Summer Refuel 2019

Look this stuff is bigger than just one person. What is happening here is a God sized thing. What is happening here is because their are people who are committed to the vision.

When I say people who are committed to the vision I mean you, I mean our great staff, our great volunteers, the people that come from all over the country to serve here, people who give monthly through the mail and don’t even attend church here but the people that make it happen day in and day out are you.

You believe in the vision. You have bought in on caring for the children well in our community and you are making it happen.

So is there a need for some new grand idea or a major change in this organization? The answer is no. We have not named this new fuel or get rid of the old fuel but I want these nights in July to be a time when we refuel. We fill back up on what is working and prepare for what God has planned.

Look at what God did

Joshua 24:1-

Joshua 24:1–13 HCSB

1 Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem and summoned Israel’s elders, leaders, judges, and officers, and they presented themselves before God. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from the region beyond the Euphrates River, led him throughout the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants. I gave him Isaac, 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave the hill country of Seir to Esau as a possession, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5 “ ‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron; I plagued Egypt by what I did there and afterward I brought you out. 6 When I brought your fathers out of Egypt and you reached the Red Sea, the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen as far as the sea. 7 Your fathers cried out to the Lord, so He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea over them, engulfing them. Your own eyes saw what I did to Egypt. After that, you lived in the wilderness a long time. 8 “ ‘Later, I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan. They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. You possessed their land, and I annihilated them before you. 9 Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to Balaam. Instead, he repeatedly blessed you, and I delivered you from his hand. 11 “ ‘You then crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho—as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites—fought against you, but I handed them over to you. 12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings before you. It was not by your sword or bow. 13 I gave you a land you did not labor for, and cities you did not build, though you live in them; you are eating from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.’

I am going to take us back a little and look at what God did among us.

Spring Breakaway the Lord moved in the life of our students with Adam and Erin. We had many students wanting to have Gospel conversations and wanted to know what it meant to be saved.

REACH finished the year strong.

We asked for an air conditioned bus and God gave us two. The school system upgraded our school buses by giving us two more buses and we got an exceptional deal on those.

We started hiring students for the summer and I am excited that six 14-18 year olds are getting paid to work for us this summer.

We worked to bring on College mentors and we have six college mentors that came to us in many different avenues.

Baseball started and we coached 4 teams in Rockaway and 3 teams played at the Rec Plex. Over 60 kids and their families were involved in Bridge of Faith athletics through baseball and softball.

One of the greatest moments...

Pam getting a hit!

The implications of this moment

How many girls with development disabilities get the opportunity to play softball in a rural community like Rockaway Beach

I loved that kids became starting pitchers who had never picked up a baseball. I loved that parents started becoming more regular to church through watching their children play ball.

Walking up to the umpire and telling him that the kid pitching never touched a baseball before this year.

Summers @ the Beach

We had 98 kids registered. Our lowest day of registered kids was 64 and our highest was 71. I LOVE this. My goal was for 70 registered kids and you blew this out of the water. We averaged almost 70 kids a day!

I am so encouraged the quality of programming our kids receive while they are here. I love the Bible lessons, the games, the crafts, and financial peace junior.

So much detail was involved in planning. I was blown away by the daily crafts the kids got to do. My kids were always excited to be here everyday.

Financial peace junior is amazing. I love love love that kids in our community at a young age (my 5 year old was contemplating giving)

I love this and you are not just giving these kids a seat at the table but you are giving the kids in Rockaway Beach the chance to lead the table discussion at the table.

My kids are doing chores to earn money so they can save up for things at the store. I should probably pay them something soon.

Graduation was amazing and well attended and we were able to get families in to visit.

This year we added counseling sessions for kids to our program as well.

Our bus drivers and their professionalism on driving and keeping kids safe. The relationship you developed with the kids and their families.

USDA Feeding program

We fed great meals 2 meals a day, 4 days a week for four days!

I was trying to not eat sometimes for fitness reasons but then I would see the breakfast or lunch and I could not turn it down. Biscuits and gravy get me every time.

We were having fresh salads as an option everyday too.

I love that if someone walks in to the church in the summer and they are stressed we fed them and gave them a great meal.

I love that we fed kids this summer and studies show that kids who eat summer meals, do better in school, are less likely to drop out, and it helps them in the summer.

My heart about broke one day...

Tell the story about my friend (Wally)

Thank you kitchen crew for working so hard on feeding quality summer meals to the students.

Makayla training to run the program! I love this

served 1540 Breakfast meals

1442 Lunch meals

For a total of 2982

Summer School

Our summer school teachers rocked it this summer! They were teaching their hearts out to kids that sometimes didn’t want to be taught.

These teachers bought in to our vision and they did everything with in their means to make sure our kids would have extra education this summer.

Thrift Store

All the while the thrift store set a record month for June. The team of thrift store making it happen day in and day out is so great. I am so thankful for the professionalism of all the workers and their desire to work together.

Construction

Darryl and Jerry

Quality craftsmenship

Landscaping crew

Adam, Rick, and Cliff

Over 20 kids were wanting to have Gospel conversations and out of this at the pool party 10 have expressed interest in getting baptized and we have met with them about what baptism means and they have a good understanding of this.

Numbers 14:1–10 HCSB

1 Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. 2 All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and little children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.” 5 Then Moses and Aaron fell down with their faces to the ground in front of the whole assembly of the Israelite community. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite community: “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us. 9 Only don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!” 10 While the whole community threatened to stone them, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting.

Numbers 14:

What if Joshua and Caleb just said no?

You can take back all the stuff at the beginning of the chapter.

What would happen if you would have just said no this summer?

Joshua 24:14–31 HCSB

14 “Therefore, fear the Lord and worship Him in sincerity and truth. Get rid of the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship Yahweh. 15 But if it doesn’t please you to worship Yahweh, choose for yourselves today the one you will worship: the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my family, we will worship Yahweh.” 16 The people replied, “We will certainly not abandon the Lord to worship other gods! 17 For the Lord our God brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, and performed these great signs before our eyes. He also protected us all along the way we went and among all the peoples whose lands we traveled through. 18 The Lord drove out before us all the peoples, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will worship the Lord, because He is our God.” 19 But Joshua told the people, “You will not be able to worship Yahweh, because He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not remove your transgressions and sins. 20 If you abandon the Lord and worship foreign gods, He will turn against you, harm you, and completely destroy you, after He has been good to you.” 21 “No!” the people answered Joshua. “We will worship the Lord.” 22 Joshua then told the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you yourselves have chosen to worship Yahweh.” “We are witnesses,” they said. 23 “Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you and offer your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 So the people said to Joshua, “We will worship the Lord our God and obey Him.” 25 On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people at Shechem and established a statute and ordinance for them. 26 Joshua recorded these things in the book of the law of God; he also took a large stone and set it up there under the oak next to the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone—it will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the Lord said to us, and it will be a witness against you, so that you will not deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance. 29 After these things, the Lord’s servant, Joshua son of Nun, died at the age of 110. 30 They buried him in his allotted territory at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash. 31 Israel worshiped Yahweh throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua and who had experienced all the works Yahweh had done for Israel.