Ok so today we were chased by a herd of rabid dinosaurs, then jumped off a ten story building into a pile of sleep number beds. The dinosaurs were too scared to jump so they ran off into the humid downtown of Nashville. All of a sudden ten fighter jets crossed the sky dropping gigantic water balloons onto the ever so hot sidewalks of Nashville, causing a huge slip n’ slide to be created. Using only a small piece of rope and old slippery rugs, we gallantly rode this slip n’ slide into the sunset, ending our day with an intense game of Goldfish. And that is how our last day pretty much ended…..just kidding. J Anyways, onto the real story of our last day in the city of Nashville.
Jim’s work group opened up the Community Distribution (Giveaway) at the Martha O’Bryan Center. We brought popsicles and bubbles to entertain the children. People from all over the neighborhood came to get what they need, ranging from clothes and shoes to toys and home décor. While the most of the adults looked around, the group hung out with the neighborhood kids. From throwing a ball to blowing bubbles to pop. Jessie Kooyers, Lindsey Boes and I all had the chance to speak with two girls, both in seventh grade, they asked about mission trips and even said “ I wanna go one like all ya’ll doin. Maybe go to Mississippi, just to how its like there. I like to help people, cuz I do it here.” How crazy is that? To go down to a unknown place, come in, do what we do and even have someone consider giving back to the community because of our acts towards them. Well after we cleaned up the place and did a little beatboxing (which we are awesome at) and ending with our goodbyes, Jim’s group had enough time to take a little swim in a nearby lake. Let’s just say we miss the soft sands of Lake Michigan.
Once we got back to our campus, some people headed out to a Art in the Park, (it wasn’t as good as Holland’sJ), while some stayed. But after we got back, everyone was ready to worship. Let me tell you, that room was intense. You knew God’s presence was in there, so alive with hands in the air and heads bowing down to our amazing God. Even people, who usually don’t sing, sang. Thanks to a bigger band and louder voices, that last day of our trip was awesome.
Mark’s Blog entry
Well last night Kyle and I went for a run it was supposed to be 1 mile which ended up turning in into 6 because we got lost so yeah I can still fell it in my left calf but don’t worry Kyle is fine. And no one went looking for us at 10:45.
So today we went to Target and we got lots of toys for the DV center. We also got supplies for our backyard Olympics. We got a lot outdoor toys for the kids like scooters
Soccer balls, footballs, sidewalk chalk, and popsicles. We then went to the DV center and did some small things around the center. We then were given the big task of staining a gazebo (in a half day) this got hot and tension was building because of it but we got most of it done. The reason that we were mostly done is because of Chris who stayed during part of lunch and the backyard Olympics. Some of my not know what Backyard Olympics are games that we set up for the kids of the DV center we had different water games going because of the Tennessee sun and humidity. So we pretty much just played a few games with them and got a little wet and drank a lot of Gatorade. I thought this would not be that big of a deal to them but Jer a leader on out trip and Alli. That is was better then Christmas and the best day of their lives. That was cool to see because then all we did was play a few simple relays with them and give them some Gatorade time and the kids love every minuet of it which was cool to see that we could make that the kids happy just. The best part about is it is the “Chris” that we had found that said that and other kids. So yeah that was cool to see that a little time and Gatorade made the kids really happy. After that me and Justin got out watches stolen because we had our them out by the gazebo when we were painting it so I guess some lady picked them up. So we went back and had supper and then went to an art show which was cool. We then went to worship and had extended God Time which was cool to see. So we had no speaker so we had an extend small group time which was cool we talked about what we wanted to take home so you can ask your kid about what they said at small groups because there were some really cool things at small groups. After small groups went to Sonic and we all got drinks and after that me and Kyle went for a run but we did not get lost so that is good. So signing off Mark and Jovanska
Hi! This is Andrew blogging from our Tennessee mission trip, im very bad at blogging (and spelling) so if this is woefully short and sweet you will know why. well, I shall press on: today the guys (me, Kyle, Eric, and Lance) finished the trench we had been working on and let me tell you, it was not easy. To make matters worse it was supposed to be hotter in Tennessee then in Hati! but luckily the heat was not as intense as it was originally forecast (lets hear it for the weatherman). Anyway, the trench was finally completed after cement spills, miscalculations on the part of the “surveyors” and my cement mixing skills falling sadly short.
Meanwhile the girls got the cushy job (just kidding girls) of sorting several ton of assorted clothing and toys. considering I wasn’t there I can’t describe it too much but from what I hear it was quite a gruealing prosses. I dont know if you know this already but the clothing is for the massive distrubution that will be taking place tommorow and we are all looknig forward to it becuse it will be great fun to be with the community. The peopel here are absoutely great and are so thankful for our help. I would continue with this but my allergies are going absolutly crazy for the last day and a half and I am barely able to function and I dont really want to get snot all over the keyboard, so without further ado I hand over the computer to Alli. bye yall!
Hey everyone who’s awesome enough to read my blog post!
This is Alli by the way. And I guess I’m just supposed to tell you about my day, or something like that, so lets see how this goes….
Alrighty then, so first of all I over slept my alarm because I forgot to turn on my sound, and some of us girls missed our morning walk, which made me really sad. But then we had the girls morning devotions and we all shared our favorite verses, or ones that had really impacted us. Mine was 1 Peter 4:8, which says: “Above all, love eachother deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.” I like that verse a lot because its saying that no matter what you do you have to love everybody. And even though some people may drive you completely nuts, if you love them God can help you over look the flaws. Also it reminds me that I have to love the sinner, but hate the sin.
After that we had breakfast, but then headed off to our worksites. At our worksites I bet you have heard of us working and sorting clother in a barn. But today was my first day working in there. The rest of the week Mark and I had been working inside with a lady named Laura, in the kitchen. But it was awesome today working with the rest of the group. And we finished sorting all of it. And there was a loooooootttttttt of stuff in there. It was really really cool. During that time we also had the opportunity to play with some of the kids there. I played basketball with a little boy, and I’m not supposed to say his name, because the place is supposed to be very secret. I was playing basketball and he was shooting and I started to count, and he hit 7 in a row. I don’t think I have ever seen a kid so excited. Then we started to dance and do lots of other crazy things. I was sooo much fun! Then he wanted me to come sit by him under a tree, where I learned that him and I are both deathly afraid of spiders. Because a really big spider went up my leg and we both jumped and screamed extremely loudly. Lunch was great, we started talking about tomorrow. We are going to be running a backyard olympics for all the kids at the DV center. But you can hear all about that tomorrow from Mark.
Then we came back to the college for an awesome surprise! A group of people from Nashville that went on a mission trip last week and came to us and gave us cookies, pop, and goo goo’s. I can’t explain goo goo’s, but they are AWESOME! I really loved them. But they are only available here, so…sad. Then we went inside and hung out till dinner. Then dinner was yummy. We had burgers, and fries. Then I tried sherbert ice cream with sprite, which I recomend, cause it was really really really really really good.
After dinner comes a little more free time, then group devotions. We had a guys that come and talk who had written songs for Elvis, and many other famous music stars. Ask Jovanska about how excited about she was. That was cool. He gave us his life story and it was really powerful. Then we went to small group devotions, which is just our group from Calvary. We talked about what were going to do to keep our faith going strong once we returned home which was also extremely powerful. Which I would like to challenge you about. If your reading this you obviously love osmeone on this trip, so please keep us accountable. Ask us how we really are and don’t let us give you some pathetic little answer. Plaese keep us real and keep our high going.
I think thats about it. I am forced into my bed in 15 minutes…:P So, sorry but I was forced to shorten the ending some, because of a lack of time. If you want to hear about it more in depther you can talk to me when we get home. But I love you all, thanks for reading!
Nighty Night!!!
Love, Alli Waterway
P.S. I was really tired while writing this, so I might have left out words or mispelled words, just to let you guys know. Ok goodnight now.
Before the cement
Working on the site
Our fashion show after sorting out the clothing
this is the Dallas Frasier that talked to us tonight.
We played a lot of dress up while sorting clothes.
The beautiful final product of our barn sorting.
Hey guys, thank you very much for the prayers. We have really felt them.
Yesterday the Irish man Chris shared with him his experience coming to Christ because of a short term mission trip. His challenge was for us to try to find the Chris’ on and around our work sites. The group that I was working in really struggled with this challenge because where we were working (out in the clothing barn and in the kitchen of the DV center) was away from where the women and children were. Last night and this morning we really prayed that the Lord would show us who these Chris’ were and how we could help them.
Today was truly amazing. God really does answer prayers! But first I shall start at the beginning of the day. Our group headed out this morning into downtown Nashville to see some of the sights and then stop in at the Rescue mission. Ross was quite the taxi driver driving us all over and yet pretty much getting us nowhere. We ended up never getting out of the van but we did see some pretty cool sights including the batman tower (AT & T building), Tennessee Titans stadium, and big bridges. After driving around for awhile we went to the Nashville Rescue Mission.
At the Rescue Mission we received a tour from Nathan Peeples. Three years ago Nathan went through the rehab program for the second time and has been sober and off of drugs ever since. He is now on staff helping other people overcome their struggles. He gave us a tour of all of the facilities and programs that they have there.
At noon we went to the cafeteria to help clean up after the homeless people ate lunch. We were able to get into many conversations with the folks in the lunch room. We heard many cool stories and it was sweet to see rough people open up and talk about stuff that they generally hide. There was one gentleman who had written over seven hundred poems! He read a few to a couple of members of are group and it was phenomenal! He is hoping to get published tomorrow by a publisher that he is meeting with. There was another guy who has been laid off since December because of the auto industry and is now working whatever day jobs he can find. In about a month he is leaving to Louisville to try an find permanent work. He shared many of the struggles that he was going through and was open to anything that we said. After they ate lunch we ate and then had to leave.
In the afternoon we went back to the DV center (Domestic Violence) and continued the work from the other day. However this day we decided to make a commitment that we would find a way to find the ‘Chris’ around our work site. After working for a while four or five of us went looking for people to interact with. We found a group of women and kids that were outside smoking and playing. It was amazing because first off the people accepted us right away and talked to us. We were kind of worried about them interacting with us because we were strangers and they hadn’t really seen us work at all. But the thing that really got my attention was that the two kids that myself and a few others started playing with were both named Chris! This was soooooo awesome because we were trying and trying to find the people that needed us. I thought that it was great that when we were trying to find the ‘Chris’ at our worksite God gave us two of them that were overjoyed to hang out with us. We played football, basketball, and just talked for a while.
After the work day was done we headed on home. At night we headed to our worship meeting. We sang some great songs and had a super worship time!
That is all that I have for tonight. Your prayers are very appreciated. Please keep it up! -Benjamin Attema
Today my group and I headed out to the Martha O’Bryan Center for another great day of work. Once we got to the center, we found out that they had no power. Therefore, we were unable to work in the morning because it was raining along with thunder and lightning. Judy, the leader at the center gave us some ideas of where we could tour in downtown Nashville. So once again, we got back in the van and headed to downtown for some exploring.
It was ironic in the way that we have been talking about homeless people and how to interact with them when we come across someone who is homeless. About ten seconds after getting out of the van, a man walked up to us and he said that he had no food, and no place to stay and he asked us for some money so he could try and get himself something to eat for the day. When he walked away from us, we realized that the dollar we gave him wouldn’t be enough and we had some extra peanut butter and jelly sandwiches so we gave him two sandwiches and some chips to go along with it. We asked him what his name was and it happened to be Jim. As a group, we told Jim that we would be praying for him and he was very thankful. He told us that praying for him was all that he needed right now. This really opened not only my eyes but also the eyes of my group members. After that, we continued our tour of downtown Nashville walking down the streets and going into a couple stores.
After we were done with our tour, we went back to the Martha O’Bryand Center where we dug trenches for pipes coming from the gutters. Eventhough it was very hot outside, we knew that we were helping people and this made us want to do it not only for the people at the center but also for God. When we took breaks we talked to some of the workers at the center and they were very interested to know about us and where we came from and why we were there.
Our day at the center was very efficient even though we didn’t get to pouring the concrete which we will do tomorrow.
God has really been with us throughout the week so far and I know that he was with us today! Sometimes we don’t quite know why he has us to some of the things we do on mission trips such as digging trenches but we know that He has a plan and it will all work out in the end with the relationships with the people and the community.
Kylie Maxson
Hey everybody, just gonna say good job to my family because every other post was from one of my family members (pretty much…) Thank you so much everybody for posting we had so much fun listening to everybody’s responses! Were having fun and everyone is safe, so I would say that so far this trip has been such a great success.
Alli Waterway
P.S. I promised my brother I would give a shout out to the manly men from Mexico who wrestles giant scorpions, tarantulas, and snakes! (If you weren’t in Mexico or didn’t read the man post you will not understand this) Shout out to the MAN POST! J
Thank you to everyone for all the Happy Birthday wishes!! J
To everyone who knows Lindsay!
I am having a great time here. Our mission work I am doing is a lot of things to do with dirt. Thursday we are having a community handout and Ni Ni and I had to clean out the room of all the donations for it and it was jammed packed (like couldn’t even open the door!) I am having fun even though it is very hot and humid. They have good food…which is good for me and we are having a ton of fun. See you soon.
Love you all,
Lindsay Boes
….Hola Mama y Papi
Jovanska Alamaza
Hey Mom, Dad and Amanda,
I have had a great time here. I can hardly believe that we are half way through our week already!!! Mom, make sure you buy Amanda those car sick bracelets because she will def. need them. People were not kidding about the heat here in Nashville. I have been working out in a barn with no ac only a fan but its still fun. It is great knowing that I am able to help God carry out his plans for his people. I hope everything is going well and I can’t wait to see you when I get home.
Love,
Kelsey Bos
Dear Snyder and Baggech Family
We miss all of you a lot. How are you guys doing?? We hope that you guys have a fun time in camp. We have a really fun time in here too. We really enjoyed it a lot. Especially today I did a carpenter work which is my favorite part. Hey Mom! Just let you know that I am really working hard to made friend and I think I accomplish it. So you can say “ Mission complete Jessica, ” right? I will tell you the whole story when we get back there ok. We miss you a lot. Monica and Ni Ni are also doing very good and we all made a lot of friend. We pray for you and we love you all.
Love
Jessica and Monica and Ni Ni
Hi Mom, Dad, and Mallory,
Just wanted to say a quick hello! I hope that all is well back home, and I just wanted to let you know that we are having a great time here! It is super hot and humid but we are surviving. Today we went to the mission in Nashville and then went back to where we were working yesterday. We are cleaning out a barn that is chucked full of clothes. We are sorting and folding clothes and we did get to interact with some people today so that was fun. I hope that you are doing well. Have a great rest of the week!
Love you,
Allison
Hi Mom, Dad, McKenna, and Jaiden,
I thought I would say “Hi!” We are having a great time and it is a lot of fun! I really enjoy my work site because it involves all organization skills in order to sort the many clothes at the transition home. Hopefully you read my blog entry from yesterday to get a deeper sense of what we are doing here in Nashville. I’m having a fun time and miss you guys a lot! See you on Saturday! Love you very much!
Devin
Hey everybody, this is Kyle and Devin talking about our second day, and our first day of work. We split up into two different groups, so we’re each going to talk about our separate experiences.
Hi guys, this is Kyle and I’m going to talk about my time working at the Martha O’Brian Center. This is a center that focuses on a variety of needs that people need help with. They provide classes for all ages, ranging from cooking classes for adults, to teaching kids how to adjust from living on the streets and into society.
So anyway, when we first got there, we were given various tasks that split the groups up. Some went to go take care of weeds, some went to go clean various things, and a group went to go shovel and pile of dirt into wheelbarrows and cart them to different garden areas around the building. This is where I went to work. It was extremely humid, but everybody was working very hard. One thing that was really cool was that people that were at the center for classes and things would come up and ask us who we were, and what we were here for. It was cool to have conversations with different people and tell them about our mission. One example of this was a young boy that came up and asked if he could help us. It was great to see a complete stranger to us so eager to help.
As it got closer to lunch, a group of us took off in vans and delivered meals on wheels to older or handicapped people around the neighborhood. A lot of the people didn’t seem to want to talk to us, they just wanted their meals and that was it. However, a few of them were open to a little conversation, so that was a really good experience for us. After lunch, we finished up shoveling the dirt. It was amazing to see the difference between when we first started and the finished product (see the pictures!)
For the afternoon, we were going to start on another project. We were going to dig a trench in the ground to help the flow of water during rain so it would get to the drain instead of pooling up. We had gotten all the tools ready when suddenly, we heard a siren. There was a tornado warning! We had to pack up all the tools and sit inside. The tornado missed us, but we couldn’t go outside for a while and never got started on the trench, so we’re going to start on that tomorrow.
Well, I’ve really written a lot here, and Devin hasn’t even started yet! Sorry about that, I guess there’s just a lot to say. Alright, I’m done. Devin gets a turn now!
Hey! This is Devin, and today my group was sent to a Domestic Violence Center. This is a place for women and children to come to live in order to escape their abuse occurring within their homes. These women have gone through so much that we can not even imagine. As we walked through the center, many of the women seemed unfriendly and uncaring towards us. Once we arrived our leader from the center, gave us a brief overview the of statistics and background on domestic violence. It was so interesting, yet sad, to hear how often domestic abuse occurs and how we should interact within the center.
Once we got started, our group of 13 was split up in order to help even more people. My group was sent outside into a small barn where the mini “thrift store” was held. Many people have donated so many clothes, shoes, toys, etc. that it is amazing! We were told to organize and neaten up the barn so that the women could easily find the things they needed. I’m sure my grandma would have enjoyed some of the things inside! The lovely but wild styles were funny to see! We also had to sort the many shoes loaded inside this small shed. It was so amazing to see God working even in these tough times. So many brand new hiking and running shoes were donated! Local businesses are so generous, and it is so cool to see the affects!
However, this barn was extremely hot, and we were sweating so bad from sorting clothing. But, after lunch, as we were working away sorting baby clothing, our leader came outside and told us that is was going to storm in about 5 minutes. We could literally feel the humidity be sucked out of the air. We quickly threw all the cardboard boxes into the barn and ran inside as the rain and wind began to increase. As we got inside, sirens were blaring and people anxiously trying to get to the basement. I was one of the first to enter the basement, and it was very dark. All the women and children living in the home also were trying to get into the basement. Once everyone was in the basement, my work group was packed into the very back of the basement. By this time, some of the women, including myself, were getting very, and I mean very, worried! It seemed very scary at the time, but now it a great memory! After only about 10 minutes, we were free to go back to our “jobs.” Since my project was outside, I got to re-organize the children toy room. Finally, our day was over, and it was time to head back to campus.
In the evening, we had a great worship service, including a speaker from Ireland. He spoke on what actions we need to take in order to build relationships, not only with God, but with the community. We can impact so many people just on our actions alone and need to live every moment as if we are serving Jesus Christ. We ended this great day celebrating Kylie’s 16th birthday with delicious chocolate cake! We look forward to seeing what God has in store for the rest of this trip!
Here’s some pictures…
The dirt pile before...
...and after!
The Storm Coming In
Grandma's outfits on display
Organizing more clothes!
Kylie's Birthday Cake
This is Lance and Andrea reporting from Nashville, TN! With 25 people split between two vans, the ride was quite an adventure. It took nine of hours of sightseeing the magnificent Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. We passed 17 cops in Indiana with the Good Lord watching over us. We didn’t receive any tickets.
After being confused we finally arrived at Free Will Baptist Bible College. Everyone will get a little taste of the college life as we stay in suite style dorms. We enjoyred an excellente supper that consisted of fried chicken/chicken nuggets, french fries, mixed vegetables, and cupcakes/cookies. After supper we went down to the local Methodist Church for worship with a local Nashville band. Then Maury, who is from Nashville, introduced himself as our Mission Discovery Leader for the week. He is also going to be a speaker for a few nights during our worship services.
After our service we had free time. Some went to the gym while other played cards or relaxed. A few of the leaders went out to find the local Meijers but instead found a Krogers where we made a few necessary purchases and picked up some cake for Kylie’s birthday which is today! Check back for more information on how and what we have been doing. The interns are rotating each night for the Blog… enjoy!!
We had a great trip down here. It took just over 9 hours. Tomorrow we will give you more of a travel log and peek into our week.
Right now it is time for bed, sorry this is so short but i had a ton of troubles connecting to the internet here, then finally somehow I got lucky.
A group of 25 students and adults from Calvary are leaving Monday, June 15 to go down to Nashville, TN for a week of mission work. We are working with an organization called Mission Discovery, while we are there we will split into two groups to work. One of the group will be working at the Martha O’Brian Center and the other at a shelter. Both the groups will be doing some improvements to the facilities and working with the children who are there. One of the afternoons we will get done with the ‘normal’ work a little early and head to the local mission to help serve meals and hang out with the homeless people. Our evenings will be spent with some other churches worshiping and learning together.
Please Pray for: -travel safety -the people we will be working with -the other churches that will be there -that our students would be touched and grow in the knowledge and love for Jesus and people
List of people to pray for: – Lindsay Boes -Kelsey Bos -Justin Dykema -Alyasha Lemmen -Chris Visser -Jovanska Almanza -Jessie Kooyers -Ni Lang -Erik Lemmen -Kylie Maxson -Jessica Par -Monica Par -Alli Waterway -Ben Attema -Kyle Dykema -Andrew Dykstra -Mark Strikwerda -Devin VanDoornik -Allison Boes Jaren Flyn -Lance Jongekrijg -Andrea Rietveld -Jim Visser -Katie Schmid -Ross Graveling
Please feel free to write out your prayers!! Each day we will be sharing our experiences with you so you can pray more specifically for us and hear how our week is going.
