“I had to write to you to thank you for sending and supporting such a great group of youth and leaders! I was and continue to be so impressed with each and every person I met from your church. The servant’s heart and incredible work ethic were truly a blessing to me, Pastor Valentina and all of the staff of Outpost of Freedom. We were so blessed to have met each of the people that attended the mission trip. I can only hope that they were all as blessed as those they so selflessly served this last week.” –Daryl Martin

I have had the opportunity over the past 16 years to participate in many mission trips, but I too was incredibly impressed by our students (and leaders). What set this group apart from the others was their attitude and flexibility throughout the entire trip. On most mission trips, volunteers work at the site but stay at a separate location. This, however, was not the case for this trip.

The week began with an 18-hour drive, followed-up by a week of sleeping on site (in vehicles for some), using port-a-johns, and a pop-up tent with a hose for a shower. Again, not your ideal situation. Don’t get me wrong, the level of enthusiasm wasn’t through the roof because of the accommodations, but the team adapted and were thankful for what they did have. They never let the conditions affect the work they were asked to perform, and accepted the situation as a challenge to be conquered, which they did.

For the record, the Student Ministry has taken trips like this before. However, it’s one thing to hear about the trip and another to actually experience it. I am incredibly proud of our students and adults.

The purpose of our trip was twofold. Our daytime project was to help complete work on a recently built building, and at night we ran a Vacation Bible School for the church.

I would like to share an amazing story behind the building in which we had a part of completing. Several months ago a few hunters from Virginia were lost in the woods on the Reservation. An elder of the church happened to drive by and gave them a ride back to their truck. During the ride, the conversation turned to church and the hunters indicated they were interested in joining them for worship. Initially, the elder thought the hunters were simply trying to be kind, but the hunters kept their word and attended services that night.

After the service was over, the hunters began to discuss various needs of the church. They explained that they all worked in construction and were looking for a ministry to assist. The elder and pastor proceeded to share the vision of the church (one initiated by the teens) of building a facility for the youth department that could also be used to house groups wanting to minister on the Reservation.

In just a couple months, the teens raised more than $40,000 to start the project. With other contributions, the team from Virginia returned and began construction on the 3,500 sq ft facility. Before the trip, the team thought they would bring a group of 20-30, but because of illness, only 5 men and their families were able to travel. Remarkably, in only 1-week the workers built the foundation, framed the main building, installed the rafters, roof, flooring, and constructed office space. Each day, I would walk through the building and whisper to myself, “5 men, 5 families, did all this.” It was truly a work of God through these families.

During the week, students worked in the following areas: roofing/shingles, sheetrock, hanging siding, installed eaves and fascia board, as well as: coordinated and ran a Vacation Bible School for the church. Although the task may appear daunting, there is nothing that any one of us couldn’t do. Each person had a specific roll and purpose. Knowing what the teens of the church and the volunteers from Virginia accomplished helped to motivate us to work as hard as we could.

Our major goal for the week was to get the building to the point of being “dry/weatherproof”. This came with some difficulty as we experienced periods of rain, causing us to scramble for buckets and tarp. However, when the group pulled out on Saturday morning, the roof was shingled and most of the outer walls had siding on them or were wrapped with plastic sheeting. (We had to leave something for the other groups following us to do…)

The second part of our trip required much hard work, determination and great patience. While the adults focused most of their attention on construction, it was the students who took the lead on Vacation Bible School. With limited resources and less than ideal conditions, the students did an amazing job sharing the love of Christ with the children who attended. They went above and beyond what was asked of them. By week’s end, children started showing up several hours before the scheduled start time and our students were walking them home long after dark had come.

The group worked extremely hard throughout the week and deserves your appreciation. Believe me when I say they represented Jesus Christ and Southwinds Church well. I would challenge you to take a few moments, seek out your fellow members and discuss their experience firsthand. Who knows, you might find yourself packed into a vehicle next year headed to…

Scott Bolton
Student Ministries Pastor

Here is a list of those who attended.

Adults-
Laurie Leahy-Neel
Scott Bolton
Bill Mizener
Keith Pitcock
Mike Sorg
Matt Jenson

College-
Casey Anson
Matt Barnett
Stevie Jensen
Kelsey Jenson

Students-
Kaitlyn Bolton
Alyssa Ciraulo
Elizabeth Enos
Jeremy Kolsrud
Emily Leahy
Nick Mizener
Aaron Vanlue
Tyler Vanlue
Brandon Varvel
Beth Worthington

Kim Miller

For awhile God had put a burden on my heart for the homeless. But how do you help? My 6 year old son said we should just buy them a house. If only we could really help like that. But really what can one family do? It was easy to get overwhelmed at how big the problem is and allow that overwhelming feeling to paralyze us into inaction. Then one night during family devotions, God laid it on our heart to do something. To start. So our family has begun fixing a meal and taking it to the Walmart parking lot every Tuesday night. During the week we stop by and say hi and introduce ourselves to any homeless people we see and invite them to the Tuesday night dinner. What I have learned is that one dinner and a couple hours a week isn’t much, but it’s a start and I’m excited to see where God takes it. I don’t share in an attempt to say, “Look at us,” because like I said we really aren’t doing much. I share to say, “Do something.” Whatever the burden God has placed on your heart for ministry, find a way to start and get involved. Maybe you like the idea God has given us and want to do the same thing on another night of the week. That’d be awesome. Maybe you can’t do that, but you can come down on Tuesdays and bring some clothes. Or maybe you have something completely different that God is calling you to. Whatever it is… do something.

Someone told me this past week that it’s like a car. We give God control of the steering wheel, but if the car isn’t moving it is hard to steer the car. You want God to steer your life? Get the car moving and allow Him to steer you. Even if you are going in the wrong direction, it is easier for God to turn you around if you are at least moving. I know the analogy isn’t perfect. No analogy is, but it makes a good point.

So get the salt out of the cupboard and flip on the light switch and just watch how God changes lives through you.

Brian Hill

On Monday I was visiting my uncle in the hospital after a hip surgery. I was walking down the hallway and I saw a frail woman on a stretcher and a man at the end of the hall in a chair with a worried look on his face. God sent me directly to him. I took this complete stranger’s hand and asked him what was wrong. He told me his precious wife was in the hospital bed there at the end of the hall and he was worried about her. He said they had been married for 60 years. She has cancer and the chemo had dehydrated her. I asked if I could pray for them. He said yes and I prayed right there out loud in the hallway of the hospital for a stranger. What a great week I have had!

Laurie Leahy-Neel

One of my neighbors is only home on weekends so every week I go and replace their garbage cans from the street.

Finally, last week a teenager was walking and came up and asked me if I had a cell phone he could use to call for a ride. I let him use mine. After he called I asked what language he was speaking on the phone. He said Farsi. You never know what the results will be.

I hope you’re having a great day.
Ron Johnson

This past Sunday you asked us to “blog” about ways that we give back or reach out in our community. I don’t blog so I’m sending you an email instead.  I can think of a few ways in which I try to be a good citizen, give back, and reach out in my community.

• Each morning when I walk I pick up all newspapers that have fallen in the gutter or in the grass and move them where they will not get wet. I also act as community watch and report anything suspicious.
• I watch out over my park and also report graffiti and/or suspicious activity.
• I travel each week and save all travel shampoos, lotions, etc. and give them to Tracy Interfaith, along with grocery bags, containers, clothing, baby blankets, canned goods, etc.
• I have “care packages” in my trunk, consisting of a gift bag filled with bottled water, granola bars, Vienna sausages, a tangerine or apple and pretzels. I hand these out to homeless people as I encounter them on my errands throughout the week.
• I arrange for feral cats in my neighborhood to be “spayed” or “neutered” so the pet population will be controlled and so the shelter will not need to euthanize more animals. I have four more to go in the immediate future.

I try to always be on the lookout for areas in which I can serve but I’d like to make a suggestion because I’ve had this on my mind for awhile. Why doesn’t our church come up with some different ways everyone in our church could serve corporately? Whether it be finding seniors that need yard help or a visit, Habitat for Humanity, babies at the hospital that need holding, Pregnancy Resource Center, Lucky Paws, or wherever help is needed and then “expect” everyone at our church to participate in one of these areas for 2-3 hours a month? I know the teens need to get their “service hours” in at high school and this would be a way they could accomplish that and everyone in a family could volunteer together.

I get overwhelmed with the possibilities and also concerned about how and where I could serve, but if I could serve along with people I know, I think it would make it so much easier and even more fulfilling.  I hope you find this idea has merit because I think we would reach more people in our community if we made a group effort.

Have a great week!
Cathy Espitia

Just click on COMMENT. Type your story. Let us know if you want to be anonymous or not. Click on the “Say It!” button. We’ll post it as soon as we can! That’s it!

Share how God is working through your life as you serve others in his name. We’ll be blessed… and so will you.

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16, NIV)

We talked about how being salt and light calls us to real compassionate service, about how we need to move from merely good intentions to tangible action (remember the Amy Winehouse kid… “try to make me go to the vineyard, I say ‘No, no, no’”?).

We saw that moving beyond good intentions takes a couple of things: 1) don’t make compassion too complicated; 2) make and keep small, specific commitments.  Those small, specific commitments were 1) start where you live; 2) ask God to help you see; 3) show love through simple acts; 4) serve together with other Christ-followers.

As part of our homework, I asked Southwinders to post to a new blog we were creating… Southwinds Salt-n-Light. So, as you go and as you serve and as you love, let your light shine before men. Our desire is that people will see God through our service and give him glory.

You can post anonymously, if you want. Your posts can be brief. You can post more than one time. We hope this blog will become a place for us to meet, to share our experiences, and to make a real impact in Tracy and the surrounding region.