Oh Happy Day!

Today was a good day...a very good day, indeed! Perhaps one of Team Central's best...and that is definitely a true story. We are currently in the smallest town many of us have ever been to in our entire lives...approximately 200 people live in Hopewell, PA, and we have the pleasure of serving alongside the Hopewell GBC for the next few days. We were used to the fullest of our abilities today and it was awesome!

Many thanks to Pastor Mark and his family for letting the blogger and picture taker use his home internet tonight...just to let all of our family and friends know that we are doing well...actually, doing AMAZING...

In a quick outline format...here is a glimpse into Team Centrals outstanding day of ministry...

1) Pancakes, eggs and bacon hot off the grill for us this morning! THANK YOU MEYERSDALE!! It was absolutely delicious! We had some spare time before our journey to Hopewell in which the students did their devotions, wrote home and...played some all important volleyball.

2) We drove to Hopewell...stopping at McDonalds for a quick lunch along the way. The students made the most of all the opportunities the Lord placed in their path...we are pretty sure everyone in that resturant was approached by Team Central. Opportunity to share their faith #1.

3) After arriving at Hopewell GBC, we were warmly greeted by the Pastor's family and a surprise visit from Ben R.'s entire family! We took a quick tour of the church and then left for our first ministry event. DeAnn, Julie and Cody stayed at the church to...you guessed it...mulch. The rest of us headed over to Love In the Name of Christ, a local ministry organization, to help with a Car Wash and street evangelism. Opportunity to share their faith #2 and #3. Stacie took a group of students door to door passing out tracks and sharing the Gospel. Jess and Kelsey dressed up as clowns and helped draw people into the car wash. Students took the time to not only wash cars ridiculously fast but also to make connections with the community. They had a lot of fun washing a dozen cars and our bus...but more importantly, it was exciting to see them sharing their faith and loving people.

4) With our tummies full of wonderful food...half of us headed back to Love INC. to finish the car wash. The other half went with Pastor Mark to a local pizza joint and ice cream stand to do some more evangelism. Opportunity to share their faith #4 and #5! They passed out coupons for free pizza and free ice cream and spent the night starting conversations and praying with people. Over at the car wash, Matt A. had the opportunity to share his faith with a couple of Morman missionaries. We are so proud of him for taking a step out of his comfort zone to share the Gospel and ask questions. He was engaging and confident and really stepped up today. On the way back to the church he said, "This makes me want to know more about what I believe to be able to defend the Gospel. I want to study the Scriptures more...and I want to take advantage of learning from my Dad...he knows so much. I've learned alot about the Bible this summer...but I want to know more!"

We are so thankful for the opportunities Team Central had today to share the love of Christ with the lost. We pray that the seed of the Gospel fell on good soil and that people will come to salvation as a result of what God did through us today. We are overflowing with joy at the sight of Team Central students proclaiming what Jesus did for them on the cross...and doing that with a spirit of boldness and confidence. What a mighty and awesome God we serve! Today was the best day we've had so far...because all of our students were able to share their faith and serve the Lord with all of their abilities. It was a good day...a good day indeed!

Just as an FYI...due to our travels tomorrow night there may not be a blog update...know that we will be in Norton, Ohio tomorrow night and that we will have an update for you as soon as possible.

From Hopewell...Goodnight!