Bob and Judy at the Closing Worship Rally in Ft. Smith.
Toni, Tamara, Amanda and Katie participating in praise songs at the Closing Worship.
Youth praising God.
2000 youth and adults praising God and celebrating the close of our CTCYM mission experience.
Toni, Tamara, Amanda and Katie watching pictures of mission projects from across the CTCYM.
Richard, Stefanie, Judy and Bob lisening to the message at the Closing Worship.
Incredible is the only word that I can choose to describe the Closing Worship Rally for our CTCYM experience. We got up as usual in Berryville and after breakfast, began cleaning the church from top to bottom, readying the building for their Sunday worship and loading the last of our things in the trailer and vans. We then were each given our mission trip t-shirts which we changed into and got onto the road to Ft. Smith. This put us two hours closer to home.
When we arrived in Ft. Smith, we followed the steady stream of white vans to the Grand Avenue Baptist Church for the Closing Worship Rally. Entering the sanctuary, we were greeted by over a thousand youth and adults from across the conference fellowshipping and listening to praise music. It was loud. It was joyful. It was praise. It was an incredible sight!
We found our assigned pews for the Berryville Living Center. The beginning of the service began with a powerpoint of images from all the living centers. It was AWESOME to see the work accomplished. Our youth participated in small work teams, then a larger living center all week and then with the Closing Worship Rally, they got to see the impact of over 2000 youth and adults could have in one week in Arkansas and Missouri!
The powerpoint was followed by praise music, a message from a college campus minister in North Texas and communion led by Bishop Chambliss. After the closing prayer, we went outside where we were given a Chick-Fil-A lunch. We loaded our vans and turned home to Central Texas. It took us over 9 hours, but we safely arrived at Holy Ground a little after midnight.
Mission Trip 2008 was an experience that our youth and adults will be able to take forward as one connection in their faith life with God. We found Jesus in many of the people we met, work we did and connections made. Thank you to our congregation and community for helping us in this important ministry. We begin in July working on fundraising etc.... for mission trip 2009. Stay tuned for details and thanks for reading about our experience!
Grace and peace,
The Good News Youth Mission Team / 2008
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