Jesus Take the Wheel....

Friday!!!  We all woke up exhausted from the week and an emotional and spiritually charged evening, yet we were all also energized for the fun activities that awaited us!  

After breakfast we broke into 3 groups... 12 headed for the High Ropes Course, 7 to Paintball and 9 to Horse Back Riding Trails-- All had an awesome morning.  I understand from a few comments at lunch-- the high ropes was terrifying yet exhilrating-- Paint ball was a blast and we came out with only a few small pellet welts :-)  And finally, the horseback riders enjoyed a beautiful ride and challenged the horses to some steep and muddy inclines in the woods--- all had fun and were troopers facing some fears and challenges.

   


After lunch we all made our way to a highlighted event - WHITEWATER RAFTING-- our surroundings were beautiful... we had expert guides on each raft and ALL the groups agreed they would go again in a heart beat!  It was an awesome event and the sporadic rain actually just kept us cool and added to our journey...
 Be sure to ask your children to pull up the action shots on their facebook accounts and computers.  We purchased a CD of all the photos and they are well worth looking at!

FInally, Friday morning the kids did an awesome job once again of cleaning up cabins and packing up right on schedule for their 8:00 breakfast and departure. Phones were returned to everyone's delight, though I must say I don't think they were missed as much as some first thought.  Our leaders appreciated the focus this freedom gave the youth to be with each other all week.  

 After a slight delay as we located all our safe hiding places for the walkie talkies...we headed our caravan out for an beautiful view as we drove home through the Tennessee and Kentucky mountains.  As we entered Cincinnati, we did encounter some crazy rain--- but with prayers and focused youth leaders.. Jesus took the wheel and brought us all home safely!


Thank you all for continued prayers for our treasured Miss Geneva, Miss Lilly and Miss Candice back in Tennessee...

  God's Peace.... Kristin, Jane, Andy, Lisa, Shawn and Ken

Losing our Baggage....

We have had a wonderful week of "losing baggage"~  
    We started out Thursday morning ready to work... we found out once we got there that Team Effort's insurance would not allow us to work into the afternoon so we would have to make the most of our day and THAT WE DID!  Not going to sugar coat it-- we had a temper flair hear and there during the week and some butting of heads-- but all for one cause- to GET THE JOB DONE.  Today, however, we all knew we had a lot to do and everyone buckled down and worked every moment.  The fruits of our labor this week and God's power working through each of these teens shone---They truly love each of these women and were so excited to finish the work to make their loads just a little bit lighter.  Even with the hard work, many of the kids and adults still stopped to talk with Geneva, Lilly and her daughter Candice.

   Yes,... we broke the rules (SORRY) and worked until 1 pm~ at the end of the day we had finished the roof over Miss Lilly's new deck and ramp.  MIss Geneva's roof is covered, protected almost completely with tar paper (ran out) and at least 25% shingled.  Miss Geneva has a new birdfeeder, another hung, freshly painted shutters, a new bookshelf built and painted by our girls for all her favorite pictures, & all the rummage in the yard is either burned  or in the filled dumpster which was empty when our clean up started. 
    AND finally, the bench.... as all our work was being finished Gavin led a small group of our SAW girls (yes,,, 9 of our girls all used the rotary saw all week!)  in making a beautiful bench for Miss Liily to rest on as she takes her new path down hill to visit her "mama"-  Her former path was filled with branches with only a piece of yarn to guide her way since she cannot see much other than light,  Last week's crew had cleared her path, provided a new sturdy guide line and added a beautiful signed cross.  Now our new IMPACT bench pictured below will allow her to sit on her way to "Be still and know that He is God"-

    Many tears followed our good-byes... I tear up as I write just picturing Maddie in Miss Lilly's arms crying....  Miss Geneva came out of her home for the first time this week to join us in our final prayer circle... She insisted that each of our crew sign her book shelf so she would not forget even one of them.  Thank you Lord for these 2 beautiful, courageous women who had such an IMPACT on our kids.
   








 AND Then to the evening... we found a WONDERFUL local restaurant for dinner, Our evening ended with a moving and unforgettable night of devotions and many, many tears as our youth left the baggage that they had carried with them  literally and figuratively on the cross.  Our own prayers and  conversations went well into the night...

    Thank you Lord for these moments that allow us to see and feel you each step of the way... be with these young souls and keep these memories in their hearts as we begin to look towards our return home... AMEN.

Just roll with it!

Well... we asked for rain and we got it!
   We all had a great sleep last night and are definitely "in the groove" of our camp site... This morning as we arrived at our work site it was continuing to drizzle~ That couldn't damper our IMPACT kids servant hearts though-- It was too slippery to start out and we needed to wait for supplies so the kids just created projects for Miss Geneva and Miss Lilly -  We now have a birdhouse, book shelf, and bench for Miss Lilly's path that she uses to visit her mother.  The kids really have had some time to as our southern staff calls it "Love on Miss Geneva and Miss Lilly" as they get to know them.  A previous crew created a beautiful cross for her pathway and we are now crafting a bench since she sometimes needs a rest on her way down.
   Even with the rain the kids were able to make more progress as well on both our roofing projects... God spoke to our hearts and we chose to cut our day today short and take our free afternoon in the misty weather and will instead work all day tomorrow to allow the kids to finish the roof over the deck and kick into high gear on the trailer roof shingling.  They are just so eager to be able to serve these 2 women that have become very dear to their hearts.
   With our free time today all the kids got their phones to call and charge up but we were thrilled to see they all also chose to swim, "BLOB", high swing and play volley ball.   We are looking forward to more worship and devotions in this beautiful place and will conclude the evening with devotions around a campfire.
   Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful children with us all!

    Kristin, Jane, Lisa, Shawn, Andy and Ken

Jesus Bring the Rain....

Thank you Lord for rain!  We had some pretty loud storms last night but with them God graced us with RAIN and cooler air for sleeping last night!  
     This morning our crews got right back to work at our work sites....It was awesome to watch them all work so hard and figure out how to work together.  We had 2 bee/ wasp stings~ both Sam and Carly were very brave through the pain and I (Kristin) was very grateful that I stocked all 3 vehicles with first aid kits and sting medication... a run to Walmart for more instant ice packs and our kits are stocked and ready to go again!  
      The groups made such great progress on our work projects~  We filled an entire dumpster with the stack from previous work crews yard clean up on both properties.  The roof on Miss Lilly's porch is framed, covered and ready to start tar paper and shingles tomorrow.  Downhill the big roof over the trailer was covered (until we ran out of wood) and one side has tar paper completed and ready for shingles.  A big highlight today was getting a bunch of the girls on circular saws~ Dad's be ready... your little girls now are running power tools and giving those boys a run for their money.  It is rainy this afternoon.... putting a damper on swim plans, but God's plan for the kids is working as they now have more time to slow down and continue making new friendships and meeting new people.
   As we work on the homes we also are working to open hearts to Christ.... both in our youth and in the family we are serving.  Miss Lilly (daughter) has shared her life challenges with many in our group and all have reached out to her with kind words, practical advice and most importantly, LOVE.
    Our camp is rustic but beautiful... Yes, there are spiders and a few bugs but also wonderful porches on each cabin with swings and benches.... and we have our own area of cabins for team effort all together which is really fun for the kids.... Last night our focus at church was on the BAGGAGE that we carry in items and relationships that we value above and that take us away from Christ.  The kids all were challenged to figure out what that item or other thing is in their hearts that pulls them away from God.   We look forward to another inspirational and FUN church service with our group's devotions following tonight.

   Peace.... IMPACT