Crossroads in Chattanooga: Singing in the Rain!

Happy hump day everybody!

I write today's post as laughter echos from the room next door. The team blows off steam after a long day with a game of "Empire" with friends from ChesPres and our favorite local teen Kaelan Lamar Duckett. This is an example of what we have seen this week...not playing games (though our team can make pulling up roots in the hot summer day fun) but building connections.

We have been encouraged (and pushed) to make new connections even if it is uncomfortable. For example, during morning worship, we are instructed to step down from the bleachers and go back up when we are standing besides people we do not know. At dinner we are told to sit next to someone not from our own team. Each day we have had a local middle school youth (or two) join our team for the work day. Then during the evening Bible club we build connections with the children who come and hear the gospel message. As we get more outside of ourselves, and invest more into others, we find that those connections grow or new ones are more easily made.

The work team at JoAnne Byrum's house (Ashleigh, Ben, David, Jewell, Jordan, Julia, Malachi and Olivia) invest in Ms. JoAnne. Each day this week they spend the work day with her installing drywall, repainting her porch and other tasks on her home. The other work team (Avery, Baxter, Charlene, Elise, Ian, Lauren, Nathan and Ross) invest in the community (HFIC or New City Fellowship) and the local youth who work alongside us.

Tonight by God's grace we were able to continue to build connections with the children at Woodlawn apartment complex. The rain and thunder threatened to cancel our bible club and we sat in the vans for over 30 minutes waiting for the shower to pass. We prayed for God's grace and he answered our prayers...Bible club must go on! We canvassed for children in the rain, held up a tarp sheet to keep the kids dry, and performed the club in the rain. Even with the rain, 17 kids came out. Please pray for the connections from this week, particularly on Friday's picnic, to continue to grow and for Christ's love to be felt through our words and actions.

- Charlene