MOSES is structured as a peer ministry. With the exception of the directors and a number of other adult coaches, trips are run by student leaders. These Student Leaders, who serve as either Team Shepherds or Team Directors, are really the ministers of MOSES, seeking to teach, encourage, mentor, and meet spiritual and emotional needs of the other participants. The other participants are those who sign up to come on our trips for personal interest and growth, often because a friend, parent or youth leader encouraged them.
McLain, Mississippi Report
Twenty six teens and adults arrived in McLain on Friday, April 2. Three other adults had driven down a couple days earlier as an “advance team.” These men dropped off supplies for our other group in Cary MS and then proceeded to McLain where they traveled around with Miss Tina Brown to locate and assess the worksites she had lined up for us. They also procured construction materials for several of our jobs.
It was good to see Miss Tina again and other members of the community. They have come to welcome and appreciate us more each year. One sign of community growth is the opening of a new Dollar General store. This little store gets a lot of business and has been locally dubbed “the mall.”
The females again stayed at the fire barn and the guys at the community center. Our cooks, Barb Roth and Rachel Folkersma fed us very well, and I imagine we all put on a few extra pounds.
In the days and weeks prior to our arrival, Mississippi had received lots of rain, producing a bumper crop of mosquitoes. Trees were leafed out, grass was a lush green, and flowering shrubs were in glorious color.
On Sunday, we were warmly welcomed at the Mount Olive Baptist Church. This church is totally African American and we doubled the size of the congregation that day. At their invitation, some of us volunteered to join the choir. We bluffed our way, picking up the words and swaying to the music. It was an interesting and blessed experience for all of us.
In the community of McLain, many of the houses and trailers have broken-down steps, unsafe even for healthy people. They’re even more dangerous for the elderly and infirm. So we have taken to building new steps and ramps, and also repairing and replacing broken doors. During the course of the week, we did some painting jobs, installed ten sets of steps, two ramps and five doors. We also built a new jungle gym for the community in a park-like area, and cleaned up several yards.
Doing this work requires lots of support and financial commitment. We thank you for your prayers and financial help. God blessed us with a great team, warm relationships, satisfying accomplishments, and safe travel.
News! We look forward to a June first-time visit to Michigan by Miss Tina and several McLain teens.
Twenty six teens and adults arrived in McLain on Friday, April 2. Three other adults had driven down a couple days earlier as an “advance team.” These men dropped off supplies for our other group in Cary MS and then proceeded to McLain where they traveled around with Miss Tina Brown to locate and assess the worksites she had lined up for us. They also procured construction materials for several of our jobs.
It was good to see Miss Tina again and other members of the community. They have come to welcome and appreciate us more each year. One sign of community growth is the opening of a new Dollar General store. This little store gets a lot of business and has been locally dubbed “the mall.”
The females again stayed at the fire barn and the guys at the community center. Our cooks, Barb Roth and Rachel Folkersma fed us very well, and I imagine we all put on a few extra pounds.
In the days and weeks prior to our arrival, Mississippi had received lots of rain, producing a bumper crop of mosquitoes. Trees were leafed out, grass was a lush green, and flowering shrubs were in glorious color.
On Sunday, we were warmly welcomed at the Mount Olive Baptist Church. This church is totally African American and we doubled the size of the congregation that day. At their invitation, some of us volunteered to join the choir. We bluffed our way, picking up the words and swaying to the music. It was an interesting and blessed experience for all of us.
In the community of McLain, many of the houses and trailers have broken-down steps, unsafe even for healthy people. They’re even more dangerous for the elderly and infirm. So we have taken to building new steps and ramps, and also repairing and replacing broken doors. During the course of the week, we did some painting jobs, installed ten sets of steps, two ramps and five doors. We also built a new jungle gym for the community in a park-like area, and cleaned up several yards.
Doing this work requires lots of support and financial commitment. We thank you for your prayers and financial help. God blessed us with a great team, warm relationships, satisfying accomplishments, and safe travel.
News! We look forward to a June first-time visit to Michigan by Miss Tina and several McLain teens.
CARY, MISSISSIPPI REPORT
At the invitation of Barbara Green a team of 17 students and 5 adults spent their spring break in various areas around Cary, Mississippi. Barbara called us, and asked if we would build a playground in her home settlement of PantherBurn, Mississippi. So we made arrangements to stay at the Cary Christian Center (CCC), and spent some of our time, working with them also. The vision of CCC is to break the cycle of poverty through relationships one person at a time; so we were encouraged to make relationships while we worked. In those relationships we heard stories of how Danny got his hand in a
cotton gin and no one would help him get to a hospital; of how only one out ten, heads of households in that area have a job; of how the day before we came, Rebecca lost her home to a fire and all of her deceased son's war awards were destroyed. So we listened and helped. We built a playground, for children, who never had a swing or a slide; we roofed a house – that when it rained on the outside, rained on the inside too; we also worked on addition of a house that needed siding, drywall, and paint; several girls scrapbooked the activities at the CCC so other could see what CCC was involved in;
we worked at the thrift store, which profits the CCC and is the only place in town that people can buy clothes or household goods. Every morning we got together with the staff of CCC and all the volunteers at the center and shared devotions together to start our day. On Sunday we took part in a local church service which lasted three hours, and we experienced the culture of the South through the interaction of that service. Through all our work and fun, and we had a lot of fun, we pray that we actively demonstrated the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and were able to build His Kingdom for His
glory.
At the invitation of Barbara Green a team of 17 students and 5 adults spent their spring break in various areas around Cary, Mississippi. Barbara called us, and asked if we would build a playground in her home settlement of PantherBurn, Mississippi. So we made arrangements to stay at the Cary Christian Center (CCC), and spent some of our time, working with them also. The vision of CCC is to break the cycle of poverty through relationships one person at a time; so we were encouraged to make relationships while we worked. In those relationships we heard stories of how Danny got his hand in a
cotton gin and no one would help him get to a hospital; of how only one out ten, heads of households in that area have a job; of how the day before we came, Rebecca lost her home to a fire and all of her deceased son's war awards were destroyed. So we listened and helped. We built a playground, for children, who never had a swing or a slide; we roofed a house – that when it rained on the outside, rained on the inside too; we also worked on addition of a house that needed siding, drywall, and paint; several girls scrapbooked the activities at the CCC so other could see what CCC was involved in;
we worked at the thrift store, which profits the CCC and is the only place in town that people can buy clothes or household goods. Every morning we got together with the staff of CCC and all the volunteers at the center and shared devotions together to start our day. On Sunday we took part in a local church service which lasted three hours, and we experienced the culture of the South through the interaction of that service. Through all our work and fun, and we had a lot of fun, we pray that we actively demonstrated the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and were able to build His Kingdom for His
glory.
MOSES INC.
Making OurSelves Equipped Servants
Est. 1988
March 29- April 7, 2012
(Site to be determined)
(Site to be determined)
Judy VanderArk | mosesjudy@gmail.com | 1380 Spaulding SE, Grand Rapids MI 49546.