Blog - OneEightyOne Student Ministries

2016-07-27 Mission Indy Day 4

Posted on Jul 28, 2016 in Mission Trip, Youth Ministry |

It’s a good kind of tired. The tired that reminds you that you invested every hour and every calorie serving Jesus. I’m so proud of our team – they’re doing an amazing job! I wish you could see them in action.

This morning we continued our work projects here on the Kids Inc. campus:

repairing weather damaged wood and painting the maintenance shed
painting the main entrance to the facility
sorting clothing for the clothing ministry
more shopping for food – this team can sure eat
more trimming, weeding, and cutting all around the property
one team went to the another home to do work around a lady’s property
painting outside on various places including parking posts and bumpers

After lunch our team enjoyed about an hour of rest and free time – they’ve worked hard and earned it! After lunch we prepped for Elementary Club. Our group of kids keeps growing: Monday = 30, Tuesday = 45, Wednesday = 60. Each day is an opportunity for us to show Christ’s genuine compassion and love. The kids are enjoying music, dancing, games, snacks, crafts, and the gospel. Today 9 kids indicated that they made a significant spiritual decision, some of them for salvation! Praise God!

This evening our team had a very different experience. We went downtown to pray for and with total strangers. We set up a prayer table with a “How can we pray for you?” banner. Our 8 teams were on rotation, with about 1/4 of our group at the table throughout the evening. As we encountered people walking by we asked if we could pray for them. Many people were eager to engage in conversation and have us pray for them. While this was happening the rest of our teams were walking throughout downtown, walking up to people, and asking how we could pray for them. The opportunities were amazing, and the stories of our encounters are super cool. You’ll have to ask our students all about it when they return.

Going into our trip this prayer opportunity was one of the more challenging parts for our teens – many of the students were quite a bit nervous. It pushed them out of their comfort zones. Some of our most shy students were the most bold at engaging strangers. As we reflected on the night many of them were asking if we could either do this again tomorrow night or back in Cleveland when we get home. I’m so encouraged by how the Lord is working in and through them. I’m so proud of how they’re stepping out in faith.

Thanks for your continued prayer support!

2016-07-26 Mission Indy Day 3

Posted on Jul 27, 2016 in Mission Trip, Youth Ministry |

Another amazing Mission Indy day is in the books. It was another great day. Our mornings are filled with work projects around the Kids Inc. facility. We tackled quite a few projects before lunch, including:

Painting a girls bathroom
Trimming hedges
Weeding
Edging around the property
Doing general yard work for a disabled lady in the community
Sorting the clothing pantry
Scraping and prepping the shed for painting

During lunch the rain came, which was nice as it cooled things off a bit, but also meant we had to change plans for our afternoon projects:

We were able to continue our inside projects.
We also added cleaning their nursery and disinfecting all of their toys.
We sent a team to the hardware store to purchase supplies for some repair work on the shed, supplies to build a carpetball table, and a badly needed lawnmower for Kids Inc.

Later in the afternoon we held our Elementary Club (VBS). Today our numbers grew from 30 to 45! Our team is doing a great job. 24 of these children made a significant spiritual decision, many of them for salvation. PRAISE GOD!

In the evening we took a walking tour of downtown Indianapolis with a special stop at a local ice cream shop. The cold treat was refreshing. We ended our evening with an extended time of prayer and worship right downtown on the circle (similar to our downtown square).

I’m glad to report that our team is healthy, in good spirits, and working well together.

Thank you for your continued prayer support!

2016-07-25 Mission Indy Day 2

Posted on Jul 25, 2016 in Mission Trip, Youth Ministry |

We’re coming to the end of a very hot but productive day. We have our crew divided up into 8 separate work teams so that we can easily divide and conquer, or combine forces. This morning we:

Purchased food to feed 38+ people for half of the week (can you imagine planning, purchasing, and prepping every calorie for hard working, hungry, growing, teens for an entire week?)
Cleared, mowed, edged a recreation field that we used for our Elementary Club
Cleaned and sanitized the food pantry including cleaning out the refrigerators
Cleaned the skate park
Picked up garbage, broken glass, etc. around the entire 2+ acre property, including multiple parking lots and play grounds
Sorted and stocked nearly 300 hygiene kits that we will distribute later this week
Prepped a bathroom for painting
Prepped an walkway and entrance for painting

And all of that was before lunch!

After lunch we went throughout the immediate community to cleanup garbage and took time to pray for the community, families, schools, and the ministry of Kids Inc.

This afternoon was the kickoff to Elementary Club (their VBS). Last year we launched this for them, and they have been able to have a kids club each week throughout the year. Today we had 30+ kids on our first day, which is a great start, especially considering it was their first day of school. Elementary Club includes:

Snack (they come over hungry right after school)
Music
Recreation games
Crafts
Bible lesson
Music and Bible verse
Giveaways and games

Our team did a great job today! Please continue to pray for our safety, unity, and spiritual impact.

2016-07-24 Mission Indy Day 1.2

Posted on Jul 25, 2016 in Mission Trip, Pastor to Parent, Youth Ministry |

We made it safe and sound. It was an uneventful drive – which is what we hoped for. We’re excited for a chance to serve bright and early in the morning.