Update

Hi guys...
So yesterday was fun packed at Six Flags! We didn't get back in until late and I didn't get to bed until after 1am so I couldn't post another blog. This morning we are headed to church for the morning service and then packing the bus and heading home!!!!! I know y'all are ready to see your kids :) I will finish updating about the last several days once I am back home and I still have a couple hundred pics to get uploaded to Facebook as well so be looking for those later Monday or
Tuesday ;)
We will see y'all soon!!!!!!!

Day 7

Good evening…

What an incredible day we have had! The church has been incredible feeding us both breakfast and dinner every day. We meet at the church early in the mornings and eat breakfast together then we change into our ministry clothes and load up the bus to head to our morning locations.

So let me start with Thursday morning ministry...we were at North Fort Worth Baptist Church and we performed in the gymnasium. It was for a group of 2-5 year olds so ministry was a little different because we had to adjust the line up to the age group. But they loved the Gospel According To Disney skit. It was fun to see them laugh and get excited when they heard the lion king portion. 

After ministry time we went across the street to Rosa’s Café…it was incredible Mexican food…so yummy! Everyone did great and was so well mannered, they helped with clean up and were ready to hit the road back to the church…with one little pit stop on the way J But before we could do that…would you believe the crowd called an audible for another Starbucks run?!? When the bus stops, if Starbucks is within walking distance…you can be assured certain individuals are walking over to get their daily fix…LOL! I don’t drink coffee, so Pastor Allen and I keep trying to demand we go somewhere within walking distance of a Krispy Kreme…apparently that ain’t happening!!! LOL

Anyway, back to our pit stop…we had to go deliver the love offering to Mrs. Shirley…so we stopped back by Taco Bueno by she had already left for the day. So we called the cell number she left us and asked her to meet us at the bus…we waited in the WalMart parking lot and told her to look for the huge black bus! She pulled up and we invited her on the bus…when she walked on she said “it’s been a long time since I’ve been on a bus” LOL…she said she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about us since yesterday J We explained that we couldn’t stop thinking of her either and that we had gathered a love offering for her of $500…she burst into tears and said I need new glasses, I can’t see anything with these and I have the prescription but no money for the glasses, I’ve been praying I could buy some. Of course, we all prayed over her and she shared some of her stories and a testimony too…such a neat lady!!! Turns out that Shirley’s last name is Binion… Pastor Denisa said she knew some Binions and Shirley said David & Nicole, that’s my nephew? Yep that’s them…they are worship pastors who have been to Oasis to help with SOAK nights before J WHAT are the chances of that??? If you think God doesn’t care about His people…let me just tell ya that God just drove a huge bus full of kids from Nashville, who knew some folks that have sewn into the Oasis and they just happen to have an Aunt in Texas, who just happened to be working at the Taco Bueno when we decided to eat lunch and that little lady just happened to need some help. NOT a coincidence! That was a God moment! A divine appointment!!! We may not have known Shirley but God did and He heard her prayers and He sent us to be obedient and show her how much He loves her!!!

Whew…ok, I am crying again just typing all that…God is so cool! Ok, Ok…back to Thursday…so we got back to the church and the spirit of God was still so strong that Pastor Denisa decided to have the kids do their devos and journaling in the sanctuary…well, that broke out in full blown spontaneous anointing service! The kids started praying to receive their prayer language and when the first one got it they began laying hands on each other…HOLY MOLY! That led to 9 kids…yes, NINE kids receiving their prayer language!!! AMAZING!!! My sweet daughter was one of them Pastor Denisa grabbed her hands and they started jumping up and down…oh man, here I go again…more tears!!! If you have never heard a room full of young people praying in tonques…let me just tell you that it will wreck you…just wreck you and waterproof mascara is a joke, LOL!!! It’s so overwhelming! The power is incredible!!!

So after all that we had VBS Thursday night and at the end when the PEAK kids did the altar call they asked for kids who wanted to be filled with the Holy Spirit to come up and make a circle. Tons of kids came up and the PEAK kids circled around them and began praying!!! Amazing…again! WOW

Speaking of VBS...here are some pics of one of the groups that Jaime, Miranda, Faith & I have been teaching the worship song and dance moves to. LOVE these kids! These were the 5th & 6th grade group...

After VBS clean-up we headed inside and grabbed dinner that Mrs. Maria from the church had prepared for us...she made mexican food and it was awesome! She made everything from scratch…tacos, beans & rice…she even put white tablecloths and fresh flowers on each table along with chips and salsa…so good!!! Every one headed to their host homes after dinner…our earliest night so far…10:30pm :)

More to come…

Days 5 & 6

Hello...

I don’t really know where to start…there is so much to tell you all! The last couple days have been extremely busy and I have hardly had a minute of down time…internet is definitely not friend this week…LOL! I have a terrible time trying to upload pics to Facebook and get posts on the blog. We have been ministering both in the morning and the evenings plus helping with VBS setup every day…keeps us pretty busy! Remember last year when I told you about the “age renewal, anti wrinkle, miracle eye cream” that was supposed to take away all the eye bags and how it really didn’t work…Yeah, well…suffice it to say…this year’s version ain’t working either…LOL my eye bags have bags…heehee! But it is so worth it!!! (Just don’t laugh at my pictures when it looks like I am 60 years old ;) 

So Tuesday we had a unique first time PEAK opportunity!!! We had to minster in two places at the SAME time…it was a challenge but we split the team into two groups and were able to send one team to each location. It took hours of practicing to learn how to change the dances for smaller groups…BUT the team did it and they rocked it! We were ministering at local churches which house a ministry called Community Storehouse and they feed neighborhood kids in a program called Warm Tummies. What a blessing to meet those kids and their families. The prayer time at this location was amazing! The PEAK kids prayed for all kinds of needs and two young boys (probably 12-13 years old) gave their life to Jesus!!!

  After ministry time we met up for lunch at Five Guys Burgers…YUMMO and then we headed back to the church for a time of devos and journaling. Then it was time for VBS again…the kids are performing but also helping out every night with snacks, games, crafts and even choir class. They are doing an amazing job!!! Prayer time at VBS has consistently been awesome…kids are getting saved every night and tons of prayers are going up for the needs of the little ones as they come forward during the prayer time. So cool!!!

Wednesday we went to a daycare program called Horizon Kids and we were able to minister to a group of young kids and it was just precious! The prayer time was the best!!! Those kids were so cute and they all me to take their pictures and it just melted my heart! It was a very small location so that presented another challenge for us…but guess what? Since we had divided the teams the day before we were already prepared to make the changes for a smaller team…is God cool or what?!?  

 

So let’s talk about lunch on Wednesday, shall we? Here’s the scoop…we decided to go to Wendy’s for lunch, followed the directions and when we got there Wendy’s was under construction so we had to pick another place…we gave the kids a choice, Mcdonald’s or Taco Bueno…Taco Bueno won hands down and so we did our usual…send one person in, see if they can handle a group of 33 and then unload the bus! We get inside and there is this sweet little older lady named Shirley who has decided that she is gonna be the one to take all our orders. Now, let me preface by saying if you have never went to fast food joint with 33 people on one ticket…it is kinda organized chaos! We have a system but still it can be very overwhelming to the person having to take the orders…LOL!  Anyway, Shirley…well, she is calm as a cucumber…and everything came out perfectly and quickly. So we eat…delicious by the way…and as we are cleaning up, Shirley comes over and asks my table how it was…she says she decided to take care of us because all those young folks get to “flusterated” to handle crowds…heehee! So sweet! Then we head out...most everyone had already left the building for the bus except for Pastor Denisa and a few ladies…so they start chatting with Shirley and find out that she is working two jobs to pay the bills…her husband was pastor but had passed away and she was trying to support her family…she has 6 children and 21 great grandchildren…holy moly! Well…of course they break into prayer right there in the restaurant…Pastor Denisa gets back on the bus and tells us the story...immediately we knew we had to do something! So we told the kids we were gonna take up a love offering and take it to Shirley the next day…we told them they could give or not give, it was completely up to them and they could contribute any amount they felt God told them to give. We no more made it off the bus and every one of the kids and adults came to me to give their contributions…GET THIS…$500!!! YES, FIVE HUNDRED dollars was collected in a matter of a couple hours for this sweet lady! AMAZING!!! We are taking the money to her today…I’ll update on that in another post ;) But HELLO!!! Your kids are awesome!!!

Back to the church for devos and journaling and then VBS setup again, but on the way a quick stop at the 7-11 for FREE Slurpee Day! Of course, the adults hit up the local Starbucks instead…LOL!

 The kids went into the neighborhoods again to hang door hanger invites for VBS then Wednesday night brought us another amazing night of VBS and the highlight of the night was the “Dancing Bears”! Oh. My. Word! Mr. Kristian and Mr. Jeremy dressed up as dancing bears and boy did they deliver…LOL! They are quite the pair…those two. Ka-Ray-ZEEEE!!! But the kids absolutely loved it and that is all that matters….LOL!

Poor Mrs. Nicole has been busy keeping everyone healthy and iced, bandaged, bengayed and allergy/asthma free…she is such a trooper! So much dancing provides lots of Nurse Nicole calls…LOL! We let her catch a break every now and then and when we do she loves to dance with the kids ;)

Jaime, Faith, Miranda and me have been teaching the choir class every night…4 classes of a worship song and then teaching the kids the movements to the song…let’s just say, I just might have finally broken out of my “I am way to white to groove like that” phase…LOL! These kids keep ya on your toes and it has been so fun to groove with them night after night!

Your kids are absolutely amazing as always!!! NEVER complaining about ANYTHING! Always ready to do what is asked and always ready on time and on their A-Game every single day!!! LOVE THEM!!! And some of them are absolutely hilarious, such funny personalities…they keep me laughing!!!

So, Thursday will be ministry in the morning and VBS at night, Friday is ministry at the water park in the morning and VBS at night then Saturday is Six Flags fun day and Sunday is ministry in the morning and then headed home!!!

So much more to come…

Until then…

Angel

Days 3 & 4

Hello from Roanoke, Texas :) We got here late last night and got everyone settled into their host homes in the wee hours of the morning. I have taken hundreds of pictures so I will be uploading them into an album on Facebook just as soon as I can, but internet has been sparse and today is the first day I have had a connection to even be able to update.

We had a great day of ministry and travel yesterday...We started our day off at Cornerstone Church in OK doing two of their children's services. They both went really great! After services were done the church provided a wonderful lunch for us...pizza, salad and dessert. Once we finished up lunch the team headed into a prayer anointing service. Pastor Denisa prayed over and anointed each and every one of the people on the team. Jaime and I (bus drivers) took the opportunity to catch an hour long nap during while at the church...sleep is few and far between for us so catching whenever we can is crucial :)
At the end of the day we loaded the bus up and headed toward Roanoke...making a stop in Norman, OK for dinner. At the request of Pastor Allen we stopped at Hideaway Pizza right by the OK University, he said it was favorite and he couldn't pass by without getting a hideaway fix...man, it was seriously the BEST pizza I have ever had! The kids enjoyed the break off the bus and they really enjoyed their pizza! LOL

We arrived in Roanoke late...I think it was around 11pm...we got everyone unloaded and off to their host homes. We had a few setbacks...one of the homes didn't have A/C so we had to move those girls to a new home this morning and another home had cats so we had a few allergy issues so those kids got moved around too...but all in all everyone is doing great and really enjoying getting to know their host families...I hear one of the moms has been making some killer food...I may just have to go check that out, LOL!
Please pray for the health of the team...we have a couple team members come down with what appears to be a stomach bug...throwing up and nauseated. It only seems to last about 24 hours but we want everyone to be healthy and operating at 100%, so prayers are greatly appreciated!!!
Today we had a call time of 8:30am for breakfast at New Day Church where we are ministering. After breakfast we headed out to some ministry at a children's daycare center...Lighthouse Christian...it was a wonderful time and the kids did amazing as always. The center had kids aged K-6th grade...it was really a moving time to see not only the kids hearts touched but also the adult workers...one lady said she was so moved by the dramas and dances and it was exactly what she needed at that time :) When we left the center we went over to Chikfila and had lunch...YUM! From there we headed back to the church where the kids packed up door hangers with a VBS invite and some candy...they then went through the neighborhoods and were able to hang over 400 invites!!! They came back to the church changed clothes again and started preparing for VBS...around 5:30pm kids started arriving and each one was fed dinner by the church and then taken into VBS to watch a super cool production of Madagascar Circus...it was complete with a couple of PEAK team members and New Day teens dressed up as Alex the lion, Gloria the hippo, Melman the giraffe and Marty the zebra ;) too funny! We had about 80 kids here tonight...it was great experience as the kids rotated through crafts, games and choir practice...Jaime and I taught the kids a worship song and they will sing for their parents on Sunday at the conclusion of VBS. There was a great alter time and lots of kids raised their hands to accept Jesus into their hearts. It is so awesome to see the PEAK kids praying for the kids and adults that come up for prayer!!! So amazing!

After VBS we did tear down and all the kids gathered trash and made sure the grounds were neat and in order. Then it was onto dinner provided by the church...fried chicken, potato salad and macaroni salad with a chocolate chip cookie. Then we had to practice some skits for tomorrow and so it was after midnight before we made it back into our host homes tonight...I know everyone is looking forward to a good nights sleep!
Today we head to some community store houses for ministry time...I will update more later.
Until then...
Angel

Day 2 - Tulsa & Oklahoma City

Greetings from Oklahoma City, OK...last night we made it safely to Little Rock, AR and stayed the night in a great hotel...we got to bed around 2am and had a breakfast call time of 7:30am. After breakfast we headed out to Tulsa and arrived there around 2pm...we stopped at a wonderful burger joint known as Bill's Jumbo Burgers...it is world famous and let me tell ya the burgers were HUGE! So good but so big!!! After a time of visiting an eating we headed out for Oklahoma City and arrived safely at Cornerstone Church around 5pm. The kids did a time of training with another group of young kids from Cornerstone. It was really awesome! And afterwards the cornerstone kids bless us by showing us one of their dances...so cool! The church provided an amazing dinner and desserts for us :) While at the church we prayed together as a group for the services tomorrow and we got a phone call that the church we are head to tomorrow is experiencing a terrible wind storm and so we prayed specifically that God would calm the wind and make it so there are no hindrances for ministry! Please pray with us... The kids got to go one of the host homes tonight and enjoying quick swim in their pool before we all headed off to our host homes for the night...a treat that all welcome ;) We are all exhausted and ready for some shut eye...hopefully I will be able to update again tomorrow...I'll try to upload some pictures then, I can't seem to do it tonight..so sorry. Until tomorrow... Angel

Today is the day!!!

WOW! It's hard to believe it is already July 6th! Today we leave for the mission trip and is typical for me I am filled with both nervous anticipation and anxiousness. I am so excited about this trip and what God has in store for everyone going and for everyone whom we will get to minister to...but at the same time I am nervous about leaving my baby boy for 10 days and am praying that my parents don't have any major health problems while I am gone. They are taking care of Jaeden while we are gone and I know that will be a handful, LOL! Kristian and Faith are way more prepared and ready to leave than I am...Faith has been ready for a few days...she could hardly sleep last night, she is so excited ;) The mama in me is just still running down the to-do list and making sure everything is done and taken care of for the next ten days...I'll be much more at ease once we leave that church parking lot...LOL!

So much has been going on since I last wrote...I did pass all my exams for the CDL license, so I officially have my CDL permit and will the back up driver for the trip :) It's been a very busy month and a half, to say the least and to be honest I can't believe today is the day!!! Time flies...

We will be meeting at the church at 6pm to pack the bus and load up to leave...probably around 7-7:30pm. We will be driving to Little Rock, AR and staying the night there..really the morning since we won't get there until around 1-2am ;) we will then head out tomorrow morning for Oklahoma City, OK and we will stay a few days there and then head down to Texas! Provided I can find internet service I will be updating the blog, I hope (fingers crossed), everyday! Stay tuned for updates :)

Please continue to pray for us all, specifically today...pray for safe travels and that God's hand will be on us for protection and provision.

I leave you with some pics and a video of the ice breaker skit that the guy counselors are doing this year...so funny! The last one is the video... ENJOY :)

Until next time...
Angel