The finished Sanctuary. Nice Job Guys!
Taylor, Steph, a new friend,Danielle, and Katie.
Second St James, our DC church home.
Gloria and Deacon Graham with Pastor Delores McLaughlin
Amanda and Jonah

Its been almost a week since we left DC. I have spoken with several of the kids, and they not only had a great time, they saw God there.

I want parents and JH Leaders at Rivertree to know that the Junior High did an amazing job! They were the heart, hands and feet of our Savior and Lord Jesus. In the next few days we will provide you with a CD of pictures from the trip (Thanks John and Lucia!) and I will send a note too.

May God bless and keep each of you in the name of Jesus Christ.

Finishing Touches

God is so good!

Thursday we split into smaller groups and really stretched ourselves. One team of four stayed back at Second St James and put the finishing touches on the platform we moved. They finish sanded the railings in the front of the platform, painted the wall behind the stage, put carpet strips down, laid carpet, built steps for the platform, and worked hard to get that all done by the end of the day. Today they will have to finish paint the trim on the railings and lay carpet in the area the platform used to cover. Then they will repair a few pews and set the room up to use the new platform. Tyrone and Brian, nephews of Deacon Graham, came and helped.

Another group stayedand planned VBS. They wrote, directed and performed another drama, and made flyersand worked on curriculum. They did a very nice job and the kids loved it! They face painted, colored and played with teh kids. Our VBS crew, lead by Donna, has definitely made an impact on the neighborhood children. Parents are coming by to pick up the kids after the VBS is done, they are curious about these people from Ohio who came here and love their children. It has been wonderful.

Another group went to Goodwill and served there. They colorized clothing, determined if donated clothing was sellable, and generally helped the staff at Goodwill of DC. They had a ball! And several of the girls bought clothes there! We're going back tomorrow to help Michael and his staff.

Another group went to Mall and passed out living water. They just offered cold water to people free of charge and started talking with them. We met several homeless people, and a choir from Alabama. They sang for us, amazing! In the afternoon the crew who stayed back and worked on construction was given the chance to go into DC as well. We,re planning on going back today, and we cannot wait to see who God will put in our way.

Beverly cooked us Chinese, it was yummy! Our cooks here have done so well! God has blessed us. For dessert we had ice cream sundaes. (Shouts to Lenuta for making me a delicious concotion of chocolate, mint chocolate chip, caramel, fudge, brownies, M&M's and who knows what else! It was delicious.)

Friday night we are going to lead worship for the staff and people of Second St James. Ryan, our worship leader, is setting it up. Our Junior High Kids will lead the service and we will rock the house!

God is puttin his finishing touches on our group. They are talking about next year, and each one has a story to tell about how God spoke to them, or touched them, or worked through them. We have invited Him to be with us, and He has made His presence profoundly and wonderfully known. We can't wait to tell you the stories when we get back.

Winding down

Yesterday was yet another very good day. God has worked in and through the junior high kids, and a Second St James is really gresat place to be this week.

Yesterday we had another banner VBS day! We had "a lot" of kids from the neighborhood. We played ball, blew bubbles ( a big hit!), and the Rivertree kids performed a skit! They wrote and directed their own production, and the children loved it!

The railings of the stage are almost finished (thanks to John, Sebastian and Marcus), tomorrow we will carpet the platform and repaint the walls and railings. Pastor Delores and Deacon Graham just keep walking aroud the stage saying "I just cannot believe it..." We wrote our favorite scripture verses on the floor of the stage, Pastor Delores' is Psalm 119:5. When we carpet it the congregation of Second St James will have a new platform covered in God's word.

Thursday we will change our views a little bit... we will go to the National Mall and hand out cold water (our "Living Water" ministry) to people walking around. We also found a park nearby that is home to some homeless people, so we will go there and clean their park and minister to them. Goodwill of DC is another place part of our group will go. We will paint, build shelves and work where ever they need us.

It has been a life-changing week. The Rivertree Junior High team has worked through adversity and good times, all for the glory and honor of God. I told one eigth grade girl yesterday "Thanks for everything you're doing" and she replied "it's OK. I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing everything for God." She told me her favorite scripture verse was 1Corinthians 10:31. Kids now-a-days! Man, I love kids-now-a-days.

Updates from Rivertree Junior High'ers

I have learned a lot on this trip. I think the most important thing I have learned is that it is not the physical work we do that matters the most, its the relationships we make.
I also learned to give my body to Christ and He will work through me.
I have learned to listen to what people have to say because if they don't think I'm listening they won't talk to me next time. That is what I've learned on this trip.
Lindsey Rossiter

On this trip I learned that when you just o something small for someone that has nothing it could mean the world to them.
I also learned that you shouldn't take things for granted, because sometimes people have nothing. For example having a closet full of clothes is nothing to me, but some people here have few clothes.
On this trip I saw God through the kids at VBS.
Amanda Markley

I've learned many things on this trip - "the smallest things you do for someone can be the biggest thing to them."
Also, when you're helping someone God really does shine through you, so that they can see.
Lenuta Lich

There are so many things that stick out in my mind, but the most memorable moments are at VBS. Just seeing the smiles on thier faces is a complete blessing.
Haley Scibetta

I was cleaning the kitchen at second St James and it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. The dirt kept coming and coming! It never stopped! Now I know the expression"a mother's work is never done. (Shouts out to all the moms)
We took prayer walks and VBS was fun. When we were drawing with chalk on the sidewalk me and Sebastian drew on the sewers.
Vinny

Jericho

We had another great day today! It started out a little on the difficult side (our caravan of cars accidently split up), but God used that to His good (one group found a shorter way into DC!), so all in all, a great day!

We moved the platform! Pastor Delores wanted the "stage" moved from the side of the room to the front of the room. A couple of groups before us looked at it and said "No, thanks". We prayed, felt God's hand in our moving it, and forged ahead. The Rivertree kids were incredible! We sawed 8 feet of the end of the platform, lifted it ( approximately 1500 lbs.!) together, and moved it. We got it almost into the spot Pastor wanted it. Then like Joshua we marched around it seven times and gave a mighty "Yeah God" and shoved it in place. Deacon Graham just walked around all day and said "I can't believe how much bigger it looks". Pastor Delores had to leave so she wouldn't cry. we told her it was OK, we cry all the time.

We have made a significant presence in the neighborhood. We have cleaned and straightend the public areas, spoken with parents o young children, sat with older residents, face painted, VBS'ed, played basketbal, frisbee and tag with the kids of the block. Today we ate ice cream sandwiches and drank cold water with some of our new friends afterward.

We sat down to a delicious chicken dinner with rice, asparagus and cornbread. After hugs and good byes, we left for WBC around 6:45 p.m. We will worship and discuss our day at 8:30, them bed at 10:00. We are bushed! We worked hard today.

As promised, I will post updates from our some of our Junior High kids in the early morning. We miss you all, and are praying for you. Please pray for unity, focus and strength for us tomorrow. Wednesdays are hard days on missions trips. But please know we are centered on God's will for us and we are prayerfully committed to letting Him work through us!

Amazing Day

We had an amazing day!

I tried to post last night as promised, but the wireless connection was down. Sorry!

We had an awesome day one at Second St James Baptist Church in DC. Traffic on the way in was huge! It was raining, and traffic was backed up for miles. We got about 1 mile from the church and everything stopped. So we hopped on a side street and found a way in (thanks to John and his GPS). Once there we hugged Pastor Delores, ate breakfast, then started right in.

Part of the group started on VBS and making flyers for the neighborhhod, two groups went on a prayer walk, and another group started working on moving the platform in the sanctuary. The kids worked hard, and we leaders were stretched to keep up, but we did!

Fran and Jan made lunch for us, and after we ate we went right back to work. The rain stopped, so we passed out some flyers, started yard work (great job guys!), started into the neighborhood and continued to work on moving the platform.

Towards the end of the day we went to the playground across the street and started some sports evangelism and VBS activities. Kids in DC are still in school, so we met them on their turf. Ryan Conrad lead the group in kickball, basketball and other activites while Donna lead VBS. We had between 25 and 30 kids, an awesome turnout! Most said they would be back today, and we will be ready.

Some ladies from Second St James made us dinner- spaghetti, salad and garlic bread! Very tasty way to end the day in DC. Thank you ladies, we appreciate you, and REALLY liked the spaghetti!

Back to WBC, debrief, devotions and worship. Discussion was quick and the kids had a great day. God was found throughout the day by everyone there. He is pushing and stretching us to do things we don't normally do with people we don't know in a strange city. But He is in us and with us, and we saw Him working through us. We can't wait to see where He is today, and how He moves through us.

Tomorrow we'll have some personal stories from some of our Rivertree Junior Highers to post! Come back!

In His Grip,
David

Finally, DC!

Good Morning!

Everyone arrived Saturday, ready to serve and have fun with Jesus in Washington DC. We stored our gear and got into our rooms, Guys in Miles Hall and Girls in Steiner Hall. After pizza for dinner we had a short meeting and then some free time. Lights out at 10:00 because we had to be up early for devotions, breakfast and then off to Second St James for church.

We got to church 10:50, found parking places (a task, Second St James has six parking spaces in their lot, we have six vehicles!), and went to church. The worship style in Second St James was wonderful, spirit lead and definitely different than the 'Tree. But we learned ours isn't right, or theirs wrong - just different. God was in the house! Sevice lasted two hours, then we ate lunch with our new partners. Burgers, sausages and hot dogs on the grill, beans, watermelon, cookies and chips. MMMMMMMM!

After lunch we left for theNational Mall, where all the monuments are. We only made it to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II memorial, then we had to leave! (Parents, we told your kids to let us take the pictures of the memorials, we will get you a CD of all the pictures we took shortly after we return. So if they come home with lots of pictures of friends, it was our idea...).

Dinner at McDonalds, then back to Washington Bible College for worship (lead by Ryan) and debrief time. We had a great discussion about our day, and how God showed up in a big way already this week! We are excited about today and the opportunitues God has given us. Lights out at 10:30, up and out by 7:45 this morning, breakfast at the church at 8:30.

Please pray for our day, it is currently raining, looks like it may last all day. God has a plan, and we are ready and willing to follow it!

I will post again tonight, to let you know how the day went. We will pray for our families this morning as we start our days. We love and miss all of you!

In Christ's love and service,
David

Trip Information

I know you are probably e-mailed out, and that I am late in posting this (sorry moms and dads), but it really is here!

Be at Rivertree on Saturday Morning at 7:30 (If you are an adult trip leader, that's 7:00 for you), we will leave at 8:00.

If you have not turned in your medical papers, you cannot leave! Turn them in today or bring them with you tomorrow, and they must be notarized. Sorry, but this one's for your safety and health.

We are staying at Washington Bible College in Lanham, Maryland about 20 minutes from DC. The area is safe and very residential. The boys are staying in Miles Hall and the Girls in Steiner Hall. Both are dormatories, the girls get a suite (Sleeps 6) with shower and toilet facilities in their rooms, guys a room with two beds Sleeps 2) or bunks (Sleeps 4). Our showers and toilets are locker room style. Beds have pillows and sheets, but bring a blanket or sleeping bag. The air conditioning is cold! Also bring your own towel and wash cloth, and shower shoes.

We will be working with Second St. James Baptist Church in DC. We will pressure wash the front of the church, paint the finance room, repair and recondition their signage, possibly do some carpentry work in their sanctuary. We will also do VBS, out side and DVD is NOT an option at this point, so be ready! We will also do some sports ministry if given the opportunity. I feel we will have a chance to do the Jesus Walk as well.

On Sunday we will tour DC after church service. We will hit the Mall, (not shopping mall, but the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, etc), and drive by the Capitol and White House. DC is very busy this weekend, but if we have time to do more we will. It took me two hours yesterday to drive from the White House to the Washington Memorial (probably 2 miles)!

I have been in prayer for you all by name this week. I got into DC on Wednesday and I have been praying over your rooms, your community areas and the church we will work at. Remember - "You are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God created in advance for you to do". God knows each of you and has a special plan for YOU this week in DC.

Almost Here....

The time for our DC Missions Trip is almost here!

Make certain that you have packed according to the suggested list (see previous post). We will post departure times and other important info here on Monday June 5.

Make certain you tell your family about this site. We will update often and will include pictures.

Please be in prayer about the relationships you will be forming and the people we will be serving. God has planned and prepared good works for you next week, so be ready to have your heart changed!