The last day, always a bittersweet day, but before we talk about the VBS portion, we'll talk about what happened at the beginning of the day, literally just after midnight. First off, Will Martin returned safely to Charlotte after dedicating 2 days of driving for 2 days of serving in Gloversville, he arrived home at about 12:30 a.m. Next, the 'surprise' was from John McClendon, his wife, Tricia, and two daughters Briana and Kaylyn have been with our team the entire week, but John had some mission obligations of his own in Nicaragua.
Back on May 22nd, while we were still compiling our team, John asked if it would be ok to join the team mid-trip? Of course it'd be OK. So plans to surprise his daughters was in full effect. With flight arrival at 11:30 p.m. into the Albany airport, we knew he'd have a late arrival to 33 Bleecker, but a few of the team members stayed awake long enough to entertain the girls so John would have an opportunity to surprise them. It worked like a charm during one of our favorite interactive games called "mafia", during this game all the players, except for a narrator are required to close their eyes and "sleep". After some strategic texts and Facebook messaging, they asked to "sleep", upon awakening, John was part of the circle and the mini-reunion was in full effect, thanks to Elisa for the fun idea.
The morning began with a bit of a snag not knowing if the elevators were going to work or not (there was apparently a fluid leak which caused the elevator to loss hydraulic power-it is working now, but wasn't fixed until after our closing ceremony). That provided for a Spirit lead opportunity which allowed for a more in-depth Bible study for the Lexington guests which are so encouraging to us, they love each other and love Jesus! Lottie and Beth were the main recipients of this schedule change and did a great job of being Spirit Lead.
The kids were on fire today, the morning activities ranged from karaoke, to tag and then into their favorite songs, Like a Rock and Bananas!
Evelyn and Isabella entertaining everyone!
Lottie and Dakota hanging out
Lets Go!
Like a bird
Learning from our characters!
Kaylyn explaining the Cross and everyone placing their fingerprint on the Cross!
Here is a recap of our VBS fun put together by Cyndie's sister, Megan! Thanks Megan
Next up the combined Matthews/1Gen college-aged teams put on a fun fun lunch experience in the backyard. Here Sarah shows off her cotton candy making skills
Briana was in charge of the Bounce Slide
Servants hearts abound, John, Chelsea, Debbie, (not shown Jim and Brenda on the drink stand and Zach and Alicia on the cooking squad).
Hog dogs, chips, pineapple and cookies were in high demand!
Cotton Candy and Popcorn were a big hit too!
Siblings loving on their siblings!
Serena was a big part of our team all week.
Elisa made a few friends!
These two guys have big plans for 33 Bleecker
It was time to say goodbye to VBS
and get a little crazy!
Cleanup was next, which involved returning chairs, tables and other items to a few different places as well as packing up the borrowed supplies from Matthews UMC.
Our final activity (besides painting which is still ongoing) was some random acts of kindness. We had over 140 ice pops to give away to random people throughout Gloversville. One of those random people (not really, we planned it) was Mona, shown above with Briana. During Briana's visit to Gloversville in April she wrote a letter that really touched Mona's heart, it was great to allow them to meet in person.
Next up is our closing team meeting, time for affirmations, sleep for the drivers and an all-nighter for the younger generation. Prayers for safe travels are appreciated.
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