Week 9- The Mill Church, FBC Midlothian & The Squires Family

Rosamond

45 times on 45 days we went out: into the sun, into the heat. It was rainy on occasion, but most often hot. The miles walked canvasing, the back aches gained giving children rides, the sunburn and exhaustion; it was all worth it for the chance to advance God's Kingdom. A big thank you to the Mill Church and to the Squires family from St. Louis who joined us this week. Thank you for helping us finish our race strong. With the finish line in sight, they did not grow tired but pushed strong and loved well. We could not have asked for a better week 9 to finish off summer 2016. It was a splash! To everyone who was praying for the kids, we thank you. To everyone who supported the missionaries who came into Memphis to love on this community, we thank you. And to each and every person who answered the call this summer, to serve as the Lord's hands and feet, bringing light into darkness and hope to the hopeless, we thank you so much! Keep praying for this community and these kids throughout the school year - that God would continue to guard hearts and prepare souls for entrance into the kingdom. See you next year!

-Kaden & Brianna

Guernsey

Hey everyone! What’s hanging! This week Guernsey was on fire welcoming FBC Midlothian in the house. The team came in excited and on fire for God. They were on top of everything and always willing to be flexible. The team welcomed and loved on every kid with excitement and compassion as they entered bible club. This week’s numbers stayed constant in the mid to upper 40s, along with a high of 55 on Friday! For the week the team played many games of tips and kickball, sang song silly songs, and some very animated bible stories. Oh, and how can I forget, the kids colored and loved the pillowcases that we decorated all week! We were very thankful to have FBC Midlothian come and be the hands and feet of Jesus this week in Memphis! A huge shout out to the team for coming for the last week so that we may love on the kids one more time! It was a great week to close the summer out; while its always hard to say goodbye, we take it as a see you later. To all of the teams that came and served at Guernsey this summer thank you from the bottom of our hearts! God bless everyone as your summer comes to a close. Until next summer everyone, remember, “We’re hanging out on G-street!”

-Armskrong, LB & Joey 

National

I can't believe that I'm sitting here writing the very last blog of the summer. It's crazy to think that we've already had 9 weeks of bible club. I can't even begin to explain how truly thankful I am to have been able to be apart the work that God has done in this city. As I sit back and think of all of the things that He has done this summer, I can't even wrap my mind around it. All I can say is that He is a good good father. He truly is. I am extremely thankful that National was running for the last week. Most of the bible club sites ended last week, so I was so grateful to get to spend another week with my kids. On this last week of bible club, we had FBC Midlothian in the house to love on the kids one last time. A lot of people on this team has served at National for many years now. It was so awesome to see the relationships that the team already had with a lot of the kids. Some of the kids remembered who the team members were and they were so excited to see them. The kids had a ton of fun this week at crafts as they mad pillow cases. It was such a special time for me and the team members to sit down and talk to the kids while they were coloring their pillow cases. Bible story was also really cool this week. The leader of bible story dressed up Moses and the kids thought it was so funny. One of my favorite things about working here is being able to sit back and watch the team members authentically love the kids and vise versa. That's exactly what I saw this week. The team completely got what they were here for, which was to be the hands and feet of Christ. Thank you so much FBC Midlothian for all of the love you poured out this week. It means so much more than you will ever know. Thank you to every team that gave up their time to serve this community. Goodbyes are never easy. They're really hard. However, I am leaving with the complete peace and comfort of knowing that God has plans for each of these children. And that is the best hope and truth that I could ever know. All glory to God for all of the work that he has done this summer. How awesome it it that we get to be a small part of it? Well, I am saying peace out for the summer. National, it's been real, and I already can't wait to see you again soon. 

-Morgan

What an amazing week & group of missionaries to finish out the summer with! A huge thank you to The Mill Church, FBC Midlothian & The Squires Family for your willingness to come in and answer the call and give the kids one last awesome week of Bible Clubs! You all came in and finished out the summer strong and we could not be any more thankful for the sacrifices you made to come in and love the community well. 


This summer 1,736 kids came out to bible clubs all across North Memphis! We have seen the Lord working and know that seeds have been planted, watered, and harvested throughout this summer by the hundreds of missionaries who have come from all across the United States.  What is even more amazing is the faithfulness of the Lord to bring 61 of these children into a relationship with Himself and this isn't even the end of it! These kids are going back into their homes, families, and schools and sharing the life changing Gospel that has been told to them. His good news is invading dark places! Please continue to pray for these children as these dark places still exist. Pray that the Lord would give them boldness to shine His light. That they would remember what they have been taught and that they would not be content with just that but that they would grow in their relationship with The Father. That they would understand His love for them and be compelled to share it with others. Thank you to all who have made this summer possible by coming to Memphis, giving, and praying.  We truly could not have ministered at the capacity at which we did if it were not for the sacrifices that were made by you all to answer the call. 


"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

Week 8- FBC Greenwood, Barfield Baptist, New Shores Baptist, Eden Church, Calvary Church West Campus, Western Springs Baptist Church, and No Fences Cowboy Church

Rosamond 

What a week 8 at bible club Rosamond. From a hot Monday to a wet Friday, with the city cutting branches overtop of us, we managed to not get distracted but keep our eyes on the prize - namely the spreading of both love and gospel to the children. Thank you to the group from No Fences Cowboy Church, all the way from Alabama. Together, children learned such great stories as Noah, David and Goliath, and Jesus' death and resurrection. Lots of kids could even recite memory verses! I'd say it was a good week. Keep praying as we approach our final week. We have 5 more days to lead kids to waters of life, pray that they will drink.

-Kaden @ Rosamond

Guernsey

First Baptist Church Greenwood brought so much love for our kids over at G-Street! These students and leaders brought a passion to share the gospel with kids. They were excited to see their familiar friends from last year and make new relationships this week. Their excitement helped us have many kids come out to Bible Club this week! We reached a high of 58 kids, with the other days having numbers consistently in the 45-55 range. Although we had a very wet week, FBC Greenwood was not affected and continued to let their love “pour” out. At Bible Story, the kids learned all about the life and ministry of Jesus. We also watched the kids transform into eagles and hawks playing “Birds Fly” at the games station! The songs station brought out guitars to put an interesting spin on our Bible Club songs. Thank you FBC Greenwood for bringing out a passionate group this week at Guernsey. Please pray for the Guernsey kids and missionaries as we conclude the summer next and as they transition back into the school year.

-Joey, LB, and Hunter

National 

This week at National we had Greenwood FBC in town. The kids had a lot of fun this week as they made some really cool crafts. They made slap bracelets, salvation bracelets, necklaces, and some other fun crafts that the kids really enjoyed. The kids had battles everyday singing "We love Jesus yes we do, we love Jesus how about you". I loved hearing the kids scream these words across the park everyday and hearing how much they do love Jesus. The team fell in love with the kids and the kids absolutely loved the team. It's so awesome to think that so many people come from so far away to love on these kids that they don't even know. That's what the gospel is all about, and I'm so thankful to be apart of it. We couldn't do anything that we do without the teams that sacrifice their time to come in and invest in these children's lives. At the end of the week, the team wrote letters for the kids so that the kids would be reminded how much they love them, and most importantly how much Jesus loves them. Thank you Greenwood FBC for coming and serving at National this week! Please pray for the kids and the teams that are coming in as we go into our last week. I can't wait to see what God has in store. 

-Morgan & Katie P.

Johnson

Hey y'all! What a summer it has been at Johnson! New Shores Baptist Church was in this house this week ready to serve! Everyone was very excited to back and reconnect with some old faces. The team was ready to go out and serve on Monday morning! The kids this week had loads of fun at Bible Club! Energy was fabulous all week and it reflected during Bible Club. Great energy led to our high of the summer of 69 kids!! God blessed the team and Fish and I bringing out those 69 kids on the last day of Bible Club. New Shores ended Johnson with a bang this summer and I couldn't be any happier. Thank you so much New Shores for answering the call to serve the kids of Johnson Bible Club. I was very blessed to get to work with yall the last week at Johnson. The kids love each and everyone of you very much! I hope yall made memories that will last a lifetime. Many tears were shed on the last day but God has given all of us peace because we will see them again one day in Heaven. God has blessed Johnson Bible Club and I pray that those blessing will keep pouring out. Thank you so much New Shores for serving. None of this would be possible without you guys! God bless New Shores and Johnson Bible Club.  “We are, we are, JOHNSON”

-Bobbby

Jackson

This past week has been a hard week, I won’t lie. From finding out that it was our last week with the Jackson kids & having to say goodbye on Wednesday, the emotions ran very high. Holly and I got to spend our last few days with Eden Church, and they made quite the impression on the kiddos. From making water wells to dressing up for bible story, the kids seemed to enjoy Eden! One of my favorite but saddest moments was on Wednesday during dismissal. I had just called the Orange walking route and I look over and see Kameron walking away. I ran and caught up to him as he was walking with his head down. I asked him what was up, but he wouldn’t answer. In that moment I realized that as much as Holly and I will miss the kids, the kids will miss us just as much. I pulled Kameron into a hug and let him know that we loved him and that we loved having him this summer.  I want to thank Eden for serving this week and giving not only Holly and I say good bye to the kids, but for also letting the kids say goodbye to us. This summer has been incredible. We started with Loudon County Association and were able to end the summer with Eden, and in that span, we were able to minister to the kids 38 different days. What an incredible ride it has been.   
-Tedder

Whittier

God was moving at Whitvegas this past week for our last week of Bible club - on Friday, our very last day, we hit a summer high of 66 kids that got to come out & witness the love of Christ!! We are very thankful that Western Springs Baptist Church joined us this week. We could not have made the impact we made this week without y'all, so thank you for giving up a week of your summer to come serve our community.  The kids learned new songs, made fun, unique crafts everyday & even got to take home shirts & CD's to help them remember the truths they learned this week, which they absolutely loved! Thank y'all for letting God move through you & use you this week here in Memphis. Please please please join us in praying for these precious kids & their families as the school year starts. Pray for their safety. Pray that the faith of those who accepted Christ would keep growing & that others will come to know Him. Praise God for the amazing, impactful, memory-filled summer we've had at Whittier Bible club this year & for all of His precious children He graciously let us make relationships with & spend our summer with. God is so good & He is moving in this city. 

•"Ain't no party like a Whitvegas party cause a Whitvegas party don't stop"•
-Claire & Meredith

Que Que

This week we closed out Que Que with Calvary West. From day one they loved on those kids like crazy! We started off the week with 48 kids and our high was 62! Everyday the kids learned a different part of the Lord's prayer. They had conversations about what a good and loving father is, why our God is Holy, and how Christ is the best superhero there is. They hammered the points in by making Crafts related to the bible story, the highlight was the shield with a J on the front letting all the kids become mini superheroes for a day. In games we saw the oldest truly become kids again as they spent time playing kickball, bubbles, and finger darts. A huge thank you goes to Calvary for the love you poured out on these kids! They truly saw Christ through your actions and we hope to see you again! Pray for the children and families of this community as summer closes out and the school year comes in.

-Katie W. 

Kendrick 

Barfield Baptist Church came to close out Kendrick for the summer. The minute we arrived on Monday the kids were eager to have fun at bible club. The sounds of Big Big House and other songs could be heard throughout the week.  We had a high of 46 kids on Wednesday. It was a week full of love for the kids. They were full of energy each and every day at bible club without reserve. The kids learned about Jesus and a lot of his ministry.  They had great games planned for each and every day. There wasn't a kid on site who wasn't having fun. Every station was full of fun and energy. Each and every kid at Kendrick felt loved  everyday. It's been a great summer hanging out at Kendrick Bible Club this summer   Thank you so much for coming to serve, love at closing Kendrick Bible club with a great week. 

-Beef 

This has been such an amazing summer and week 8 was no exception! We are so thankful to have had FBC Greenwood, Barfield Baptist, New Shores Baptist, Eden Church, Calvary Church West Campus, Western Springs Baptist Church, & No Fences Cowboy Church in town to share Christ & His love all across this community. As we are starting to close out the summer and a lot of Bible Clubs for the year, these teams poured every last bit of energy & love that Christ has given them to finish out many of the Bible Clubs strong. Please be in prayer as we begin the final week of the summer.