Poverty Day

Today is Poverty Day... we will be doing various activities today to help the kids to experience those with much less. One of the elements we will be adding as a team is taking away all electronic devices for those students that brought them. Just wanted to give you a heads up that the students will be unable to receive or send any texts to you parents. We will return their "stuff" to them at a time yet to be determined, but the very earliest would be tomorrow morning. They all are doing great and seem refreshed to serve another day. Praise ~ the weather seems much nicer this morning which means 1st Free should be able to do Sports Camp in the afternoon and the team at 2nd Free will be able to take the VBS kids to the park today as planned!

Pastor Bill

It is now 11 oclock and we are trying to get the kids to bed. It was another great day! I will let Stephen Husk share some of the details from his vantage point...


I'm going to be completely honest and say that I usually dont enjoy being around big groups of kids, but all this week I have found that I care for every single kid who comes through my classroom. After hearing an inspirational message on faith the night before I felt spiritually renewed. When I woke up the next day I asked God to work through me as I led the lesson for the kids. I felt nervous, unprepared, and unexperienced. But what God did through me and Ben was amazing and truly more than what I could hope for. I felt at ease with the kids and was really able to connect with them in the lesson. My heart was filled with joy when we got all the kids to shout with great big smiles on their faces "JESUS IS OUR LEADER" over and over again. I laughed as I led kids around the room in follow the leader. I was amazed when the classes most renown troublemaker asked me incredibly deep questions, and I was able to responded with wisdom that could have only come from God. But the greatest victory of the day was when the whole 6th grade class wanted our gospel bracelets. God used me to explain to these 20+ children the gospel, and then they told me how they couldn't wait to tell their friends. When I asked them later if they remembered they did! After playing with the kids all afternoon in sports camp we began poverty night. For poverty night we were put in groups of 4 and each given a quarter. We then had to complete a list of tasks with that group including things like; eat dinner, find out where we can get food stamps, collect 15 recyclable cans, etc.. Me and Nathan Ghantous sat on a street corner barefoot as I played drums on a cardboard box. (Believe me, we looked poor). We collected 3 dollars. But while we were collecting that money several things really hit me. Every mom that walked by turned their childrens faces away from us. One man stepped in our box of money laughed at us and walked off (he did not know we weren't really poor). For the rest of the night we did not get dinner. Instead we gave the money we earned to someone in need. Finally I was given a last minute notice that I had to play drums for the worship. God used me and the band in a powerful way. Every student in the room was dancing before the end of the song. Now I am getting ready for bed... after typing this for the second time because it did not save the first, ha ha. My advice, dont have courage in what you can do, but what God can do through you.

In Christ,
Stephen Husk