When we are faithless, He is Faithful

I typically don't write about mission teams that come here to serve, but this last week can't go without mentioning. We've hosted some awesome teams throughout our service here at GAP, and have met some great godly folks along the way, people that put others above themselves and exemplify a true servant's heart.
I'm going to be honest, when we realized what last week held for us, we were not the least bit excited. Two youth groups were coming to serve here in McDowell. (you never know what kind of attitudes youth groups bring with them) The first team, Mt. Pleasant Baptist, out of VA, arrived on Monday evening. There were 27 in their group. Some of the projects we had lined up for them to complete were less than desirable. . .pulling weeds in the Lodge parking lot, hauling railroad ties down the road, picking up trash at the bridge. . . . and we just knew we would hear whining and meet resistance. But, much to our surprise, we never once heard the first negative remark. They displayed such awesome team work and praised God the whole way! On Wednesday, our 2nd group (of 24) was to arrive, coming from Vineyard Christian in Ohio. This group's trip already had one monkey wrench thrown in it. Marv (great man of God! volunteers his time, money and talents to come to GAP to serve one week a month) was bringing a trailer load of supplies down ahead of the group. On Tuesday, while traveling home from loading the trailer, his truck tore up. After taking it to the shop early Wednesday morning, he found out that his troubles were worse than he thought. Marv was not going to be able to make the trip; his truck would not be ready until the following Monday. So, the group took off, leaving Marv behind. About an hour from their hometown, the driver of one of the church vans felt some bad vibrations, so the caravan pulled over to check it out. After removing the front wheel, they found that the right brake was sticking. . they would have leave that vehicle and go pick up 2 rental cars (to fit all the ones riding in the van) to finish the journey to McDowell. Finally, after many hours on the road, they arrived at 2:15a.m. Through all of this adversity, these warriors were ready to hit the pavement sharing Christ's love at 10:00am. Their construction team set out to rebuild a ramp for an elderly lady while others surveyed a trailer park and shared the gospel.

After finding out about all of the adversity that this team had endured, Mt. Pleasant decided to fix dinner for them, so they could "unwind". The two cooks decided to join efforts. The groups gathered together at a local church and had an awesome time of fellowship and worship. It was such a blessing to see these youth from different states and different backgrounds come together and unite, praising a common Savior. It just goes to show that no matter what life deals you, what hardships you endure, there will always be fellow brothers and sisters in Christ that will step in and lift you up to the Father.

We know that this last week was bathed in prayer by many folks. It is amazing to me how God can turn something that we dread into such a blessing when we are so undeserving. We were faithless, yet He was faithful.

Faith's New Look

We took Dillon and Faith to have their eyes tested last week. Dillon's eyes have been bothering him quite a bit, and we were attributing it to seasonal allergies, but wanted to have them checked to be sure. Faith has been complaining of headaches, so we went ahead and had hers checked as well. Come to find out, Dillon's problems are allergies but he has 20/20 vision. . .just needed some drops. Faith on the other hand has to have reading glasses. She went for the "cool" pink look. The dr. said he feels like she'll grow out of this, but for now, she needs them to help her eyes. He said her eyes go inward to relax, rather than outwards. So, hopefully, God willing she won't have to wear them forever.

Dewey Lake Cleanup

The annual Dewey Lake cleanup day was held this last Saturday. The girl scouts and cub scouts got in on the dirty action. Both Faith and Dillon were able to participate for patches. Great job to all the scouts!