Every year, the youth of Sagemont Church do a mission trip. typically they GO somewhere, Brownsville, California, Galveston even.. and do mission work somewhere. This year, they decided “why go somewhere? there are plenty of opportunities in our OWN community.” so, Wes, our education minister put together 21 projects total for our students. it was very cool!!!
Day 1:
we ended up in San Leon.. down by my grandmother’s house. there was a widow lady who is not a member of our church, and she was in need of having her yard taken care of. she had overgrown trees, bushes, oleanders, etc. she needed a dilapidated shed removed, as well as an unsafe back porch. all of the wood was chipped and turned into mulch. aric (in the red) and i both ended up with killer sinus infections. he being smarter than i ended up in the ER one nite from his.. and i struggled through mine for two weeks for fear of taking antibiotics while being pregnant.
Day 2:
was started out by playing with the kids of a community center across the street from our youth building. these kids were so blessed by our students. their parents have to qualify for this care because it is super cheap. like, almost unheard of how cheap it is. however, the sacrifice is great. their kids are in this tiny building with virtually no toys, less than 10 books and a few balls. they have a soccer/baseball field and a kickball/basketball field.. and that is how they occupy their time in the mornings and evenings before the heat gets too intense.
my kids are spoiled with luxury, i know this. but it really saddened me to see so little around these children to inspire them creatively, eductionally, etc. they are definitely creative with their little minds. they make up many games with the few balls and the parachute they have.
after our students played with them each morning, they were taken across the street to play with the youth and to have a snack that had been prepared for them.
interactive songs were sung..
interactive bible stories.. this day was about Creation.
Then, our youth hosted a block party in a local apartment complex. there were carnival games, balloon animals, face painting, two craft booths, hot dogs, chips and drinks. oh yeah, also a moonwalk for the kids to jump in. did i mention it was about 95 degrees every day.. and we stayed in the sun the entire time.
This picture cracks me up on SO many levels. showing JUST how competitive my friend wes is.. while my buddy big dan hangs out on the phone.. playing the exact same game.. LOL
David and Goliath was reenacted for the children. it was quite hilarious!!
Day 3:
we went to Dobie High school and fed the staff and student of summer school breakfast. that was an EARLY morning.. LOL
Then, my group went to Forgotten Angels, an adult dayhab in Pearland that has a facility for special need adults to spend their days. most of the adults here live in foster care or in government group homes. there were some amazing people there.
in the black is an instructer from the YMCA that volunteers his time to get everyone exercising with aerobics and with kickboxing. they REALLY enjoy their kickboxing.. LOL
This guy is Trey, definitely one of the coolest kids there!!!
and this was Konrad. he was so interesting. he can tell you the capital of EVERY country, he is quite the painter.. and he introduced me to a new flavor of progresso soup i had not had yet.. but smelled yummy. i went out and bought two cans the next week..
this was Konrad’s painting. he did a cityscape.. and his billboard had a cross on it. i LOVED it!
then, some students decided to challenge them to a little basketball. Trey made it in the net on his first try.. more than i can say for some of the other students.. LOL
Day 4:
day 4 is an interesting day. we were all tired.. having been going strong for 3 previous days from sunup to way into the hours of sundown. well, when word got out that Sagemont church was distributing gas cards, the line was intense before the police were there.. wes was yelled out by the recipients of free gas.. and our amazing students would not let any of the chaos break their spirits. they continued to show Gods love in tangible ways.
Jason brought his son and put him to work immediately..
Paul Dean even showed up for this. you know we are cool when the cool guy shows up!!! LOL
The big E was spent. he was soo tired.. LOL
Miss Aleina showed up.. we hadnt seen her in ages.
Our new student minister being interviewed. http://www.sagemontchurch.org/multimedia/reallife/RL048.htm
check it out.. the first 6 minutes and 15 seconds are all about the mission trip. you can see how awesome it was for yourself!!!
afterwards, everyone got all dressed up and we headed to a Senior Living Facility and hosted a SENIOR PROM. it was VERY well received.
yes, high schoolers that recognize this man. he IS your math teacher at Dobie High School.. he can get down!!!!
Senior adults were popping up out of those wheel chairs at the opportunity to dance.
i set my camera down to dance with this man at some point.. and someone grabbed my camera to snap a few.. but darn it if i just cannot seem to find those pictures to post. a girl with no rhythm attempting to dance.. LOL
anyway.. hope you check out the tv show.
and while you are at it.. i dont attend our regular service with our Senior Pastor preaching. I have been attending the Awaken service for almost a year now instead.. and if you dont leave feeling like the Word of God has just been spoken to YOU individually, you need to clean out your ears. Here are some incredible sermons given by our awesome Russell Cravens.. check him out!
http://www.sagemontchurch.org/multimedia/awaken.htm
So, is that baby...
-e
