Although these pictures don't show us doing any charity/ spiritual work we had a GOD FILLED weekend. The places we went we weren't allowed to take our own cameras into. On Friday we sang at New Castle Correctional Facility. I'll tell you right now that that weekend was totally full of firsts, and something many others will probably never be able to do, and would normally be out of my comfort zone. We sang twice at the facility to about 300 inmates. It's soo cool to see how God works in such a dark place. Some had some stearn looks on their faces, but you would see their feet tapping. Some never budged, BUT there were some who took in every word we said. Some were even Crying!!!! The first service I was very nervous. I was expecting these guys to come in with shackles and cuffs. Neither were present! The second service was a little easier :) From there we drove to Carmel and sang at a sister church. A small group hosted us and fed us a spaghetti and salad dinner. Yum! Saturday our big project was to fix, serve, and visit with the homeless men at Lighthouse Ministries. OH, what an awesome day. I was a little uncomfortable knowing that I was going to have to sit down with these people and talk to them. I prayed that God would give me the courage and strength to have/ carry a conversation with these men. A couple of friends and I sat down with 3 men, and sat and talked until we had to sing. And there were no dull moments. These men could not believe that we had fixed this awesome meal just for them, and STAYED to talk to them. Most groups before us usually serve a meal and leave. They were in awe of what we had done for them that day. After we sang we handed out goody bags to them that included socks, shirts w/ a verse on them, bibl, etc. Such a great day. Sunday we were supposed to sing at the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincy, but we were rained out. The church had been singing there for quite some time now to give that extra little push to the runners as they were finishing the marathon, just like we do at the Race for a Cure here in Evansville.Let me tell you something...the Devil was working on us the WHOLE time!!!! One bus broke down on the way up, and they had to pile into the other bus or other vehicles. We were 1 hr. late to the facility. The US had put a ban on any/ all visitors at the Correctional Facility and many other places, b/c of the swine fly spreading, THE DAY BEFORE we got there! We were still able to sing. When we were finished the choir had left to head to the church. The set-up crew got stuck in a mandatory lockdown/ head count and could not leave. This delayed their travel by about an hour and a half. We sang at the church right on time W/O sound checks. Saturday the forcast called for rain all day. As soon as we got to the shelter and starting cooking and setting up the skies OPENED UP!!!! What a beatiful day it turned out to be. :) Sunday, the rain came. We were all at peace with the previous 2 days that it was okay that we couldn't sing at the marathon.
This was my first mission trip ever. It's something I was always interested in, but hadn't had the opportunity. I learned soo much this weekend about myself, how God works in these situations, and that every human being is a child of God. Whether they are having troubled times, locked up for life or a few years, down on their luck, homeless, you name it. God loves them as much as he loves you!!
