Sorry, we thought we had posted this one on Lorin, here it is again
It’s special this year to have Chris H Volunteering with us in Louisiana. After serving as COHFH staff and being our supervisor for our times volunteering in OKC, Chris has taken some time off his regular duties to volunteer with us for a week in Denham Springs, LA
He drove down and met us in Denham Springs, and is bunking up with us at the church.
It’s been great having Chris as a friend, but having him as a peer/leader has been incredibly resourceful as our work here has us working over three separate sites, and Chris is helping us with leadership and knowledge.
2018-Commissioning and some more team members
Commissioning
This last Sunday was the last team we’d see each other before the airport. But our time at church was also special where we receive prayer from the entire church. Each team member clearly knows that we do not travel alone, and we go with the blessing and direction of our prayer supporters, and God.
Video of our commissioning
Also, a quick treat
Get to know two more members of our team,
Lorin, a multi-year veteran of the team and
Linda, a nurse by profession, will be serving as our team “medic” and is a team newbie for 2018!
OKC 2017 Day 5 – Hitting the wall
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone.”- 2 Peter 3:9
Kevin T started the morning with a testimony of how God proved to be faithful in his life. Growing up getting good grades, becoming an Eagle Scout (only 4 in every 100 scouts achieve this rank), and being accepted into law school, Kevin thoroughly understood success through hard work and perseverance. However, after receiving a no pass on the bar exam, everything he was sure about, he suddenly doubted. Anxiety set in. He begin to question if law was the path that God was directing him, although he had previously prayed and received affirmation in the last. Through his Mom, he was urged to listen to the song, Thy Will Be Done. Listening to the song, he felt as if God was speaking. He broke down and realized how much anxiety he had about his future and how it was affecting him spiritually.
“During lunch I listened to the song and I started to weep… [I asked God to] give me peace so I don’t have anxiety anymore.”- Kevin.
From then on, Kevin worked to free himself from the stress of needing to succeed as he focused his perspective back on God. Thus, he is leaning on God and His plans rather than by his own strength and expectations.
“Don’t be discouraged if you missed your mark. Instead embrace [the disappointment]… and let His will be done.” -Kevin.
Shirley Home Update
We had our time limited at the house because we had to help out to raise the framing for the walls for the new build site. For three hours, we quickly, but safely without cutting corners, continued to finish as much as we could. We began to prepare the restroom to install the floors. Additional windows were added along with the trim. The tail end of the ramp was added. The scrape team continued to patiently finish the east side of the house. Since tomorrow is our last day, we hope to complete the top repairs.
- Finishing installing the sink, floor, toilet for the restroom.
- Paint the house.
- Complete the ramp.
- Complete the trimming for the windows.
Saying Goodbyes
We went to the new build site to help with the walls, then we had two bittersweet farewells. First, Lorin had to return back home two days early for personal family reasons. Then, we said goodbye to Jose and Serafin because there is a possibility will may not be coming back to OKC next year. We prayed for both of them, and the new build house. Please pray for a safe return for Lorin.
Devotional
Devotionals led by Brandon and Tommy (with Chris C at guitar for worship) commenced after a tasty dinner of pulled pork and chicken.
Brandon
1 Corinthians 1:36-31
Brandon shared how God wants us to admit our weakness to Him in order for us know God’s patience, his love, and power. We are all chosen to be here to be weak so we can show God’s strength. Through that, we can bless others. However, he revealed that showing weakness was not easy for him.
“I set myself pretty high standards and sometimes when I don’t meet those expectations I ask myself-am I doing enough?” -Brandon
God revealed a lesson for Brandon through his MSG’s message, but didn’t understand it at first. But by humbling himself and asking God about his purpose during the trip, he realized the point was the willingness to be used in whatever capacity-big or small.
“It wasn’t about what I want to do but how can the Lord use me for his glory and purpose for this trip… [I asked God should I] allow you to use me .. and He (God) said ‘Yes, that’s what I want you to do.’ ” -Brandon
Tommy
Tommy shared advice on preparing ourselves to have a blurb to share with family and friends. This was tip he learned from his daughter. It will help us with being concise and having something meaningful to share with others.
“He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” -Mark 4:39
He also reminded us about how the Lord does not prevent bad things from occurring, but it’s what our response is that is important. On the job site, it’s easy to get hurt if we are being careless. But sometimes, bad things do happen even if we do take every precaution. However, it does not mean God is uncaring. Rather, we must remember that Jesus is always there with us at all times. We were not created by God to be happy, but to be, rather, we are meant to be holy. By this, we can find ourselves closer to God, which leads to peace and joy.
“Ask yourself, are we looking for safety or are we truly seeking after holiness as God intends…”- Tommy
Enjoy today’s photo album here
Here is the video recap for today
OKC 2017 – Folding with Lorin
Lorin got a chance to share with the 4th-5th graders at Hilltop Baptist
Afterwards, a few of the kids stuck around to get a personal private teaching on how to make the top out of origami!
For you that wanted to see how it was done.. Here it is!
2015 Children’s Message/Kid’s Church
A week before heading to OKC, we participated in two time honored traditions at our home church, Evergreen.
Frequently, missions teams will present something during the kids’ portion of our service. This year, Lorin ran our program both at the general service, and also the kids’ church.
After doing the lesson, the kids gathered around and pray for the team members.
Lorin’s return in 2012!
Lorin will be returning to Mississippi on our Coed team after her debut last year. She was one of the hardest and most cheerful workers last year. She took the time to share some of her reasons for going again.
In addition to what 1 Peter 4:7-10 says I really feel convicted to make good use of my time serving the Lord. Heb 10:25 reminds me that the time is short and I want to be reaching out to as many people as I can in order to share the gospel before the Lord’s return. There’s an urgency that I’ve been sensing. I see the many changes occurring in our daily lives, and not all for the good. We need to stand as salt and light and be good representatives for the Lord. To paraphrase Rm. 10:14-15: If we aren’t sharing the good news how will others hear? I want the Lord to use my feet to share the gospel while I can still move! I’m not getting getting any younger.
Before we go, something Lorin wanted to share…
Lorin will be 50% of the female contribution of our CoEd team. She’s coming on the trip for a the first time, and wanted to share some of her thoughts..
Just a word of praise. I remember during one of our meetings that someone said that we should be sharing with others about our upcoming missions trip. Well, it’s easier to do with friends, but I had an opportunity to bring up the upcoming Habitat trip to Biloxi while visiting with my doctor.
A few weeks ago, I dropped a container of frozen food on my foot and after the bruising went away I noticed that there was still a small lima bean sized bump on top of my foot that was causing pain. I put off going to the doctor as I didn’t want to hear any bad news that might prevent me from going, but after a while I figured I was in denial and needed to find out before we left, whether or not the bump could affect my health. (Being diabetic, I need to be careful about foot injuries.)
Anyways, it turns out that it’s a ganglion cyst caused by the impact. I can have it drained when I return. But the neat part is that I was able to share with my doctor about the Habitat trip and it turns out that she is a Christian and wants to hear about how the trip turns out. She also mentioned that she was looking for a church with a growing career group. I referred her to one of our branches and am praying that she will come for a visit.
Praise God that he gave me this opportunity to share and it wasn’t as “scary” as I thought it would be talking with a relative “stranger.” I’m not always sure what I should be saying and shy away from talking with someone about God-unless I know they are Christians. Praise God that through studying his word and prayer that he’s making me bolder about sharing the gospel.
Another neat thing was receiving a sign of confirmation from the Lord that I’m learning to obey and hear His call. This past week a verse in James came to me about becoming complete in faith. I decided to add something about that to my original children’s message. It was a blessing to hear Pastor Kyle give his message about the James passage just a few minutes after our children’s message. I felt that it was the Lord’s confirmation to me that I’m at least walking in the direction he wants me to go. I sometimes feel doubt and wonder if I’m doing what God wants, or am just going through the motions. Kyle spoke of satan’s attack on our thoughts and I felt like that was so applicable to things I’ve felt.
Thank God that we have a loving savior who graciously guides us and plants people and his word into our lives so that we know that we are walking along his way. I keep looking for those “breadcrumb” trails to make sure I’m on the right track. In this world there are so many false trails and attractive temptations that if we are not familiar with God’s word we can be so easily sidetracked. I need to remember that we are not of this world and that our treasure is not here, but in heaven. When I stand before the Lord and the white throne judgement I pray that I will hear the words, “Well done.”