Mission Trip - Wednesday Update and Devotional

Yesterday was another beautiful day up in Coatesville. We have been blessed with really good weather up here - very low humidity and in the low 80s. Because of the great weather, a lot of our work focus has been on outside work. Among other things, yesterday's work consisted of finishing some of the windows we replaced, tearing down a staircase, laying down tile in a bathroom and putting up a new one, and putting on a primer coat on around the a house.

What has impressed me the most so far is how well our students are learning and doing. These are not easy things to do and very few of them have ever done any kind of work like this before. BUT, they are learning and accomplishing the tasks. They are working very hard and have great attitudes about what is expected.

Some great relational work was done as well yesterday. We are continuing to get to know our families and minister to them. On my team, Laurel, Kelly and Jenna got to play with the baby some more and got some good starter conversations with the mother (on Monday, she didn't say anything to them except that they could hold the baby). The husband was at home all day yesterday so we learned a lot about him and he was very interested to know about our church and why we came all the way up from VA to help out.

Last night, we had the "night off" from organized meetings. So, about 15 of us went down to the basketball courts (about 2 blocks away) where Richard Hamiliton (former Wizard, current Piston player) has a Summer Basketball League for Coatesville. He buys them all jerseys and will show up every once in a while (he grew up in Coatesville and is a living legend here). It is some very good basketball to watch. Anyways, when we were down there, we ran into some old friends! We saw some of the V.B.S. students we minister to last year! It was amazing catching up with them. Here is the picture of 2 of the students with Trevor and Joe.

Not bad for a camera phone picture!

Even thought we had the "night off", I did pull our church together to debrief and talk about what we are learning at the sights and in their time with Christ. It is very encouraging to hear their responses - God is working in them. Continue to pray for us. Pray that we remain encouraged with the work we are doing and that the Lord provides opportunities for us to minister to the families we are working for. Also, pray that our group continues to gel together and that we can build strong relationships with each other and the Lord.

If you want to follow along with our devotional today, here it is:

DEVOTIONAL:

How important is prayer to you? What do you pray for? Do you believe that God answers your prayers?

Read Matthew 6:5-13; John 15:7

Jesus gives some guidance in verses 5-8 about where to pray and the manner in which you should pray? What are those?

In verses 9-13, Jesus shows us how to pray? Break it down into today's English. What is he asking you to do in each verse?

V. 9:

V. 10:

V. 11:

V. 12:

V. 13:

Additional Thoughts and Application:

Prayer is a powerful tool God gives us to speak to him and share our heart with him. It is so important he show us exactly how to pray. With today in mind, use the model Christ gave us in verses 9-13 and spend some time right now praying to God. Give him glory and honor, thanking him for all He has done and will continue to do, while also offering up prayers for the day. Remember, God is great and holy. He can and will do anything. Therefore, today, let's seek him and see where he leads and provides.