AWESOME WORK DAY!!!

Hey Team, Johnny here and I just want to tell you how proud of you I am! You guys worked like crazy last Saturday at Manowe! Stephanie and Tammy led you well and it was a great day!

I wanted to pass on some great words that were shared about what you did on Saturday. This first quote is from our Senior Pastor Mark Beeson, or as we like to call him Poppa B. He posted this on his blog.

"Saturdays are good days.

Many carve "family time" out of Saturdays. We do the chores needing our attention. We fill a few hours with errands, athletic competitions, yard work and anything on the "Honey Do List." For thousands of us, Saturdays provide the needed opportunity to bring our friends to a weekend service.

Yesterday was Saturday.

I don't know what you did with your "yesterday," but dozens of the students at GCC poured themselves out for the "Manowe Work Day." They decided to make a lasting impact by leveraging a few hours against the disappointments faced by so many of our Five-Star kids. They knew young students from our after-school-ministry would be showing up at Manowe this summer so they worked the camp into tip-top-shape.

Paul told Timothy, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."

I photographed our young volunteers inside the Dream Center. They are devoted, passionate and loyal...and they are well led. You can be very proud of the students at GCC.

I am."

And I just got this email from Randy today. Randy is the one who explained to us all the work projects and why we were doing what we did. Randy is a great man and is serving so well at Manowe as he leverages his gifts to show other people how much they matter.

"It was so great to have your teams here this weekend. It was evident from begining to end that both Life Line and Oasis are simply over the top when it comes to integrity, character, and caring about other people. I am sorry I could not say good bye and thanks to all of you before you left. I actually had 3 seperate volunteer groups that day, all top notch, but I want to say that your leaders and their kids really shined above all.

Your group not only finished every task that was planned for them, I had to get creative and find more for them to do. I heard no complaints, smiles every where, no one was content being idle, every conversation I heard(or overheard) was encouraging and up lifting, everyone was very focused on serving love. Great leadership and great kids.

Manowe is ready for summer camps now thanks to your caring efforts.

Please let them all know how much all of us here at Manowe/FiveStar appreciate them.
A friend of Jesus,

randy"

WELL DONE TEAM!

TEAM WORK DAY

Hey team, Tammy here...I just wanted to say Thank You for making our team work day absolutely incredible!! Everyone worked so hard and you all did a GREAT JOB!! I feel so blessed to be a part of such an AWESOME team. Remember to keep reading Acts 13 - 28, keep those journals going, and know that you are AMAZING!!! Our next team meeting is Monday May 19th, 6:00 p.m. at G.C.C.

Thoughts from Acts

Hey team, Johnny here! Didn't get a chance before the big RV trip to get some thoughts posted on here from Acts but wanted to get the discussion going! So, HERE WE GO~

One of the first things I noticed as I was reading was how Paul did not go out alone on his first trip in Chapters 13 and 14. In Chapter 13 verse 2 it actually says “the Holy Spirit said, ‘Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work I have for them.” This can show us that it was not just a man’s good idea to go out as a pair, but that God intended for Saul and Barnabas to go out together. And I believe God has intended for us to serve in teams on our mission trips and here’s why.

--We are all very different and we all bring something unique to the team. Some of us may speak Spanish, some of us may sing, some of us may be great with kids, some of us may love manual labor, some of us may be a great encourager, some of us may be prayer warriors. See when we all come together with what we each have, the team becomes a whole lot stronger

--When you are together with a common purpose you can keep each other accountable. If we begin to get tired on this trip or begin to lose focus on why we’re there, there are people on this team who will lovingly help you remember what the trip is all about.

--The team outperforms the individual in the long haul every time. We will love more kids, get more work done, share Jesus with more people when we work as a team.

I’m so excited about the team we have for MOVE this year!

What else have you found in your time reading Acts 13-28? Share your ideas and thoughts by posting a comment below.

And We're Off!

Hey team, Johnny here and MOVE08 is off and running! We have an amazing team! We have amazing leaders! God has called us to do something amazing!

In a few short months we will be going out into our town to love and care for the marginalized and forgotten! We will be paying attention to people and places that often get overlooked! We will be making a difference right here! I'm PUMPED!

Have you started praying for the team yet? Have you started praying for those right here in our own backyard that we will be serving? Have you started reading Acts 13-28? Let's dive in together! Let's engage this ENTIRE process from first meeting to the very end! We've started diving in and will open up the discussion soon!

If you missed the first meeting, it is very important that you get caught up on what's going on. If you missed the first meeting then you likely don't even know about the blog, which means if you know someone who is going to MOVE08 but missed the first meeting, then make sure they read this post!

If you missed the first meeting, you need to stop by the student ministries office and pick up what you missed. You will need to pick up a folder which includes your journal and pen, 2 sample mission support letters as well as donor contribution forms and return address labels for your support to come directly to GCC. I'll be posting the cliff notes on how to write the whole support letter soon.

Also if you need more donor contribution forms or return labels those are now printed and available up there!


LET'S DO THIS!