What a Sucker!

I'm just not sure where this post fits - the good? the bad? the everthing in between? 


Nah - how about "the hilarious"??? 


You might call him a "good sport" or a "giver".... I, however, call him a sucker! Why beat around the bush? 


That's right folks....Pastor Kevin donned a wetsuit, flippers, and snorkel as our Deep Sea Adventure "Diver Kevin" for VBS.


The kids hooted. hollered. jumped. clapped....and eventually stood in line to dunk him in the dunk tank.


We show our love and appreciation a little differently around here....

Jealous???!!
You know, the next time he chooses to leave his wet towel on the floor or put his clothes ON TOP of the hamper instead of IN the hamper (another post entirely) - I'm going to remember this and refrain from punching him in the arm.

I'm sorry ladies - he's taken!

My decorating expertise unleashed itself on the foyer

Clay and Elijah turned each of the sanctuary doorways into a shark or a whale

My 5th and 6th grade group...The Sea Turtles. I changed our name from "The Whales" shortly after one of the girls called me "Momma Whale" - no thank you.

We play sophisticated, fancy schmansy games around here - they picked up rocks with their feet :)

I didn't have one single solitary brave boy in my group all week. It was just us girls. Laura (tall, beautiful one in the middle) was my assistant

My girls showed the Little Nemo's (pre-k - 1st) and the Seahorses (2nd-4th) how its done on Family Night with their speaking parts.

We had a great turn out on Family Night for our program, hotdogs and all the fixin's and the DUNK TANK.

We really made him earn his paycheck this week. Really. 

You can't tell here but they are lined out to the street - rubbing their little chubby hands together - plotting- and cackling about watching Pastor K go down! This was their one chance to pay him back for all the teasing. aggravating. joking. and extra long sermons.

I told you they came out of the woodwork. Something to do with throwing softballs and watching an adult flounder helplessly in cold water just brings kids from everywhere.

We had a great time at VBS but I think I know why its only a week long. The adults can't take it - we're tired. We're now deaf from all that noise. We're tired of eating goldfish crackers and fishsticks for dinner.

BUT it was worth it. We had between 40-50 kids each night and on Thursday night 7 kids accepted Jesus. Now that I've had a few weeks off I'm ready to go again!

Mandy and "Diver Kevin"

P.S. - Wes, Nick, Joy - you can all thank me for this ammunition later.

Mission Trip Photos

Well, after a long. drawn out. foot stomping. battle with the laptop - we've called a truce. Below are a few of the pictures my teenage fanclub took on their mission trip. I sent my camera along so they could document it all for me.....

Still friends after 10 hours in the van....

I don't know what he's grumpy about...I bet Hannah had the camera and Sawyer was trying to shoot death rays at her out of his eyes.

I. love. them....the most amazing kids....

Shortly after this I received a text message from Kevin reading: "I just schooled Christy in ping pong and she is fit to be tied!"

Group time with their new friends from Memphis and Texas

Graduation Night for Hillcrest Transitional Housing

Waiting for the festivities to begin...

Celebrating the accomplishments of some of the families they helped during the week.

It looks like we picked up a new pint-sized member....

Putting those organizational skills to work on the food pantry

Much better

Lunch break!

Constructing their "homes" outside for the night. They learned being homeless is way different than camping...

Don't worry - they brought them back inside at about 1:00am

Its safe to say this trip was a HUGE success. The kids learned a lot about showing compassion to others while also meeting new friends. In a couple of weeks they'll have an opportunity to share how this trip shaped them with our church family. I'm looking forward to hearing more about it!

Mandy

Mission Trip Update # 2

Wednesday.....Still Working Hard.

Hello everyone,

We just returned from our day of work.  Our load was a little lighter today, but we were able to finish up all the projects we needed to this week.  We completely remodeled a food pantry that flooded last week, and tonight, needy families are able to get the food they need again, because of the work of our teens.  Dixie, Hannah Shea, and Christy removed all the old, wet carpet and padding on Monday, and did alot of other cleaning.  Sawyer, myself, and a couple of other guys from Texas laid new flooring yesterday, and helped repair some drywall.  Brooke was on a team of ladies working next door.  They completely cleaned and repainted a housing unit, so that a new homeless family will be able to move in tonight...and finally be off the streets.  Today, Hannah, Dylan, and Riley got everything moved back into place and organized so that the building is up and functioning again.

When the kids weren't at my work site, they worked with Susan and Whitney at the other site, doing much of the same things.  Overall, they are responsible for three families (all single ladies with at least two children) having a place to sleep tonight.  

Tomorrow, we will all work together.  It will be a hard day's work tomorrow.  But, our teens are excited about the project and ready to serve.  Friday will be our fun day.  Right now, we're getting ready to eat dinner.  After dinner, we'll relax a bit, and then we'll have our worship service around 8:00.

Hope you all have a wonderful evening,

Kevin 

Thursday....One Last Day of Work

Good morning,

I'm going to send my update early today, because the rest of the day will be full of activities.  We just finished breakfast, and are hanging out back in the dorms for a few minutes.  We will work later into the day today, so we're not going to get quite as early of a start as we have the past three days.  

Last night, we had another great worship service and discussion time.  I had challenged them to not only look at what God was doing in the lives of those we were ministering to, but to also spend some time thinking and listening for God to speak to them.  They opened up, and began to talk about what God's doing in them, and it was such a blessing.  We even had one of our teens who confessed that she felt like she had lost her faith, but by watching the way God had put back together the lives of those we have seen this week, she knew that God could repair their relationship as well.  It was an honor to get to pray with her, as she asked God to restore that relationship.

After service, the kids had some free time.  Most of them went over and played several games of sand volleyball.  I played with them, and I must confess, I'm a little sore this morning.  

Today, everyone will work as one big team.  We're going to a site we've not been to yet.  We'll get there a little after 10:00 this morning, and work well into the evening.  Then, we'll have a service at the site, and one final activity...and we'll be back to the campus late tonight.  They will work hard today, so we're going to let them sleep later tomorrow too, and then we'll head out for our fun day in KC.  

We're looking forward to a good day.  Ya'll pray for us.

Kevin  

Thursday Night......Good Attitudes Still Intact

Good evening everyone,

We have finished our final day of work.  We've had a wonderful week so far, but today was frustrating.  We worked at a different site today, but they weren't organized and ready for us, and so, honestly, we ended up standing around alot.  That, coupled with everyone being tired already, made for some testy tempers.  So, I made an executive decision to bring them back and give them a few hours to rest and have fun before we went out again tonight.  On the way home, I gave them all a chance to air their complaints once and for all about the day.  When we were done, that was it.  I told them we weren't going to revisit it after that.  By the time we got home, everyone was joking around again, and everyone liked each other again.  By the way, it wasn't only frustrating for our group, but for all the others as well.  

We did have one really great and powerful moment today.  We were hungry and waiting on lunch to arrive.  The tens were impatient and begging me to take them to get something eat.  It made us all think about how, when we have a need, or even a want, we meet it.  But for the folks we're working with this week, when they're hungry or needy, they can't do anything about it.  So, we thanked God, and ended our day by making about 35 sack lunches and handing them out to needy folks in the name of Jesus.    

I'm really looking forward to tonight.  We'll eat around 7:30, and have another worship time, followed by communion.  I have been astounded by how attentive our teens have been to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit this week.  And, I believe that today, as frustrating as it was, God was still speaking.  Tomorrow, there will be no work...only fun and relaxation...and I need it.

Thanks for continuing to pray for us,

Kevin

Friday....Fun Day At The Water Park. 

They're much too busy for frivolous things like emailing.

I'm counting the hours until they get home tomorrow. I'm so glad this has been a good experience for them! They've heard God speaking and been faithful to respond. We couldn't ask for more from them. I'll post pictures when I get my camera back from the kids.

Mandy

Mission Trip Update # 1

Monday .... Day 1....I'm Nervous. Kids Are Nervous.

Good Morning Everyone,

I'm sure that you all heard that we made it safe and sound yesterday.  Praise the Lord!  We had a good night last night.  We got the teens settled and fed them pizza.  We had the folks from Hillcrest Ministries come and talk to them about the work they would be doing.  They split up into work teams and spent the rest of the night getting to know the other teens and hanging out.  Everyone is very excited about getting to work...but very tired after the long drive.  Bridgett, I though Hannah Shea was going to fall asleep standing up a few minutes ago. 

We eat breakfast in the morning at 7:45, and then it's off to the work sites.  Two of our groups will be going to help paint, clean, restore, etc, a home that a family will move into...and the other group will be working to sort items at a center that distributes good to homeless families.  Pray with us that we'll have a great day, and I'll do my best to update you tomorrow.

P.S. I emailed everyone I had email addresses for...but if you know the email address of a parent that's not included in this email, feel free to forward it on. 

Kevin

Later That Afternoon......

Good Afternoon,

Our first day of work is going very well in KC.  Our teens just finished eating lunch and doing our midday devotional.  Three of our teens, Dixie, Christy, and Hannah Shea are with me today, and the other six are with Susan and Whitney.  At our site, we've been removing old carpet and painting to get ready for a homeless family to move in and begin their new life.  Our other teens are involved in landscaping and cleaning work at the other site which is only a few miles away. 

We'll finish up our work this afternoon at 3:30 and drive back to our rooms.  We'll shower and relax a bit, and then have a worship service later this evening.

I hope all is well back in Tennessee.  We'll keep you updated periodically....

Kevin

P.S.  Susan is going to upload some photos tonight...I'm not very good with a camera

Tuesday...... Day 2....It's Getting Better....

Good afternoon,

The second work day in KC is almost done.  We had a great night last night.  We had a wonderful worship service, and afterwards, we gave them water guns, and let them have at each other...and the adults too.  They had a blast, and everyone slept VERY well last night.  In fact, the van was very quiet on the drive to the work site this morning, and I looked back and noticed several of them sleeping.

Our kids got a great opportunity to get to know a lady name Brenda yesterday.  Brenda is in her early 40's and came from a normal family and lived a normal life. She was a stay-at-home mom.  But, when her husband abandoned them, she had no source of income and very few job skills.  She couldn't pay the mortgage, electricity, etc, and became homeless.  She moved into the place that we're working, and in 90 days, she has been able to get back on her feet, pay off debt, save some money, get a job, and she's planning to begin nursing school this fall.  God has really transformed her life, and she shared her testimony with our kids.  Tonight, we're attending a party in her honor as she sets out on her new life.  It truly is amazing what God has done in her life over the past 3 months. 

The weather cooled off a good bit today, so most of our teens were doing outside work.  It's been a good day, and we're looking forward to a fun night.

Kevin   


Tuesday Night.....Can It Get Any Better?

Hello All,

It's a few minutes after 10:00 p.m., and we're just getting back to the college for the night.  The teens are showering up for the night, and getting ready for bed.  They are exhausted...and the should be.  They worked really hard today, but did some really great work. 

I know I've already updated you today, but I had to write and tell you what happened tonight.  The cookout we attended was nothing short of astounding.  Our teens were able to hear the stories of a number of folks who were formerly homeless, but found the love of Jesus through the ministry of Hillcrest, and their lives were transformed.  They were also able to spend alot of time talking and asking questions about how these folks ended up homeless.  Their hearts were truly broken by what they heard.  By the time we left the site, the kids were hungry again, and the begged me to take them to McDonald's.  I told them we would, if they would talk to me about the experiences they had had thus far.

On the way home, the teens began sharing their experiences from the day, and how they had been able to show love to the homeless families, and provide food for alot of hungry people in our area of KC.  The only way I know to explain what happened in the van was that the Holy Spirit came  upon us as we talked.  I was so proud of all of our teens as they shared what they had sensed God speaking to them as they have worked this week.  I knew we would probably get back to the dorms before they finished talking, so I took the long way home, just to make sure everyone had a chance to speak.  The last thing they said was, "Pastor Kevin, can we please share these stories with the church when we get back home?"  I assured them they'd have that opportunity.  I was having to wipe my eyes as I listened to them talk.

When I got alone, I had to thank God...for only God could have given some of the insight that our teens are gaining this week.  I'm so thankful that God has been faithful, and our teens are listening.  Thank you all for praying for us.  Please continue to do so throughout the week.

Tomorrow, we'll have a little lighter day of work....so that will be a nice break.  Hope all of you are well.  

Kevin 

I didn't want to overwhelm you with all of it in one post! Check out Mission Trip Update # 2


Mandy