Days 5 and 6

The final day of VBS has come and gone L. The last day was a big day! We had a closing ceremony that the parents were invited to come see and afterwards we had a cookout for both the children and families to enjoy. The last day was bittersweet because we all have grown so close the past week with these kids and spending time with them has been so joyful. Families that were excited to leave their kids with us the first day so that they could get a rest from their craziness were, by the third day, truly invested and interested in what goes on through the ministries in Gloversville.

There can be no doubt that you can learn a lot about a place by what comes out of the mouths of children. We were grateful for their unhindered participation one moment and shocked by their outlooks on others the next. But they put everything else aside to enjoy a good time with each other. Sean particularly enjoyed interacting with one child at VBS and saw him walking up to the church yesterday with his mom and wanted to say hey. However, Sean accidentally mixed up his name and called him Sam when his name was really Max (one of those moments when you mess up the answer because of the pressure). Naturally, he played it off and called him by his correct name later but when his mom came to join for the cookout later she said, “Hey look, Sam, it’s your friend” when Sean walked by. Sean was upset at the thought that he blanked on the name of one of his special friends but he stopped to apologize for the mixup and within moments was playing around with Max climbing all over him and goofing around. When Max’s mom said it was time for them to leave for the afternoon and say goodbye, Max said, “but mom, I finally have a friend now.” All of our hearts were broken when Sean shared this story with us because of the way it reflects on the condition of relationships that we don’t get to see. Truth is, we are very glad that we could bring something so fun that it will be missed when we leave– it’s sad to miss someone but a blessing to have someone to miss– but these kids need much more than one week of love to give them an adequate idea of how much hope there is in them and just how special they truly are.

Having the families join in the cookout was an incredible thing. You could see the curiosity and interest that the parents had when watching their children sing and dance to the songs we sang all week during the closing, and when we were out using the bounce house during the cookout. It was very different from what summer camps are like at Matthews. For instance, in Matthews, you will see huge churches on almost every street corner and you will see posters and newsletters about camps churches are having for children. In Gloversville, this doesn’t happen as often and because of this parents were extremely interested in the VBS camp. I pray that the interest that the parents were showing only continues to grow and that more opportunities like this will become a regular occurrence like they are in Matthews and other places.

After we had our goodbyes with our precious new little friends, and their parents, and headed to a park with the men from Victorian Manor House for a fun game of softball! We split up into wonderfully eclectic teams with wide ranges of skill levels on the field and had a great time. The Vic Manor guys really were a united group on the field and they opened up to us all, getting to know many of us by name. We shared encouragement for every good play, laughed off every blooper, and tended to every injury (only minor injuries, thankfully). It is really wonderful to bond over physical activity and escape into the tasks of a sport, simultaneously creating bonds with those around you on the field. Softball, however, is a terrible sport for capturing facial expressions and epic moments on camera, so enjoy these pictures as we felt like decent players but looked like complete goofs.

In the space above C1 Ministries there are huge, beautiful rooms with great space for large gatherings of people, gorgeous tall ceilings, natural light, and views of the town and surrounding hills. It has been left unkempt for quite some time and would be quite an investment but it begs to be restored. It is a place that we can see hosting hundreds of people for games, fellowship, and all kinds of programs. All of Gloversville has an inherent beauty that begs to be restored. Victorian homes that take your breath away fill the community but often have boarded up windows or darkened rooms used for dark activities. In the same town children play openly in the streets and flock curiously to the church. Good and evil meet bluntly in this place and it is clear that the beauty we see in a place like this isn’t as apparent to the people who live in it every day. Landlords don’t restore their beautiful homes and to their inhabitants, they are just a place to be. But when people open up to be together in community just as themselves, empty rooms fill up, people laugh together, cry together, play together, argue together, and anything done together makes for more growth and progress than solitude and isolation.

Today we traveled to Cyndie’s mom and dad’s lake house with a group of people from One Generation. One generation is a group of wonderful, energetic, and loving youth. We got to the lake, played all sorts of games, laughed, and enjoyed the company of one another. Today was an extra special day for two, Serena and Joe, as they were baptized! As we surrounded the waters before the baptisms we sang songs praising our Heavenly Father. Serena and Joe both shared their testimonies with the entire crowd, and then were taken into the waters. In moments like these, its hard not to feel united. The Holy Spirit is so present in these moments when people publicly declare the Lord as their Savior and are welcomed into the family of Christ. We are all brothers and sisters of Christ, and in these moments it is impossible not to feel overwhelmed with joy when you are witnessing an immersion baptism of brother and a sister in Christ. It truly was an honor to be apart of the baptisms today, and to be reminded of how great our God really is.

We finished the day with hard goodbyes to our new friends as tomorrow we will be heading back to Matthews. This week truly has been a wonderful experience and we are so blessed to have been apart of it. I hope you have been able to take something new away from these daily posts, and I thank you for keeping up with us as we have gone through the week. I can only pray that the relationships that have formed over the past week continue to grow, and that God will continue to transform lives through the people here in Gloversville. The support that you have given us in preparation for this trip as well as during the trip has been incredible, and we can’t thank you enough for what you have done. We hope that, once back home, we won’t forget the things we have experienced and learned here, but that we will be able to use them in day to day life. Please continue to pray for C1, the community of Gloversville, and Donn and Cyndie. The Lord is a great God, and He is moving here. We are already counting down until next summer’s trip, and to reunite with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

A Great Day 4 VBS

Our second day of VBS was full of smiles and lots of fun! We had twelve more new kids join us today, which was fantastic! Depending on the age of the new children, some groups had doubled in size. Tomorrow will be the last day of VBS, and as a whole we are all sad to see this camp come to an end. However, tomorrow will be a very busy and exciting day as we will have a closing ceremony, joined by parents, a bounce house and lots of food! 

One of the most significant parts for us as a group was seeing the children come into camp today. Yesterday, some children were too afraid to leave their parents and took a lot more encouragement to get them to join in. Today, on the other hand, was different. Children came sprinting in the doors with smiles on their faces, couldn't wait to get their name tags, and to reunite with their group! We couldn't believe the switch that some kids were showing today. The energy levels were very high and the camp overall ran smoothly. In stations today: kids served one another and washed each other's feet, made picture frames, and went nuts over some parachute games. Everyone at camp has clicked with at least one volunteer and has at least one other friend from among the kids and the sense of community has really grown.

After VBS, a group of our volunteers split off to go hand out more flyers for the VBS and next week's soccer camp and a mother of two VBS campers was driving by and stopped the car to tell us that her kids had not been able to stop talking about the fun they had and that, as a family, they all intended to go attend Free United Methodist Church and even get baptized. It is truly amazing how enjoying activities and games and being silly with children can really open doors and break down walls to unite a whole town and we get to witness it here. Our attention and devotion for these kids is just a good way for so many of us to goof around and have a great time but it is such a statement of hope in this community that we would even consider spending time here at all. Please pray that this family will continue this revival into a deep relationship with Christ.

Tonight we had the incredible opportunity to spend time with the men from the Victorian Manor House, which is a halfway house, at the C1 ministry. One of the men, Andre, has made huge steps in his faith over the past seven months (he became involved in the C1 ministry in January) and has been preparing for weeks for tonight. He shared his testimony with a room full of the men he lives with everyday, and complete strangers (us). It was a very powerful story of his journey through a young adulthood in prison and a long struggle to overcome a criminal culture and lifestyle. He sang for us a song that he heard in prison about committing to the Lord and the whole room joined in on this new song with him. It was very clear that it took a long time for Andre to build the courage to share all that he did; that he was nervous about the mixed receptions of the crowd; and that it was a big step out onto a limb to share and sing a new song with a crowd of strangers. Our comfortable group of friends was very moved by his strength and encouraged by his perseverance along his journey in life. After his testimony, we spend time hanging out with the men. Frieda had a special conversation with a young man at C1 this evening that reached such an extraordinary level of comfort that he asked to pray with her and the two of them enjoyed multi-generational communion with the Lord in a crowded room of loud people. These are the moments that make all the difference in us as the visitors and we thank God for every one of them.

Tomorrow will be a big  and exciting day with the closing of camp and a softball game with the Victorian Manor House men. Please continue to pray for the community here and for our team to continue to let God work through us. Pray also for the Victorian Manor guys, as they are such an eclectic group of guys living and struggling together in very close quarters. We can't wait to have some simple fun playing games with them as a group and giving them some real time. Some of us have looked forward to this particular softball game for a whole year. Thanks for reading and praying for us. See you tomorrow!

Untamed Fun

The first day of Gloversville 2014 VBS has come and gone. While places like Matthews regularly host several hundred people, we had no idea how many kids would show up and, when about 30 did, we had a blast with all of them. There is still no telling how many kids will come again tomorrow and how many new kids could show up but it is clear that playing with kids is the most joyful part of everyone's day here so bring it on.

At VBS we split up into 3 groups and had stations for Bible Adventure, Untamed Games, and Imagination Station. Kids went nuts over the pizza and ice cream provided for lunch, danced, played games, saw the VBS program skit and really opened up to our volunteers. The theme for VBS is "Weird Animals".  This is the very first VBS that the C1 ministry has ever done, which is both exciting and a little nerve wracking for the children. As children began to arrive to camp some were excited, some were extremely excited, and others were more shy. Our goal is to include the children in as many activities as possible, and to love on them the way Jesus would. In multiple cases, crew leaders had a few children that were completely terrified and too shy to dance, sing, and be crazy with the rest of the group. However, some of the most rewarding parts of my day, as well as other crew leaders, were when the shy children came out of their shells and LOVED camp. By the end of the day we had all the kids talking and hanging out with each other as well as actively participating in the different stations. It was AWESOME! I think that we are all very excited to reunite with our children tomorrow for the second day of VBS, and we hope that the children will tell their friends and invite them to come. We had the honor today of having a lovely group of people join us for VBS from the Lexington group. The Lexington group is a local ministry for adults with special needs. For some of us, special needs holds a very special place in our hearts and to have the Lexington group join us today was a huge blessing.

For the remainder of the day we went out in groups around Gloversville and passed out flyers, making people aware of the VBS activities going on this week and the soccer clinic C1 will host next week and encouraged kids to come enjoy games, activities, and food for free. It was amazing how approachable and receptive so many of the kids were on the streets. We also split into groups with some local folks to go on a prayer walk around the town, which is always powerful. We are still processing the huge wealth gap that exists between some of the "haves" and the "have-nots" and that constructs considerable walls between groups of people in the community. Some in the town were very receptive of the prayers we offered them and many stayed shut in their dark houses. It is still very true that Gloversville is a place of extreme need and equally extreme potential. On mission trips it is much easier to energize a group of lethargic people than to have a good time when no one comes out to join. But if the people we HAVE met from Gloversville are any indication of the complexity of life and ability to feel God's true love, then there is immense hope for Gloversville hiding behind many closed doors. Our prayer today is that many of those doors will be opened by the children of the community and that one day the whole town will see the love of God pouring forth to combat the chains and walls that prevent joyful fellowship. We pray, more than anything, that a simple statement of hope like a first-annual VBS will eventually translate into a sense of faithful community among people who remain here all year.

Tomorrow will be another full day of VBS fun and games, outreach to the community, and some fellowship with a local halfway house and we could not be more excited! Please continue to pray for the relationships being formed here in gloversville as well as the community as a whole to grow in faith. Also, please pray for VBS as we hope that more children will come to camp tomorrow and Wednesday. We cannot thank you enough for the support that you have been given us in prayer! God is moving here, and we cannot wait to see what is in store for the rest of the week.

Sunday: Praise You in the Storm

Day Two!

Today was an awesome day full of activities and fun!
Today's tasks: Lead the worship service at Gloversville Free Methodist Church, host a family fun Day Carnival after the service, and prepare for tomorrow's VBS.

This morning something incredible happened. We woke up during a thunderstorm. As we drove to the church, discussing our options for the big event of the day; the family fun carnival, which was planned to take place outside, we began to feel slightly discouraged due to the fact that it was supposed to continue raining all day. As we arrived to the church in the pouring rain, we began to change some of our plans. Of course this was a little upsetting, due to the fact that church attendance was probably going to be lacking on a chilly, rainy Sunday morning and we wanted to have the family fun carnival reach as much of the community as possible. We all circled up outside of the church with Donn and Cyndie and discussed how we couldn't let the rain bring down our spirits. During a storm in our lives it's often easy to become discouraged and give up on things that we are striving for. Satan often tries to disrupt God's plan like he was trying to do this morning. However, we circled up and prayed to God to give us the energy and strength to continue moving forward and for the rain to disappear. After, we went into the service and worshipped our Heavenly Father in song, and sure enough right after that, the rain stopped and the sun came out! We were able to set up all activities outside and have a blast with the church members as well as other people from the community. It was incredible! I think that God has shown us the power of prayer today. When you are striving to do what God is calling for you, nothing can stop you if you simply believe that He will provide, and He always will. The turn out was great for this small church, and the families had a lovely time as well as the rest of the team.

Worship lead by our praise team

Younger children's Sunday school

Older children's Sunday school

Face painting

Cake eating contest

So much cake

The sun is here, yay!

It turns out that, while Gloversville is a very different place from Matthews and faces very different struggles, some things remain constant everywhere: young children are adorable, teens show both their abilities to have fun and demonstrate maturity, and everything we do is only fun because of the relationships we get to build with those who share in the activities with us. We are off to a quick start getting immersed in this community through today's church activities, but the real fellowship of community happens in the days other than Sunday and we know that there are people waiting to meet us who know a life very different than ours and we pray that God will make us open to new understandings of life through those people. Pray that we may somehow gain special access into the lives of this community through fun, games, music, and stories shared among the children and adults that show up for our Vacation Bible School.