June 30th- Southview GBC

Dinner at the Pruner's

Cornhole with new friends

A relaxing night of fishing

Celebrating a good score in volleyball

Brian S and Patrick H playing basketball with some of the youth

More cornhole. A first time for some of our OBers

Mmm...Max & Ermas, June 29

Just after the one week mark of our summer tour, Team Central finally had a somewhat easy day...at least as far as scheduling goes. We weren't driving or running all over the state of Ohio from one thing to the next and changing from outfit to outfit or church to church multiple times in one day. In fact, we didn't even have alot of location change today! It was lovely to only have one place to be...

Immediately after the host families dropped the students off this morning, we hopped onto the bus and headed into Columbus. (By the way, the students absolutely ADORE their host homes...we have heard nothing but wonderful things about the families here in Upper Arlington. Stories about king size beds, delicious food, friendly people and encouraging conversations.)

We went to the Stowe Baptist Center in a pretty rough neighborhood to help with manual labor at their new facilities. The center runs a food bank and provides hot meals for the homeless and also operates medical clinics for those who are unable to pay for the services. They have recently purchased a large facility across the street from their current location and are preparing for major renovations.

Today our students worked extremely hard to help move boxes, chairs, desks and miscellaneous items from the future gym/auditorium to an upstairs storage unit. All of our guys worked together to carry HEAVY desks up three flights in a narrow stairwell...in fact, some of our girls even carried one up themselves! They had to lift the desk up over their heads in order to get it up the stairs...and they did it without complaining and worked together like champions. Hillary and Julie spent quite a bit of their afternoon washing all of the windows in the building. Their cheerful servanthood was noticed by the owners of the Laundromat across the street who came over and jokingly suggested that they get more practice by washing their windows too. After diligently finishing their task at the Stowe Baptist Center, the girls made a point to connect with the owner of the Laundromat and start a conversation with him. They then proceeded to wash all of his windows as well. What a testimony they had in that community!

We also canvassed the neighborhood with flyers for an upcoming block party and a basketball camp sponsored by the Stowe Center. Many of the students experienced a new perspective on life as they walked the streets of Columbus today...we were definitely in a neighborhood that is worlds away from our suburban or country lives. There were opportunities to pray with people and share the Gospel and our students were forced to take a step out of the comfort zone to reach the lost. So stretching was our experience today that several students took the initiative to talk with members of a gang who were hanging out near the basketball camp.

The students handed them Bibles sparked up a conversation leading several of the gang members to begin reading the book of Matthew on the spot in front of their friends. Matt A. had the opportunity to pray with one of them. Once all of the flyers were passed out, many of the groups used the extra time to walk through the community and pray that the seed of the Gospel would land on prepared hearts.

The rest of the afternoon was spent helping out at the basketball camp, finishing up the last of the manual labor and building relationships with people walking around the community. As a collective group, our Team Central guys are deserving of a big shout out today. They really stepped it up and worked diligently and faithfully. They were protective of our team as we were out in the neighborhood and set an example of what it means to be a servant. Way to go Team Central guys! We are so proud of you!

The students were surprised on the way home with a plethora of mail, allowance and a trip to WalMart! It's crazy how excited they get about going to WalMart...if only you could see the cheering and pure celebration that takes place on our bus when we announce that adventure. It's pretty hilarious actually. Want to know what else is hilarious? The items the students decide to buy with their allowance...candy, shorts, sunglasses, cheesy watches, candy, bandanas, water guns, candy, chips, paper, nerf guns, and the list goes on and on.

We had an hour or so to spend together as a team when we returned to Upper Arlington Grace before the host families came to pick up their students for the night. Sara led a teaching time on the importance of refraining from gossip and the formation of cliques. She stressed that we are to love each other as God loves us and that we will be most effective to be used by God when we work together as one unified body.

The students are now all back with their host families enjoying the time to connect and build relationships with them. We pray that they will get plenty of rest in their nice warm beds and will return to us tomorrow rejuvenated and ready to go. Team Central is stepping it up and students are starting to take leadership. We pray that God will continue to work in and through us and that we will be unified in our service. Tomorrow is another travel day, so we pray for safety on the road and energy to start ministry at another new church.

Thanks to host homes, the leaders got to enjoy a nice meal...thanks Max & Erma!

Thanks for your prayers and your support! God is changing hearts and lives.

From Upper Arlington, Ohio...Goodnight!

June 29th - Another day of manual labor

Hillary B and Matt A being struck by the fierce wind in "Silent Night, Stormy Night."

Hannah T. acting like she was struck by lightning

Kellam V beating out the dirt in the carpet while Tyler T holds on

DeAnne S keeping the dining area clean

Candice playing the part of the wind leading the crowd in the phrase "That's fierce alright."

Sam G cleaning up the streets

Mandy J and Jade L hold on tight while Brian S takes a whack at the rug

Working hard to get a desk up the stairs

Khyri D handing out flyers door to door

Two words: It was an AWESOME Day! June 28

Our first Sunday flying solo as Team Central...we can't even believe it. It seems like SO much longer than one week ago that we left our friends on Keystone and Tri-State and headed off to Chicago. God has been at work in the the lives of Team Central students and has been using them as vessels to further His Kingdom this past week. It's been absolutely crazy...true story.

Today, the students experienced what a typical ob Sunday morning looks like...super early arrival time, orange and teal shirts, lots of khaki, dress rehearsals, moving stages, setting up puppets, making last minute adjustments on sermons and meeting a plethora of new people...all in a VERY short period of time. Team Central did both of the Marysville Grace services this morning with awesome energy and excitement. They mingled with the congregation and sang their choir songs with gusto. Both Joel and Cody had the opportunity to share the sermon they had prepared and both did a superb job preaching the Word of God. During the second service, the Spirit of God moved in a way that was evident by all in attendance. After a pantomime called "Embracing Accusations", depicting a girl bound in chains by her sin before being redeemed by the blood of Jesus, Matt W. and the pastor both felt the need to clearly share the Gospel and have an open invitation to join the family of God. As a result of the Spirit moving through the ob team, five people made the decision to commit their life to the Lord and ask for the forgiveness of their sins. It was neat to see that God definitely IS using Team Central for His glory and encouraging to see His hand in our program. A few dozen young adults from the Detention Center across the street came to the second service to see what Operation Barnabas is all about.

The mom of one of our students leads a Bible Study at the detention center and those she brought with her this morning have all professed to be believers. They travel around to high schools and share the love of Jesus through a series of pantomimes called "Turnaround". They use their past experiences with addiction to share their testimonies and show what God has done in and through them. We were thrilled to have them join us this morning and the ob students really took the initiative to meet them and pray with them. Several of those young adults even made commitments to the Lord. For that, there is rejoicing both here and in Heaven...

Two ob alum and their families provided lunch for us before we hit the road to our next church...Upper Arlington, Ohio. Sundays are especially hard because the morning is long and tiring...and then we travel to a new church and start ministry all over again. After such a frantic morning, the students (and leaders) all needed some time to reconnect and take a breather before jumping full force into ob mode at UA Grace...so the 40 minute bus ride was used to pray for the seeds that were planted this morning and that the people who accepted the Lord will continue to grow and learn. The rest of the trip was dedicated to their devotions and personal time with God in order to be rejuvenated for the afternoon...

We have only been in Upper Arlington for about 10 hours and we can already tell that they are going to take INCREDIBLY good care of us! There were ice cold Popsicle, an air conditioned room and friendly people here waiting to great us. We spent some time this afternoon in our Discipleship Groups discussing our goals for the summer and sharing what God has been teaching us. It was a refreshing time to connect and brainstorm ways to encourage each other throughout the summer. Several groups took the extra time to read through a passage of Scripture together.

The congregation and host homes had a fabulous BBQ for us tonight...and by FABULOUS, I mean that it was probably the best burger any of us have had in a very long time. No joke...it was delicious! With our tummies full and our energy up, the students had one more program to go tonight! Jade and Jordan both shared what God has been doing in their life and we were astonished at the amount of energy and excitement Team Central was able to gather up...no doubt a result of the mass amounts of prayer that have been poured over these students. They were running up and down the aisles and dancing with every child in attendance. They are in love with Jesus and bubbling with the excitement of sharing that love with everyone they meet...

Today was a joyful, long, crazy day...lives were changed, hearts were softened and lots of food was eaten. The students are all in their new host homes and we are confident that they are going to have incredible stories and relationships with the families caring for them. After meeting them during the potluck tonight, it was evident that this church is made up of amazing people who love the Lord and love to serve.

After such a long week, we are praying expectantly for energy, rejuvenation, rest and health. We continue to pray that God will go before us and soften the hearts of those we will reach this coming week...that He will guide our path and light our way. We know that He is capable of a mighty work here in Ohio and we are excited to see what else He has in store for us. If this first week was any indication, boy oh boy will it be an incredible summer!

From Upper Arlington, Ohio...Goodnight!

June 28th pics- Sunday Services

Amanda S, Hannah T, Blake R performing part of "BIBLE"

Matt A playing the part of Zaccheus in a tree

Carolyn S and other obers mingling during dinner

Blake R talking with one of the members at Upper Arlington GBC

Cody R giving his sermon he prepared

Joel F talking about what Jesus did on the cross for all of us

Blake R performing with Jeremy at Marysville GBC

Choir time!!!

Pancakes, Host Homes, Bible Clubs and Birthdays...

We had hot off the grill pancakes and eggs for breakfast.  The students are all in host homes.  Stacie claims to have led a Bible Club when she was 10 with Doritos and Mt. Dew.  Sara celebrated her birthday.

It was a fabulous day!  Goodnight!

Ok, so for the real update...what a crazy sort of day Team Central had!  We were up bright and early at 6:30 to finish getting ready and cleaning up CE National before breakfast.  It has been three weeks for leaders and two weeks for students since any of us had a warm breakfast...so it was absolutely amazing to have pancakes, sausage, eggs, fruit salad and orange juice waiting for us!  (AND...Drew's little brother gave Sara an ENTIRE pan of that delicious dessert for her birthday!  Awesome.)  With full tummies and tired eyes we loaded onto our big blue bus and pulled out of Winona Lake at 7:45...on our way to Marysville, Ohio.

Since yesterday was a ridiculously long day...and last night brought little sleep...the first two hours of our bus ride was a mandatory nap for everyone except the drivers, of course.  We have never heard that bus so quiet before.  After the students were refreshed and awake we started the day off right and spent the rest of the ride reading our Bibles, journaling and praying.  

After a brief detour and surprise scenic drive around Marysville and the surrounding farmland, we finally arrived at a local park to meet up with host families who graciously took their students back to their homes for lunch and relaxation.  The students were bouncing off the walls with excitement for their first host homes and couldn't wait to leave the park and spend time with the families.  According to the rumors, they were all fed extremely well and had awesome and fun experiences.

The Marysville youth group joined up with the ob students back at the park in the afternoon for some games, snacks and fellowship with each other.  Many of the Marysville youth are considering applying for ob next summer so it was a great time to connect with our ob students and hear their experiences.  The youth group joined in with us as we canvassed the neighborhood with flyers for the evening park carnival hosted by Marysville Grace.  In an answer to prayers, today was a beautiful day to be outside and there was little to no humidity!  Hurray!

After a pizza snack, the carnival was off to a quick start with cotton candy, popcorn and an ob program.  Jade shared the cross illustration was then able to pray with two children to ask Jesus into their lives.  It is always a fabulous day when the family of God expands and welcomes new believers!  According to the Marysville pastor, there were a plethora of new families from the community who are not connected with the church which made the carnival a complete success!  The students did an amazing job mingling with both the children and the parents and were displaying their developing servanthood throughout the entire afternoon.  Some of the families from the community expressed that they are currently looking for a new church and showed interest in checking out Marysville Grace.  We pray that we will see them again tomorrow!  

As soon as the carnival was over, the students were whisked off to their host homes for dinner and a night to relax and get some extra sleep.  They were excited to head off to their homes but saddened to leave their amazing and hilarious leaders for the night.  True story.  

Please be praying that the families who connected with Grace Church this evening will worship with us tomorrow morning and that the truth of the Gospel will resonate through this community.  We are also praying for continued team unity and focus as we enter our second week of tour...

From Marysville, Ohio...Goodnight!

June 27th- Marysville OH

The ob puppets and Mr. Quimper singing "The Mom Song"

Drew W sharing the cross illustration

Stacie Fay and Kelly M at a park program at Marysville

Amanda S showing what Christ did for us on the cross

Matt A and Jessica W sharing with a group of kids

Julie H getting ready to fold up a paper for the cross illustration

Jade L sharing the story leading up to the cross illustration

June 26th 2009 - It's time to go CAMPING!!!

Blake R and Kelsey M share testimonies about the trip to Chicago

Preparing to lead game time with the campers

The "squares" perform "Don't Stop Believin"

Andrew P and Patrick H acting like chicken in a skit

Tahj M scrubbing diligently in the kitchen

Jessica W preparing bread for dinner

Joel F mopping the floors after a good lunch

Cody R and his new camp buddy Justin

In a Rush... June 26

Hi friends...

So there is absolutely NO time for a blog post from Team Central tonight...and here's why...

We left CE National this morning at 8:15 to help out at the Indiana District Camp for Elementary School Students...and we JUST rolled back into Winona Lake at midnight. Lights out are in 15 minutes...and in those 15 minutes we have to pack up ALL of our luggage, get it on the luggage truck, clean CE National and have half of the students showered. Rise and shine is coming quick and early at 6:20 so we can eat our delicious pancake breakfast (Thanks to both Matt and Drews amazing families!) and get on the road to our next church...

Just wanted to let you know that we had an incredible day and you will hear all about it tomorrow...but for right now...we are running around like crazy people. Crazy people who love the Lord with all their hearts...

All of this is happening while listening to a ridiculous rendition of "Happy Birthday" to Team Central leader Sara...

From Winona Lake, Indiana...Goodnight!

June 25th Working Hard At CE National

Kellam V raking weeds he cut down

Bekah W making the windows sparkling clean

Tyler T and Joel F conquering the second floor windows

Patrick H weeding on a hot day

Carolyn S painting straight parking lines

Andrew P staining the fence by CE National

Jordan D working alongside Ed Lewis's secretary Lois

Kelly M packaging up brochures

Julia S using the skills of a karate kid

Hannah T staining a deck with complete concentration

Sermons, Shovels and Sharing--June 25

After three days of non-stop ministry, the Team Central students had a little bit of a much deserved break today. Just a little break of course...they still worked extremely hard! We spent some much needed time as a team learning and studying together. This morning we all got to sleep in a little bit since we didn't arrive in Winona Lake until the early morning hours. We were delighted and grateful for the extra zzz's...

After surprisingly cold showers (We love everything!) we started our day off by watching the first sermon in a series on the book of Philippians by Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. The students were extremely responsive to this first sermon and were so eager to learn that they asked to watch the second sermon today also! Time did not allow for the second video, but it is awesome to hear the students asking to study the Scriptures and watch DVD's of sermons! How often does a group of thirty high school students ask for such things??!?! If your answer is: Hardly ever...you'd be right. Except for the Team Central students who are thirsty for the Scriptures! It's evident that God is at work in these hearts and lives...

Since we are staying at CE National in Winona Lake right now, we are just a stone's throw away from Grace College. After our Driscoll morning, the students were able to take a tour of the campus with a Grace Ambassador and enjoy a meal in the cafeteria. For many of our students, Grace will be one of their top choices for college and it was beneficial for them to have a behind the scenes glimpse of the school before making that important decision in the years to come.

The morning was easy for us and we were thankful to stay out of the oppressing Indiana humidity...but as soon as lunch was over we dove head first into an afternoon of hard manual labor. TK was here to whip our students into shape and oversee the completion of a plethora of projects around CE National. Just to give you a glimpse of how hard Team Central worked today, here is a brief sampling of the projects the students diligently completed: staining two decks and one fence, making 300 packets for the upcoming Equip conference, washing and waxing five vehicles, weeding every planter within sight, gardening, making posters for Momentum, and washing every single window on the CE National property. And that isn't even an exhaustive list! Way to go Team Central! The students were absolutely amazing workers today...they are truly developing the hearts of servants.

Matt A.'s parents were gracious to open their home to us this evening. We walked a few blocks down the road and enjoyed a pizza party in the front yard. Drew W.'s parents also joined us for the evening and her little brother brought the most amazing dessert of all time ever. True story. (Thanks little brother! Drew (and her leaders) would LOVE to get some of that chocolately peanut butter goodness in the mail this summer! wink wink.) It was lovely to connect with some Team Central families and to spend a summer night outside hanging with each other. There were mass amounts of pizza, watermelon, cookies, board games, bike riding and....400 water balloons. Everyone was drenched...and it was awesome. The perfect summer night! Thank you SO much to Matt and Drew's families for their hospitality!

Before heading to bed, Stacie taught on the importance of knowing who we are in Christ. She challenged the students to live their lives with the confidence that they are chosen, adopted and redeemed by God! Our identity should be in that and that alone...not in being the captain of the volleyball team, the most creative art student, the most popular kid at school...or anything else that we place our identity in before Christ. A former ob student, Ashton, came to CE tonight and shared her experience with the students. She encouraged them to make daily goals, pray fervently and expectantly and look for opportunities to serve. We all had a fabulous time hanging out with Ashton, listening to her heart and munching on delightful ice cream sundaes. Ashton, many thanks for making the long drive back to Winona Lake tonight...we were truly blessed to have you! May God continue to work in your life!

We ended the night with some guided free time...students spent their minutes writing home, reading their Bibles, and talking with Ashton and their leaders among countless other things. The students fell asleep to the sound of rainfall and thunder...hopefully the rain will cool the earth bringing a beautiful and humidity free day tomorrow (one can hope right??!!?) as we head off to a children's camp...

From Winona Lake, Indiana...Goodnight!

Leaving an Impact on Chicago... June 24

OK, so today was QUITE the day for Team Central...we woke up at 8 am and it is now 2:30 am...and the students are just crawling into their beds. So, taking a lesson from the blog writing book of Eric Miller and Phil Roberts...this entry will not be the typical Team Central entry. We will return to the regularly scheduled blog tomorrow.

For now...some highlights from our best day yet:

* We spent the morning working in an rough neighborhood in downtown Chicago. The students split up into three groups...one group read with and tutored elementary school children at a local ministry...one group went to a nearby park to pick up trash, weed planters and connect with the people who were hanging out...and the last group went to feed our sack lunches to the homeless.

* Tahj and Amanda both stated that their experience working with the children at the center was both eye opening and heart breaking. They were shocked to hear of how much the students have witnessed in their young lives and how different their daily fears are from the fears of the children in our home towns. Fears of gang fights, dying, abandonment...that neighborhood is in need of Jesus big time! The students reading at the center were able to plant the seed of Jesus' love and we pray that more seeds will continue to drop on those young lives.

* Hillary and Khryi partnered together to clean the neighborhood park. There was a daycamp out for their daily recess on the playground and these two OBers took the initiative to sit down with a group of children and talk to them about Jesus. They said that the kids were asking good questions and they were able to have a solid discussion about God and His love for us. Jenna was also able to talk with a little boy about Jesus. All of the students at the park did an awesome job persevering through the intense heat to serve others.

* Matt W. and Stacie F., two of our fearless leaders, took a group of students to feed lunches to the homeless. We had packed lunches for ourselves and then, practicing ob flexibility, we decided to hand those lunches out instead. Matt and Stacie were able to model sharing their faith for the students. Blake and Drew did an amazing job reaching out to the homeless and sharing the love of Christ with them. Brian S. could not stop talking about the thrill he had leading a man he met to the Lord. Heaven was rejoicing with us as God's kingdom grew a little bit bigger today. We pray that those we came in contact with today will continue to follow after Him and will seek out churches and mentors in their areas.

* While doing some manual labor at the ministry center downtown, Kelsey went out of her way to sit and talk with a little girl for what seemed like hours. The girl was so captivated by our love for Jesus and was FULL of questions. Kelsey talked to her about sin, Jesus dying on the cross, salvation, eternity, the trinity and a plethora of other things. At the end of the conversation, the little girl prayed to ask Jesus to be her Lord and Savior. At 11 years old, she was eager to learn more about Jesus and took books home from the ministry center to read about God's love for her.

* The students grabbed lunch downtown since all 34 of our sack lunches had been handed out.

* Tonight was the last night of soccer camp. Once again, Heaven rejoiced today as Amanda prayed with one of the campers to ask Jesus into their heart. Three people joined God's family today and Team Central was blessed to be a part of the harvest!

* Matt led a teaching time on "How to Study the Bible" and taught the students how to...well, study the Bible.

* We packed up and left our first church to head back to Indiana. Mt. Prospect Bible Church was incredible to us...the food was delicious...the staff was friendly...they went out of their way to make sure our needs were met and we seriously could not have asked for a better first stop!

* We drove and drove and drove some more...all the way back to CE National where we immediately lost an hour due to the time change...awesome!

* We unloaded the luggage and quickly got ready for bed...the girls were just unrolling their sleeping bags when the boys ambushed the room and started the most epic pillow fight of the century. True story. Some boys were held captive and a rescue mission had to be staged for their release. Where do they get all this energy??!?!

We had an awesome day...God was at work and we were blessed to be used by Him. What a way to start off our summer!!

From Winona Lake, Indiana...Goodnight!

June 24th Pics

Matt A and Amanda S join in on the lesson during soccer camp

Team Central getting ready for teaching time

Tahj M, Candice A, Jade L working hard during soccer camp

Sharing and Praying about the day

Kelsey M talking with one of the girls at By the Hand

Bekah W working hard during manual labor

Julia S and Candice A searching for trash

Day Two - Breakthrough...

Day two of the Team Central ob tour in a nutshell: hot. humid. awesome. eye opening. relational.

Apparently Chicago has had an abnormally cool spring and the area has been blessed with incredible amounts of rainfall and low temperatures. Apparently that trend ended yesterday and shows no signs of returning. Awesome! Today was in the high 90’s with a RIDICULOUS amount of humidity. And almost all of our work was to be done outside. Awesome! So today the students heard “sunscreen! drink water! take a break! put on sunscreen! drink more water! MORE water!!” Despite the conditions, the students had one of their most memorable days yet and they are developing more and more into Christ focused servants and their eyes are being opened to the brokeness of the world around them.

This morning we partnered with Breakthrough Urban Ministries in Chicago. Breakthrough runs both a mens shelter and a womens shelter along with a youth program and food bank in a poverty stricken neighborhood just outside of downtown. Their mission is to impact the neighborhood for Christ from the inside out. There are 30 homeless men and 30 homeless women living in the shelters...and they are provided with three meals a day, job training, health care and a safe place to live and rest. During the day, the shelters are open to the public, allowing any people in need to rest from the heat and receive a meal. The neighborhood Breakthrough currently operates is extremely impoverished and hurting for Christ. The people do not have the means to purchase fresh produce or healthy food for their families...and even if they had the money, the area does not have a grocery store providing such items. On Tuesdays, Breakthrough operates a food bank for the homeless to come and receive fresh produce and free food. They long to use these programs as an opportunity to spread the love of Christ.

Today, we had the opportunity to help with the food bank and the preparation of the lunch meals for both the men and womens shelters. The food bank opened at 10am this morning...so starting at 9am the students started bagging up the food. We handed out bread, cucumbers, green beans, potato soup, salad, lettuce and a plethora of other items. Experiencing this level of poverty was a new experience for most of the students and their hearts were broken for the people they met this morning. It was shocking to see the bitterness and hurt that many of the homeless were experiencing. It was clearly evident that the neighborhood is in desperate need of Jesus. The students working outside at the food bank sought opportunities to plant the seed of Jesus’ love and be an encouragement to hurting hearts.

While 2/3 of the students were outside braving the humidity and seeing the world through Jesus’ eyes, the rest of the students were inside helping to prepare and serve the lunch meal in the shelters. They cleaned bathrooms, swept floors, cooked food, washed dishes and connected with the people staying in the shelter. Half of those students served lunch at the mens shelter and the other half served lunch at the womens shelter. Candice A. had the opportunity to talk with several woman and hear their life stories. She took the time to pray with them and ask that God guide their upcoming decisions as they look for jobs and seek to restore broken relationships with their families.

After our morning with Breakthrough, we hopped back onto our bus, ate a quick lunch of PB&J, and headed over to an neighborhood called Wicker Park. We met with a church planter who reaches out to poets and artists in the area and shares the Gospel by building relationships. He is also involved in a ministry called Urban Encounters and they provide support to needy people within Wicker Park. The students spent the afternoon in two highrise buildings that are used as subsidized living for the elderly. Urban Encounters had provided a list of units that did not pass health inspections and needed help cleaning up in order to avoid eviction. The ob students broke into groups, put on their gloves, grabbed their cleaning supplies and joyfully embarked on their cleaning adventures. They prayed with people, shared the love of Jesus, cleaned mini blinds, saw some of the biggest messes they’ve ever seen and definitely had a deeper understanding of what it means to be a servant.

After a delightful dinner and a few quick minutes to relax, they lead another jam packed evening at soccer camp and continued to build relationships with the children. They are LOVING soccer camp and will be sad to leave it after tomorrow night. We ended the night with some much needed free time. Students were instructed to write letters home, read their Bibles, exercise, or talk about their experiences with their leaders. And the best part....ICE CREAM PARTY! And an early bed time...they were very excited about that!

God is working in the lives of these students and they are growing closer to Him each and every day. We are learning to see the world as Jesus sees the world and to love people unconditionally and without hesitation...even when it is extremely difficult. We are praying for continued passion for our Lord and team unity as we head into downtown Chicago tomorrow morning. We pray that we rely on God’s strength, power and direction as we seek to be an encouragement to believers and witness to those who do not yet know of Jesus’ love.

From Chicago...Goodnight!

(Ever wonder what ob leaders do after the students go to bed??!?! Well...one runs around the parking lot to get in her daily exercise while making her fabulous coleader sit in a chair in the middle of said parking lot in the ridiculous humidity to write this blog so that she doesn’t have to do her run alone...)

June 23rd Pictures (Team Central)

Cody R unloading boxes at Breakthrough Ministry


Joel F and Kellam V helping out at soccer camp

Mandy J, Blake R and Hillary B help pack up produce

Patrick H and Amanda S working hard

Khyri D and Bekah W helping in the kitchen

Hannah T. talking with someone in the community

Kellam V, Brian S, Jade L, and Joel F pack up lettuce

Ben R sporting the hair net

Setting the Bar High

Well it was no joke when we said Team Central was hitting the ground running today! What a crazy wonderful day of ministry these students had. It was an exhausting whirlwind...so much so that all of the students jumped for joy at the announcement of a 10:15 lights out tonight. They really are THAT tired! If today was any indication of what lies in store for us during the next month...we are surely in for an adventure! A God led...hot...humid...exciting...exhausting...rewarding...surprising...adventure serving our Lord...

Our very first ministry opportunity on our official ob Tour started bright and early this morning. We hopped into our bus, knowing full well by the intensity of the morning sun that we were in for a scorcher. Some of the students experienced their first traffic jam as we fought the morning Chicago commute, while the students and leader from California just thought they were back at home. We spent the morning and afternoon working with a ministry here in the Chicago area called Inner City Impact (ICI). ICI is a non-profit Christian organization that longs to see children come to know Jesus as their Savior. Their mission is to bring hope to Chicago's urban cities by sharing the Gospel, discipling the youth and integrating them into local churches. They do this by running after school programs, camps, sports leagues, leadership development and carnivals.

They are currently praying about opening a new center in the nearby city of Cicero. Today, we helped run an outreach carnival in the parking lot of a church in Cicero to help ICI make contacts with people in the community and begin to set up their ministry. In fact, several of the ICI staff have moved into the neighborhood to help establish their presence and build relationships. Cicero is a city of approximately 100,000 people with 30,000 of them being under the age of 18. It is primarily 1st and 2nd generation immigrants from Mexico, so our students with Spanish speaking abilities were used greatly today! From our experiences in Cicero and statistics we learned about the neighborhood, it is apparent that there is a desperate need for God. ICI is willing and ready to win that area for Christ and we were blessed to partner with them today.

We spent a good two hours canvassing the surrounding neighborhood with flyers for the afternoon carnival. Jordan D. was on fire passing out flyers and meeting people. Kelsey and her flyer buddy were seen sitting on the front porch with some neighbors having a conversation. It was reported that many students and leaders both had the opportunity to share the Gospel with people on the street and to pray with others. Some students stayed back to help set up the carnival games, while others including Joel F. and Julia S. went on a prayer walk around the neighborhood.

Despite the ridiculous heat and humidity, the carnival had a successful turnout. Our students did a fabulous job during their first ministry opportunity and were seen mingling with both the children and the parents and sharing the love of Jesus with everyone who came to the carnival. Amanda S. and Sam G. were our in house face painting pros, while Patrick H., and Rebekah W. greeted the children at the registration table. Cody R. took the initiative to start a tug of war contest and Hillary used her time to mix and mingle with as many people as possible. ICI was thrilled with the turnout and stated that this ob team was one of the best groups they've had come to help their ministry! The contacts that were made today will be used by ICI to impact that neighborhood and win lives for Christ...and God used our ob team to help start that!

The bus ride back to Mt. Prospect Bible Church was nap time for everyone (Except of course for our phenomenal bus driver, Stacie!)...we were absolutely beat from the afternoon in the sun...but the students had a great time sharing their stories and experiences when we finally sat down for dinner. It was awesome to hear their excitement about sharing the love of Jesus with people who do not yet know Him. They are so eager to impact this country for God and it is incredible to partner with them in that eagerness.

And that was just the FIRST part of our first day! Can you even believe it?!!? We still had a ton more to do! Tonight was the first night of soccer camp here at Mt. Prospect Bible Church...and they were able to have over 200 children since 30 extra bodies would be here to help out. We started the night off with a mini program to get the kids excited about Jesus and ready to play soccer. For several hours, our ob students paired up with the church family and practiced soccer drills and techniques with the campers. They were able to share the cross illustration and present the Gospel to the kids during a "huddle time" break. The night ended with a plethora of soccer games where the campers were able to use their newly acquired soccer skills...and all this in 90 degree weather with 70% humidity. And not one little complaint! What a group God has given us! According to many of the ob students, the best part about soccer camp is that they will see these children again tomorrow...with even more opportunities to tell them about Jesus. They are starting to understand the importance of relationship building and are excited to continue that tomorrow night.

After reading Psalm 119 together as a team and debriefing on our very full day, we all crashed in bed much earlier than the last few days have allowed. We are setting the bar high for Team Central...as is evident given our busy first day. We know that these students are capable of amazing things by the grace and power of God...and we can't wait to see this summer unfold. It was agreed by all 34 of us that today was amazing...hot and humid...but amazing!

Tomorrow we are heading into downtown Chicago for some more ministry...so we are praying that God is preparing the hearts of those we will encounter throughout the day...that they will be open to the Gospel and eager to learn more about their Savior. We pray for continued strength and energy as the days are long. As a team, we are incredibly thankful to God for what He has done and will continue to do through us.

From Chicago...Goodnight!

June 22nd Pictures

Jordan D talking with parents at the carnival

Blake R helps direct during soccer camp

Julie H making a young girl happy during face-painting

Khyri D helping win a Tug-of-War game

Sam G. concentrating on making the perfect picture

Hillary B talking to one of the kids at the carnival

Jessica W connecting with one of the kids

Carolyn S and a young girl at the face paint station

Jenna W, DeAnne S and Julia S helping with one of the games at the carnival

Ben R, Brian S, Joel F, Sam G and Jenna W help set up for the carnival

The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round... June 21

and around...and around...and around...

After approximately 11 hours on the road, we have finally made it to Chicago, Illinois! Team Central is off and running...and doing it at warped speed!

This morning all three Operation Barnabas 2009 teams led the worship services at Grace Church Ashland, Ohio. For being the first ob program of their lives, the students did an amazing job! Everything ran smoothly...the choir sounded fabulous...the pantomimes were effective...and they mixed and mingled with the congregation as if they'd been doing it for years! These teens sure have come a long way since Orientation started last weekend...it's pretty remarkable. It is evident that God is preparing them for an effective and amazing summer!

After the church services, we quickly grabbed our sack lunches (thanks to the Ashland church for their generosity!)...said our goodbyes to the Keystone and Tri-State teams (yes...some tears were shed)...and hopped on Bus 1 to officially begin our summer tour. With our PB&J, water bottles, pillows, snacks and Catch Phrase, we were ready to hit the road.

And so today we drove....and drove...and drove....said goodbye to Ohio...Hello to Indiana...and drove...and drove...and drove some more...said goodbye to Indiana...Hello to Illionois...and drove...and drove....and drove.

One would think that might lead to an extremely boring and uneventful day...but life on a big blue ob bus is never boring or uneventful! The students spent the 11 hours connecting with each other, building relationships, chatting with the leaders, playing endless rounds of Catch Phrase, singing songs, reading their Bibles and squeezing in a few much needed naps.

Somewhere in the middle of Indiana we stopped to grab some lunch at a Wendy's. As we hopped back on our trusty Bus #1, we realized that we sat in a parking lot about 100 feet from the campus of Notre Dame. So...since we had no urgent time crunch...and we all needed a little break from the highway...we made a pit stop to check out the school...and to see "Touchdown Jesus." What an absolutely beautiful campus! With so much energy stored up from a half a day on the bus, the students were bouncing around and being completely silly. We even took the opportunity to publicly share the Gospel by performing our speech choir right underneath the Jesus painting on the Notre Dame library.

We rolled into Mt. Prospect Bible Church sometime late this evening and were greeted by a couple of former OBers who will be heading up our ministry opportunities this week.

Our exhausted students and leaders kept the energy up just long enough to get the rundown of the next few days...and then the students all willingly and eagerly snuggled into their beds. The leaders stayed up finishing our sack lunches for tomorrow as we will be heading into Chicago for the day. It looks like we have some incredible ministry opportunities lined up for the next three days...the students will have a chance to share Jesus in the inner city during the day and help run a soccer camp at Mt. Prospect in the evening.

That's pretty much all we have to report for today. Lots of driving...lots of laughter...lots of eating...lots of connecting and team building time...and lots of opportunities to worship and thank our God for loving us and guiding us as we spend the summer serving Him.

We are extremely grateful for all of your prayers! If there has been a day that we have felt them...it was definitely today! We encountered no bus problems on our journey to Chicago and our amazing bus driver, Stacie, said that she knew she was prayed for because she wasn't overcome with sleepiness. Hurray!!

Everyone is fast asleep...except for one lone leader who is writing this blog in a basement hallway to the steady sound of the boys snoring...even with their room down the hall and around the corner, the snoring is still audible. They must be super tired!

We pray for an abundance of energy tomorrow morning as our summer officially kicks off at 8am when we depart for the city...and we will be going non-stop until our tired heads hit our pillows tomorrow night. We are anxious to see what God has in store for us!!

From Chicago, Illinois...Goodnight!

Pictures from June 21

A visit to the University of Notre Dame

Performing Speech Choir at Notre Dame

Team Central having fun

A tour guided by Cody

Team Central enjoying Notre Dame

Jade L, Drew W, Andrew P, Blake R and Tyler T hanging out with the statue of Coach Frank

2009 Team Central

Follow 2009 Team Central on their tour.