer daily outages. Fridays are “deep cleaning” days…
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