Cary Serve 2010
New Update -- Saturday morning, June 26. For myself, the time in Mississippi passed quickly. With work
projects in the mornings, VBS in the afternoons, and meetings/devotions (and some free time for games) in
the evenings, the days went quickly. Now -- on the journey home -- we have time to pause and to reflect on
these things, and especially to pray for the children and young people who participated in VBS. I'm writing
this update from Booneville, MO, which is our overnight stop as we head back to SW Minnesota. About an
hour into the trip yesterday morning the alternator on the truck went out. I suspect I wasn't the only one who
said a quick prayer, asking God to provide. And He did. We stopped at a NAPA store/garage in the town
where the trouble was spotted, and they had exactly the alternator we needed on their shelf! Jeff and Steve
were able to install the new unit while most everyone else went to McDonald's (a block away) to have some
breakfast! We trust that God will continue to provide for us as we continue on our way. Tentatively, we plan
to share our report in the AM service on July 11 at the Luverne CRC. You're invited! Pastor Sparks
Thursday, June 24. Thanks again for checking in on us. A lot has happened since Monday. After a smaller
than usual beginning, VBS has grown so that yesterday we had 52 children! We give thanks for each of
them and for the opportunity we have to work with them. This is the final day for VBS. Once again we will
have mixed feelings about saying goodbye to the children -- when it seems that we've just begun to know
them. But we pray that the Bible truths and the Christian love we've shared with them will, by God's grace,
shape their hearts in positive ways for years and years to come!
The heat has been intense most of the week -- a little cooler this morning. Some of the guys have been
prepping floors and laying linoleum in a trailer house. Most of the crew has been helping at the Cary
Christian Center, unloading trucks, sorting books and helping at the thrift stores. A couple were able to
accompany a CCC social worker making some home visits with new mothers in the area. Today's
challenge is to paint an entire house in a single morning. If we have enough paint brushes and ladders, this
hard-working crew will probably get the job done! Please keep us in your prayers as we finish our tasks
here and begin, early tomorrow morning, the journey home. Pastor Sparks
Monday, June 21. We don't have Internet access in the dorm, so these updates will have to be few and far
between. But THANK YOU for checking in on us, and especially for your prayers. Yesterday (Sunday)
morning we attended a worship service at the Victory church in Vicksburg. After that we had dinner and
prepared for our VBS kickoff. It was 100 degrees when we started, but we were able to do most of the
kickoff games in the shade. Thankfully the church is air conditioned so we could go inside and cool off. We
were a bit disappointed that we only had a few kids at the kickoff carnival; yet we are hopeful that
attendance at VBS will be good. We're not sure how having VBS in the afternoons instead of in the
mornings will shape the attendance. But we'll be thankful for, and we invite you to pray for, each child who
attends. .
This morning the TEAM unloaded a semi trailer that was packed full of boxes for the Cary Christian Center
thrift stores. We heard that the record for unloading a semi was 2 hours, but with great teamwork we
smashed the record, completing the task in 1 1/2 hours! Below you'll find a couple of pictures from the
kickoff carnival, and from the record-setting unloading of the semi trailer! Also, check out Kendall and
Kaiser reminding us, with all the heat, not to work too hard trying to be heroes.
Friday, June 18. Hello. Thanks for checking in on us. So far the journey has gone well, except that possibly
everyone overate at Lambert's yesterday afternoon! Lord willing, I'll be flying from Chicago to Jackson, MS,
this afternoon. If someone picks me up at the airport I'll join the group this evening. I checked the weather
forecast for Cary, and for the next few days the high temps are expected to be in the upper 90's F. I
suppose the highest temps will be in the afternoons, which is when we will be having VBS this year. So
please pray that we will be given the endurance we need to adjust to summer, so that we may have lots of
energy for work projects and especially for interacting with the children and young people who come to
VBS.
When someone gives me a group photo of the SERVE team, I'll post it here, so keep coming back for
more updates!
Pastor Sparks
New Update -- Saturday morning, June 26. For myself, the time in Mississippi passed quickly. With work
projects in the mornings, VBS in the afternoons, and meetings/devotions (and some free time for games) in
the evenings, the days went quickly. Now -- on the journey home -- we have time to pause and to reflect on
these things, and especially to pray for the children and young people who participated in VBS. I'm writing
this update from Booneville, MO, which is our overnight stop as we head back to SW Minnesota. About an
hour into the trip yesterday morning the alternator on the truck went out. I suspect I wasn't the only one who
said a quick prayer, asking God to provide. And He did. We stopped at a NAPA store/garage in the town
where the trouble was spotted, and they had exactly the alternator we needed on their shelf! Jeff and Steve
were able to install the new unit while most everyone else went to McDonald's (a block away) to have some
breakfast! We trust that God will continue to provide for us as we continue on our way. Tentatively, we plan
to share our report in the AM service on July 11 at the Luverne CRC. You're invited! Pastor Sparks
Thursday, June 24. Thanks again for checking in on us. A lot has happened since Monday. After a smaller
than usual beginning, VBS has grown so that yesterday we had 52 children! We give thanks for each of
them and for the opportunity we have to work with them. This is the final day for VBS. Once again we will
have mixed feelings about saying goodbye to the children -- when it seems that we've just begun to know
them. But we pray that the Bible truths and the Christian love we've shared with them will, by God's grace,
shape their hearts in positive ways for years and years to come!
The heat has been intense most of the week -- a little cooler this morning. Some of the guys have been
prepping floors and laying linoleum in a trailer house. Most of the crew has been helping at the Cary
Christian Center, unloading trucks, sorting books and helping at the thrift stores. A couple were able to
accompany a CCC social worker making some home visits with new mothers in the area. Today's
challenge is to paint an entire house in a single morning. If we have enough paint brushes and ladders, this
hard-working crew will probably get the job done! Please keep us in your prayers as we finish our tasks
here and begin, early tomorrow morning, the journey home. Pastor Sparks
Monday, June 21. We don't have Internet access in the dorm, so these updates will have to be few and far
between. But THANK YOU for checking in on us, and especially for your prayers. Yesterday (Sunday)
morning we attended a worship service at the Victory church in Vicksburg. After that we had dinner and
prepared for our VBS kickoff. It was 100 degrees when we started, but we were able to do most of the
kickoff games in the shade. Thankfully the church is air conditioned so we could go inside and cool off. We
were a bit disappointed that we only had a few kids at the kickoff carnival; yet we are hopeful that
attendance at VBS will be good. We're not sure how having VBS in the afternoons instead of in the
mornings will shape the attendance. But we'll be thankful for, and we invite you to pray for, each child who
attends. .
This morning the TEAM unloaded a semi trailer that was packed full of boxes for the Cary Christian Center
thrift stores. We heard that the record for unloading a semi was 2 hours, but with great teamwork we
smashed the record, completing the task in 1 1/2 hours! Below you'll find a couple of pictures from the
kickoff carnival, and from the record-setting unloading of the semi trailer! Also, check out Kendall and
Kaiser reminding us, with all the heat, not to work too hard trying to be heroes.
Friday, June 18. Hello. Thanks for checking in on us. So far the journey has gone well, except that possibly
everyone overate at Lambert's yesterday afternoon! Lord willing, I'll be flying from Chicago to Jackson, MS,
this afternoon. If someone picks me up at the airport I'll join the group this evening. I checked the weather
forecast for Cary, and for the next few days the high temps are expected to be in the upper 90's F. I
suppose the highest temps will be in the afternoons, which is when we will be having VBS this year. So
please pray that we will be given the endurance we need to adjust to summer, so that we may have lots of
energy for work projects and especially for interacting with the children and young people who come to
VBS.
When someone gives me a group photo of the SERVE team, I'll post it here, so keep coming back for
more updates!
Pastor Sparks
To see more pictures from Cary SERVE 2010, click here. This will take you to a set of pictures on Flickr.
You might like to view them by 1) clicking on the "slide show" button (near the top right), and 2) when the
show begins, if you want to see captions, click on the "show info" link at the top. Enjoy!
You might like to view them by 1) clicking on the "slide show" button (near the top right), and 2) when the
show begins, if you want to see captions, click on the "show info" link at the top. Enjoy!