Grand Finale

The days left on the Team Central calendar may be winding down...but the ministry opportunities and long days most certainly are not! Friday was our last full day of ministry as an OB 2009 team and it was jam packed with opportunities, prayer and the sharing of our faith. It is evident that the students have grown more like Christ this summer and are leaving an impact on the churches and communities they have visited. God has done an amazing work in their lives and they are overflowing with joy while serving and loving.

Through an unforeseen chain of confusing events, the morning started off quite hectic. All 34 of us were challenged to practice patience...we are all being refined as we aim to become more like Christ. Patience is one of those virtues that seems to require a lot of practice...and God gave us the perfect opportunity this morning. After we finally hit the road, the students were delightfully surprised with breakfast at McDonalds. Amanda was able to sit and eat with a woman she had met during lunch at Wendy's the day before...how awesome is that?? The chance to make TWO connections with the same lady and share the love of Christ...SO awesome! Team Central students sat and visited with every single person in the restaurant...way to go guys!

After arriving at Ellet GBC, we quickly jumped into ministry. With a program and ice cream party (YUM!) coming at 7pm, the students broke into groups and canvassed the 600 homes in the neighborhood with flyers, continuously praying that God would be glorified and people needing Christ would come to the program. We then hopped over to a local senior housing apartment complex to be an encouragement to the residents. Our choir was beautiful, our skits were hilarious, our puppets were energetic and our testimonies were powerful...but most importantly our conversations were glorifying to the Lord. The students shared their faith and prayed with the residents...and received extremely positive feedback. God is definitely at work in the hearts of the residents and we were thankful to have been a part of that!

The afternoon brought some more manual labor...in the form of window washing at local communities, picking up trash, running a car wash and passing out more flyers. Andrew, Jade, Cody and DeAnne washed windows at a pizza place where they were "paid" with a large pizza and drinks. They took the opportunity to talk with the owner and invite him back to the program that night...they planted the seed of the Gospel message. Joel, Brian and Sam took turns wearing our Quimper head on the street and brought MANY cars into our free car wash at the church. Khyri was our Official Car Wash greeter and was fabulous at starting spiritual conversations and offering cold drinks. No one left the car wash without someone praying with them...in fact, one woman stopped JUST because she saw us praying and needed prayer. WOW!

At 7pm we had our final park program...and what a way to end a summer! In an answer to prayer, the community in Ellet came out in droves. People from the senior center who had questions about the Gospel showed up...people who had their car washed in the afternoon showed up...the guy from the pizza place showed up...people driving down the street stopped. And the common thread between all of them? They were ALL looking for a local church or searching for something to fill the void in their lives. One lady said, "I'm looking for a church...I just feel like I need to go back. Something told me to come here today...I don't know what...but I got a flyer and knew I had to be here. I need to come back to Jesus." Another attendee said, "I saw your car wash and stopped. I don't go to church...but I think this church is where I need to be. Can I meet the pastor?" Awesome??!?! Uh, yea...we think so. It is evident that God is moving in this community...and the Ellet church expressed immense gratitude for the role Team Central played in that the past few days. It was clear that God was present at the program and was tugging at peoples hearts. We pray that those people will respond and surrender their lives to the Lord. The Gospel was clearly presented throughout Ellet all day yesterday...and we praise God for the work He has already begun.

As Team Central sang "I Give You Me" one last time together...they were overcome with emotion...responding to what God was doing in the community...responding to what God was doing in their own lives...and realizing that goodbye is coming quickly. With tears in their eyes, both joyful and sad, they prayed with community members, church members and each other. They prayed that the Ellet GBC would rock this town for Jesus and that hearts would be changed. They prayed with the neighbors and encouraged them to begin attending church. Basically, they prayed, prayed and prayed some more. It was awesome. True story.

The ended the night with team worship time...and a chance to share what God has been teaching them this summer...which is more than any of us can ever express with words. We are in awe of who God is and what He has in store for us...we are in love with Jesus.