FINAL WORSHIP AND CELEBRATION

A long week comes to an end! All roofing and painting jobs are complete. No major injuries. A couple of extra jobs have been completed also. We thank God for his blessings and protection.

We had 16 churches involved in feeding the work crews. They served 1500 meals to hungry and grateful kids. Every one raved about the way our churches took care of their crews. A big thank you to everyone who participated in preparing, delivering and serving the meals to the work crews.

Eleven churches brought 275 participants. They came from Texas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina and Florida. They presented the gospel to residents and neighbors, 51 times. Five residents accepted Christ as their savior as did six of the kids who came to World Changers.

During evening worship one of the adults shared his crew's experience in presenting the gospel to the resident of the home on which they were working. Forgive the camera work.Listen to the testimony.

One could not help being blessed worshiping with the kids. Their voices were raised to God in thanksgiving for all he had done for them.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

World Changers make a difference. The Emerald Coast Fellowship of Baptist Churches has a partnership with the city of Fort Walton Beach and the World Changers organization that organizes youth groups from around the nation to roof and paint the homes of low income residents. 

Below is a video of a city official and a number of World Changer participants who tell in their own words the difference the World Changers experience makes in their lives. (The boys didn't want to speak on camera, but the girls were more than ready to talk! Imagine that.)

Many thanks to the volunteers from our sixteen churches who are providing lunch and encouragement to these great teenagers.

WORK AND WORSHIP

On Wednesday, work continued much as it began on Tuesday. God gave a beautiful day with lots of sunshine and a cool breeze. By afternoon the son was blazing and the breeze was hot. Keeping hydrated and taking occasional cooling off breaks became important.

By 4:00 pm everyone is ready to head for the showers and getting cooled off. During the day the showers have been cleaned by the cleaning crew of volunteers from First Baptist Mary Esther and First Baptist Ft. Walton Beach.
After everyone is cleaned up and cooled off, it is time for Supper! After a long day of work it is time to replace those calories. And these guys and girls know how to do that.

After supper it is time for worship. Worship is as important a part of the daily activities as is work. On Wednesday night the theme is "Concert of Prayer.

The sanctuary was dimly lit and soft music was playing as the kids entered quietly and reverently. Their adult group leaders were already in place, and the kids went to sit with their own church group leaders. After a song seeking spiritual awakening, scripture was read about our need for prayer. The kids then divided into groups of five with an adult leader in each group. Their leader then prayed for each young person individually and personally.

After a song and scripture readings, the group watched a video presentation by four SBC missionaries. The teens gathered in groups to pray for these missionaries. Another scripture reading led to the teens gathering in groups of three to pray for each other. They were asked to pray that God would help them to be missionaries when they get back home. That God would use them to bring change to their family, friends, school and community.

 

The service ended with a song, during which many youth went to the altar for personal prayer and commitment.

  

The kids left the service as they entered, quietly and reverently. Leaving the worship service they went directly to their church group devotionals. Here they have time to reflect on the events of the day and God's lessons for their lives. 

The week of work and worship truly changes many of these teens' views of the world and their place in it. God is working in their lives in a significant way. Please pray for these young people, that God might truly change their world.

Work Started Early on Tuesday

The World Changers got up early and had breakfast. They were excited about getting started to work. They got their work groups together and had a big sendoff. When they arrived at their work sites the roofing shingles were awaiting them on the roofs. The city of Fort Walton Beach provides all the materials for the work while the World Changers provide the labor. The Emerald Coast Fellowship provides the lunches on site as well as other support services.

 

It did not take long for the kids to get to work. It was a beautiful morning with lots of sunshine and a gentle breeze. Perfect working conditions. 

The first thing that has to be done is to strip the roof of the old shingles and tar paper. 

 

After the roof is stripped, the discarded shingles and tar paper must be cleaned up and carried to the street. The city of Fort Walton Beach will send by the trash haulers to take the piles of debris away. 

 

Sixteen local churches are providing lunches for nineteen work crews this week. When the vans, trucks and cars from the churches arrive at 11:30 am with the food, all work stops! Hundreds of volunteers from the churches prepare, deliver and serve wonderful meals for hot, hungry kids and supervisors.

 Lunch leads into mid day devotionals led by one of the students. The homeowners are invited to sit in on the Bible study and discussion time.

 

After devotionals, it is back to work. The temperature locally reached the mid 90's this afternoon. Putting down black tar paper is an exacting and hot job for a team. The edge must be on the chalk line from end to end. All roofing jobs must pass the same city inspection that a professional roofer would have to pass.

 Thank you Lord for a safe day of work.

 A Wet Day Off

Sunday was a wet and windy day. However all our crews (19) got off to their supporting churches for worship and lunch. They were then led to their work sites so they would know how to find them on Monday morning
However, a fickle female called Debbie (Tropical Storm) could not decide where she was going to go. A decision had to be made on Sunday afternoon about what was going to happen on Monday. The kids safety comes before anything else, so it was decided they would not be roofing and painting on Monday. They were given the day off.
All the churches feeding the 19 crews were emailed and called to inform them not to deliver meals on Monday. Flexibility is the key word when you are doing mission work.
Pray for good weather for the rest of the week. A lot must be done in four days, but with God's help and hard work it will be a great week of ministry.

 World Changers Arrive on the Emerald Coast

 The kids arrived in droves to Cinco Baptist Church. They came in vans, buses and trucks. Some drove all night to get here today. They filled up the parking lot with their vehicles.

Buses and vans filled the parking lot

They moved mountains of personal items into the Sunday School rooms at Cinco. They were packed from wall to wall with air mattresses and sleeping bags. At least the boys rooms were. They wouldn't let me into the girls area--but I bet it was clean and orderly as could be ;)

Typical Boys Room

The group below was from South Carolina. They brought 45+ kids and adults. The Youth Pastor was giving them last minute reminders. The most prominent one I heard was "drink lots of water, stay hydrated." Good advice for kids who will be working on roofs the last week of June in Florida.

At 4:15 they had their opening ceremony in the sanctuary (see below). It is the beginning of a very busy week for all of them. Be in prayer for their safety and for the success of their ministry in our community.

Our shower trailer from First Baptist Gulfport, MS arrived today about noon. It has 12 shower stalls and will be used by the girls. A big shout out to Mickey Hawkins and Cinco Baptist Church for hosting World Changers.

12 Stall Shower Trailer borrowed from FBC Gulfport, MS

Below is a picture of the Summer staff (college students) that travels from city to city with World Changers. They take care of the office duties as well as lead worship, work the sound system and lights and do a video of the week's experience. 

Summer Staff

Sarah Hambleton, Bailey Harkins and Justin Ray prepare scripture posters to encourage the World Changers. These are some of the youth group from Cinco Baptist Church.

Excitement is building as time for the World Changers to arrive is approaching. The kids will start streaming in from around the Southeastern US on Saturday afternoon, June 23. They will be housed at Cinco Baptist Church in Ft. Walton Beach, FL.
Already a pallet of supplies has arrived. An advance team will be arriving on Friday. We already have an eight stall shower trailer in place. Friday afternoon a twelve stall shower trailer will arrive. Last and least, a four stall trailer will get here on Saturday. That is 24 showers for 260 dirty, smelly kids:)
Sixteen churches are participating in the World Changers ministry this year. They will be serving almost 1,800 meals over six days at 19 different work sites. Thank you to all you volunteers who will be doing all the work of preparing, delivering and serving these meals to the World Changers.
Let us pray that God will use this time of ministry to demonstrate his love to our community. Let's also pray that God will change the lives of the kids that are coming to work here. Many will be on their first mission trip. Several of them will be touched by God's Spirit to become missionaries because of their experiences at World Changers on the Emerald Coast.