One AMAZING week

This past week was amazing! It was filled with lots of work and fun our group of 20 just got back yesterday tired and full with the presence of god in our lives. We have all see the amazing plans that have started to unfold in the city of mt.vernon, and i have been personally blessed to be a part of that week. This mission trip has been full of great experiences and lots of bonding. Our small missions group has really become close and i have been so blessed to work with all of them. It was amazing to see the transformation that the church took in one week, we have painted 2 stairwells fixed the ceiling of their fellowship hall,painted,carpeted,and put new ceilings in two of the childrens classrooms ,have transformed the backyard, and most importantily got the name of the church out there to hundreds of people throught distributing waters, bible’s, doing park clean-up’s and a kids club.

We had a barbeque on Thursday which about 20 new people came to which was such a blessing! Pastor Orlando was beyond thrilled to have 20 new people there and to be able to get the name out about the church! This week has been truly amazing and one of the most advanced that I have been on, we were in charge of everthing… projects, food, outreach, and work and I think that our team really did a great job with organizing and working together!

Through the whole trip I have felt god with me and talking to me more then any other!!! I know that what we did during that week will have a lasting affect on mt.vernon and in our own lives. I’m taking back amazing experiences we had together and the promise that I know god will always be with the people of mt.vernon and he has great plans for that city!

- Haley Esselborn

Revitalization is here!

Hey! Sonia and Sarah here blogging in a hot, but freshly painted room, one of the many that we have been able to paint this week. We are still enveloped in a film of dirt following our day spent in the backyard finishing the garden prep. Thanks to Vales Construction Corp (Kirstin’s Dad), we got the last thing we needed to finish the backyard this afternoon…DIRT! What a blessing they have been to us, helping us clear out unusable dirt, and helping us to really bring revitalization and restoration to the backyard of this church.

It has truly been only through God that we have been able to accomplish this much in these few days. Sonia has been in the backyard for 3 days, and Sarah has joined the crew for the past 2 days, but all are needed! Eric has been the point person for the backyard transformation, as well as Mary P. both who have seen this project through, and will continue to do so until it is finished. Our motivating factor today has been ICED COFFEE ….(yes, mom i enjoy coffee now!) Such a simple indulgence, but so need on such a hot and laborious filled day.

The Kingdom is obviously present, and Gods healing hands is among us. The Healing Service last night, and the prayer times we have had with each other have been so valuable to building our personal relationships with God, but also our faith and trust that God has His hand in this city. More than ever we have newfound purpose and drive to continue service here; we truly have developed a passionate heart for Mt. Vernon, and this growing church.

Tonight we were able to have a cookout, and movie for people in this community. We sat down with a woman and her niece, and enjoyed our conversation about how she feels about this community and her vision for this community, but she seems to be out of hope. It may seem like this is a hopeless neighborhood, she is most worried about the constant, and violent occurences in the area that strictly impair safety of all. We just tried to remind her of the kind of God we have. He loves, He forgives, He restores, He heals, and He is present in this community.

We have heard a lot about God’s timing this week, specifically yesterday in the healing service. We may not know when every knee shall bow before the Lord, but we do know that He promises to sustain us, fill our cups, and continually meet us where we are until restoration has fully come. We have gotten just a taste of this during the week, His promises, and His plans, and it’s quite exciting to see this church building transform.

We would sincerely like to thank all that have been involved in this week. You have all made a significant impact here, and allowed us to accomplish more than we had ever thought we could. It has been so encouraging to see new faces everyday working by our sides, with new energy and passion for Christ. We have seen all at your best serving the Lord, and it has been incredible. We hope that your experiences here and with us have been as meaningful to you as they have been to us. Mt. Vernon Alliance Church has been so pleased with what we have been able to do, and we know it is only through God that we have gotten it all done so well! Tomorrows our final day of this trip, but we know we will be back for sure…God has made it clear that we a continued role here with our relationships we have built and continued restoration, and that makes us so ecstatic! The fire and passion that God has placed in our hearts this week is hopeful, and shows that God has a magnificent plan to transform this church so that it can be a blessing to this community…we simply want to be a worker sowing the seeds.

Please pray for our last night, for SLEEP, and that tomorrow we can make this church look brand new as we clean and pack up, only for now though because we will be back.

Much Love,

Sarah and Sonia

BCC Youth