I am going with a team of 9 people to the country of Sierra Leone to see how we as a church can be involved in what God is doing in the country. We are leaving on July 26 and will return August 1. It will be a very quick trip. Please begin to pray for us as we prepare to leave. I am assembling a team of people who will commit to be on my prayer team while I am gone. If you would be interested in being a part of that team please let me know.

I will put you on an email update list, send periodic request, mail you a few Sierra Leone facts and a few other things to help you remember to pray. Thanks.

This is what the Land looked like before we started…

This is what it looks like now…

We also purchased a portable basketball goal for the youth to have some fun and use as an outreach. There are no budget $$ for youth ministry.

Church members are so overwhelmed by the kindness of FBC Smyrna and the members of this mission team. It has been a wonderful trip and our team is full of leaders who have found that their lives have been changed more than the people of Ft. Dodge. Thank you Lord for allowing us to serve you.

We are ready to get home, See you on Sunday.

PS. check back tomorrow. The local newspaper came out today and interviewed our team and the pastor of Rolling Hills CC, David Barton. I will hopefully have a link here for you to read the story.

Well, kind of. One of the physical projects we have been working on was completed today. The parking lot is done. Here are some before and after shots. This was hard work and all of this for 41 spots. This will allow somewhere around 120 people to attend the church.

The old parking lot. Paved in ’65, when the building was built…never sealed or stripped for cars.

FBCS team working during the week.

Completed parking lot…equipped to handle 41 cars.

First cars parked on the lot with excited church members.

There have been people stopping all week wanting to know what is going on with the church. It has generated excitement for the church. Thanks Joel Sturdivant for the vision to repair the lot. Pics tomorrow of the completed playground.

Here we are at the mid-point of the Ft. Dodge Mission trip. We have seen some incredible things happen here. Some of the best stuff has been watching new leaders appear and how they have stepped up to take on responsibility.

Debra Jones and Wendy Compton – Preparing Meals
Jim Tanner and Doug Howard – Playground building
John Longmire and Randy Hill – Teaching
Rodney Henderson – Preaching and Leadership Training
Susan Beasley and Renee Tanner – VBS Preparation
Ray and Kirsten King – Youth Training and Events
Tony Beasley – Training in Small groups and Leadership Development
Children and Youth – connecting with students and kids for a vision of student ministry

All of these things are priceless. Missions has really brought this team of folks together for a common goal and mission. What a privilege it is to serve alongside of these leaders.

A Few Pictures From Today:

Ray King looking over the plans for the new playground system for rthe church.

Me covered in parking lot sealant.

Doug Howard teaching on applying God’s Word to your life.

Tony Beasley teaching on Small groups and Leadership Development.

Our team spent the morning with our friends in Iowa worshipping and serving the Lord together. We had such a great morning of worship with the people of Rolling Hills Community Church. We attended Bible Study with the adults. They have one class for adults to attend. Needless to say we “upped” the numbers for the clas drastically.

Following Bible study Rodney Henderson spoke during the morning worship time. He preached from Romans 12 and talked about our spiritual act of worship. He did a tremendous job of teaching. We also had the privilege of sharing communion with the church body here in Fort Dodge.

After worship we had an old time potluck for lunch. I am tellin’ you, the carbs were flowin’ and then I had to teach after lunch. They set me up well. I taught on the S.H.A.P.E. of an individual. We had a good time and people actually stayed awake during the entire teaching time. Now I feel asleep three different times, but the people held on great.

We ended our afternoon back at our hotel for a little group sharing on how God had already ministered and spoken to the team members. The Lord, as He always does, is moving in the lives of our team as much as He is in the lives of the Rolling Hills CC members. We are so grateful for your prayers.

We are also having a great time with one another. You have to laugh alot on a mission trip. As team members we get put into situations that take us out of our comfort zones and we definitely learn about flexibility. Jim and Renee’ Tanner are having a great time and by the way Jim is a “black belt” in some kind of Kung Fu Fighting. He ended up taken me to the “Octagon” and just about broke my in half. Oh well, I am trying to be flexible.

Keep praying for our team. We need it for the rest of our week.

Well, we left Smyrna last evening at around 8:30 pm and we arrived in Ft. Dodge, Iowa at 1:00 pm on Saturday, that would be today. We are all very tired, but in a relatively good mood. The rest of today is dedicated to catching up on the sleep that we all missed out on last night. It was pretty difficult to get good rest riding in 2 fifteen passenger vans. I managed to snag the back seat and no one else got back there so I had the whole seat to myself. I did not get to sleep well though. We stopped about every 2-2.5 hours to make sure the drivers were awake. Needless to say I have taken punishment from a couple of the guys about having a seat to myself. I jumped under the steering wheel at 6 am and drove the rest of the way while the other drivers slept like babies. (sort of) I will keep you updated as we go. Thanks for praying for us.

Tonight I am leaving for Fort Dodge, Iowa with a group of seventeen from our church. We are going on a mission trip to work with Rolling Hills Community Church. We have had a partnership with this fellowship for the last three years helping them to reach their community for Christ. Fort Dodge is a community of around 25,000 people and only one SBC church. It is located about 25-30 miles northwest of Ames and around 60 miles northwest of Des Moines.

Rolling Hills CC averages around 50 people a week in their worship and Bible study ministries. We have been actively helping them maintain their facility and grounds, leading Vacation Bible Schools, and training their leaders to lead ministry. This year we are leading equipping seminars for their members, in an attempt to help them lead out along with their pastor, David Barton. This is a wonderful fellowship of people. I am so glad that I have the opportunity to return this year. Please pray for us as we head out to help “equip the saints for the work of ministry.” I will be posting while I am in Iowa so check back often for updates on the work.