Mission Waco 2013 Slideshow

Mission Waco - Day 4

We had an incredible time at Mission Waco!  Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support for our team!  Check out the Day 4 pictures and our "Harlem Shake" video below!

Departure Time

We are departing from Waco at 1:15. 

Estimated time to:

Rockwall Campus: 1 hour, 50 minutes

Firewheel Campus: 1 hour, 50 minutes

Town East Campus: 1 hour, 36 minutes

We look forward to seeing you soon!

I can't believe it...

I can’t believe that our trip is almost over!  After all of the months of preparation, training, and fund raising, it doesn’t seem like it could all go by this fast.  I was so proud of our group today as they finished the work we had come to do.  They finished strong!  We started the day off with some team building games and a game similar to monopoly that simulates poverty.  The kids had a great discussion about what contributes to poverty and the tough situations people who are under-resourced can find themselves in.  It was quite eye opening!

This morning and afternoon we did some more mission projects, including:  nursing home ministry, painting, cleaning, and bus detailing.  We also took some time to rest and play in the afternoon and enjoyed a movie tonight.  It was a much-deserved break! 

 Throughout the trip, we have had many amazing experiences and have seen God work in great ways!  Here are just a few “God” moments:

- A man at the nursing home told one of our teams that his Bible had been taken and he had no way to ready God’s word.  They were able to get him a Bible and he was SO excited!

- Some of our kids were able to play Basketball with some children in the neighborhood after they finished their work.  They did a great job of building relationships and sharing with the kids why they were here.

- A couple in the nursing home have been separated from their grandchildren because of a move – they told us how much they had been blessed by having “grandkids” for two days in a row.

- A man that we met yesterday (Jimmy) told us that he does not “do the church thing.”  However, today, he joined our kids in a church service at the nursing home.  Hopefully, it will be the first of many. 

- Our kids did cleaning, painting, or manual labor at 8 facilities owned by Mission Waco and utilized to do ministry work.  Some of these buildings were in great need of TLC and they are now better tools for the Mission Waco team to use. 

These are just a few of the MANY stories we have – please ask the kids you know who came to tell you stories of their trip! Our lives have truly been changed and we are so thankful that God has chosen us to be blessed by this experience.  We will load up our luggage and go to Church Under the Bridge (it is literally under the interstate) tomorrow.  They expect the church service to run long, which means we may be late getting back.  I will send an email and post on the blog to let you know what time we leave Waco.  Please pray for safe travel and an incredible morning of worship.  Enjoy the photos below from today!! 

 - Pastor Trent 

Wow! What an impact a group of 4th and 5th graders can make!   We had another amazing day at Mission Waco and were able to fully immerse ourselves in ministry to this community.  Our kids (and adults) worked really hard and did a great job!

The morning started off with breakfast at "The Rock" and a devotional given by Jimmy Dorrell, founder of Mission Waco.  Jimmy shared some amazing stories about how Mission Waco has been able to take part in meeting the needs of the underprivileged in this community and around the world in the last 30 years. I wish you could hear him talk about the plight of thousands of kids around the world who die due to lack of nourishment and what we can do to help them.  He challenged our kids to be the hands and feet of Jesus to this community - following the example of how Jesus interacted with the poor and sick.

After the inspiring message, we headed off to our morning mission projects.  Several of the groups served in nursing homes, visiting residents, making crafts, and playing games.  The residents loved the interaction and our kids did a great job.  Other groups did cleaning projects, weeded flower beds, and scrubbed sidewalks.  We went intending to bless others, but found that the blessing we received was much larger than anything we could have given.

After our morning missions projects, we took some time to rest and enjoy a mashed potato bar for lunch.  The weather was beautiful and the kids enjoyed playing outside.  Before we knew it, it was time for afternoon mission projects, which included flyer distribution, cleaning at My Brother's Keeper (homeless shelter), The Myers Center (Community services center), the Jubilee theater, the Missions Mobilization Center, and a community park.  These are all well used facilities owned by Mission Waco for ministry that do not regularly get cleaned - the buildings all needed some TLC and they looked (and smelled) different when we left.  We will continue work in these places tomorrow.  One of the groups also did some shopping for Mission Waco and assembled yummy snacks for the rest of the groups and delivered them to us.

This evening after dinner, the boys went swimming and the girls went to chapel at My Brother's Keeper.  Melissa Shaw shared a message from God's word and the girls got to know the men and women staying at the shelter tonight.  They did a great job and made some new connections.  Hopefully, we will see some of these people again at Church Under the Bridge.

Thank you so much for praying for us! We feel you prayers.  Please continue to pray for us.  Pray especially for strength and endurance for everyone tomorrow afternoon - we work hard all day, and sometimes it is hard to keep going on the last mission project. Please enjoy some pictures from today below: