On Our Way Home

We had a great day in Philadelphia celebrating Independence Day. The group got to tour Independence Hall, see the Liberty Bell, eat a Philly Cheesesteak, see the Betsy Ross house, flip pennies on Ben Franklin's grave, hear concerts on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and enjoy a spectacular fireworks show to end the night. The entire the group had a great day in the city where the Declaration of Independence was crafted and signed in 1776 and the US Constitution was created in 1787.

The group walked over the city from the historical district to the art museum area to enjoy a fun finale to the mission trip that night. Several found fun glasses and hats to wear. We all enjoyed the music before the city's 4th of July fireworks show. The show was truly amazing. The day was a great finish to a great week.

Our church should be proud of our students and adults that went to minister in Waterbury, Connecticut, leading Day Camp for Waterbury Baptist Ministries. They both spoke and displayed the message of Christ to all they came in contact with this week. The week went extremely smooth because of their flexibility and their unity. We ministered and had a lot of fun doing it. Our CT Mission Team was the hands and feet of Christ this week.

Thursday Night

Hey Huntsville!! This is Sarah Leffel and Sarah Sizemore. We are currently at a free time and are getting ready to play cards and laugh a lot! Sarah Sizemore(me) has learned the in-depth meaning of FLEXIBILITY! It doesn't mean you don't like what's going on, but it means you don't show it. This past week I have done the following: had my room changed, had three different jobs in VBS(the final one I found out the day before we started), and Hope left us Preschool teachers to be with her children. I'm not the only one of the group who has been flexible. I have been so proud of how easily we move from one job to the next(even to cleaning out the milk bucket).
Enough about flexibility. Today was a little hectic. Apparently everyone assumed that by the fourth day all the grownups could completely back off and let us students take over. WRONG! Now, most of the grownups would have a heart attack sitting back and watching if they backed off completely, so they did do what they usually do, just less. We rose to the occasion, but apparently the children didn't get the memo. They were borderline out of control. We are all praying that tomorrow will be better.
Tonight there was a Commissioning Dinner for us. The food was quite good, and the people from Waterbury were very nice. I feel so good knowing that they're praying for us. I felt like we should have been praying for them, which we are. Those who are very attached to the kids got emotional at saying goodbye(mainly Brittany). Overall, it was a lovely dinner and a lovely sentiment. The high point of the evening was listening to Sarah Leffel try to speak Hungarian and failing miserably. Laci would hear her try, then immediatly cover his mouth with his hands and bent over laughing. So funny. Now I'm going to share the blog with the other Sarah. (I should get a certificatte on the Wall of Fame!)


Hey YA'LL:

This is Sarah Leffel. I am writing to all of you faithful bloggers out there who are very patiently and diligently listening. Today was a FABULOUS day, but then again every day so far has either been good, or if it has not been good, it was a day where I learned something. My role in VBS was leading the music room. This meant that I stood in front of 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 year olds and sang praises to the Lord. It was not what I wanted or had hoped to do in the first place; I had wanted to work hands-on with a small group of children. Instead, the Lord had a different idea in mind and through the whole experience I have been blessed. The Lord is good isn't he? The lessons we have been teaching the children have applied to me. I have been learning along with them. I have to say some of my most favorite parts have been Mystic (this means spending time with my best friend and senior, Lindsey Ellison, as well as Ryan Stallcup, Eric Stallcup, and Robert Boothe) playing games at night with my friends (which in more detail means laughing till I have NO breath left and my stomach hurts), but also spending time with one of my new friends and brother (that is just my nickname for him) Laci. He is SOOOOO FUNNY!!! :) I enjoy spending time with him and as Sarah Sizemore said, learning Hungarian!! What an experience!! This WHOLE blog is all to say: We are alive, we are rockin' it, and are seeing God work in our lives- does it get better than that? Oh! And since I have power I am going to give a little shout out to my family, and to my prayer partners, but to all of you as well, may you be blessed by us and God.

Love and Goodnight,
Sarah Leffel and Sarah Sizemore

Tuesday, June 29 Update

Hello Friends - this entry is short. We are about to load the bus for a fun evening in the Mystic, Connecticut area. Mystic is a wonderful seaport town with a tourist twist. We are dividing the group to eat at Abbott's Lobster on the Rough and Paul's Pasta - two local favorites. The video is from Sunday's fair with Waterbury Baptist Ministries. Thanks to Charles for putting it together. Enjoy and keep praying for us. We will get another blog up soon!

big first day

We have 74 children here for the first day of Day Camp. This is the largest first day they have had in several years. Praise God!

Sunday at Waterbury Baptist Ministries

Hey! It's Allie Foshee and Britney Tallent-Smith reporting from Waterbury! Today has been tiresome, but filled with excitement and memories. Today in the Sunday worship, Britney shared her testimony and not only did it touch the hearts of the FBC Huntsville members, she bonded with the people of Waterbury Baptist Ministries as well. Pastor Maner made us all feel welcome and glad to be part of their church family for this next week. After worship, our whole team helped with the Waterbury Fair. We all had such a blast and even welcomed in some of the songs for the week of VBS. We know the children are all so excited! We are expecting 64 kids starting Monday! WOAH! It's amazing how God shows us to be commited in being His hands and feet. Since we were expecting about 40 this morning and then Jamie dropped the bomb that we would be having 64, I thought of how blessed we all were to be here to welcome all these kids! As of now, we have about an hour until lights out in our hotel rooms. Allie and I are sure we are all happy it's the end of the day. And yes, we will all be passed out within five minutes of shutting our eyes. I assure all the people at FBC Huntsville, that we are making you very proud. I believe Allie and I both can say how proud we are of this group on how much we've accomplished in the first day. We all stayed moving, and had our hands full. We are all being very flexible , and we cannot wait to see what this next week has in store for our entire youth group. We will be getting an early start in the morning that some of us aren't used to, as we have to be downstairs at 7:30 precisely. Whew! and oh how this week will fly by. But through it all, God is going to show us the amazing works of what our hands and feet can do. Before we close out, our whole youth group says thank you to all who made goodie bags! They are amazing and we are so happy that we had those extra sugar fixes to keep us awake. Please continue to pray that we will show the kindness and love that our youth group can outreach to these children in the next week that some of them may not get at home. We can't wait to see what each youth member brings to the table and what they are capable to do through God. As our lives change in the week ahead, we pray that we change the lives of the children and people of Waterbury. So, again please pray for our entire group as we head into this upcoming week as it will be filled with excitement, love, tears, changes (personally), and bonds within our group. We love you guys and miss y'all probably as much as you miss us (maybe a little less) ha-ha. On a last serious note, we know that God is going to do wonderful things through us and we can't wait to see what this week will bring. Hope to talk to y'all soon and will share the amazing moments in the week ahead. Goodnight Huntsville, signing off...it's Allie and Britney wishing you all sweet dreams until tomorrow. AUSEEL AND BEANS ROCK SOX EVEN WHEN YOU WEAR FLIP FLOPS.

CT Prayer Guide

Thank you for your prayers and support while a group of students and adults from our church serve in Waterbury, Connecticut. They will be ministering with the congregation of Waterbury Baptist Ministries through Day Camp, worship, a community fair, and community ministry which involves prayer and evangelism. Pray that this mission team will both experience the presence of Christ in them and through
their acts of ministry.
Below are areas of each day for which you can pray. Again, thank you. This trip could not be possible without the tremendous support of our church. Come on Wednesday, July 7, for the trip report during the weekly Prayer and Bible Study Meeting in the Fellowship Hall.


Saturday, June 26
· Safe Travel
· Team building and the formation of new friendships on the long bus ride

Sunday, June 27
· Worship with Waterbury Baptist Ministries. Our team will be leading music and sharing testimonies.
· Community Fair. Our team will be performing with puppets, clowns, face painting, games and juggling.
· Setting up for the week’s Day Camp

Monday, June 28
· First day of Day Camp to children ages preschool through sixth grade. Pray for a calmness of nerves and the ability to lead with the material the team is prepared to teach.
· Pray for the adjustments that will need to be made after the first day of Day Camp.
· Today’s emphasis: preschool workers—Jennifer Fowler, Michael Hoffman, Sarah Jarnigan, Brian Leffel, Hope Mackey, and Alex Wilson

Tuesday, June 29
· Second day of Day Camp
· Today’s emphasis: younger children workers—Robert Boothe, Lindsey Ellison, LeAnne Fowler, Tighe Owen, and Britney Talent-Smith
· Prayer for a fun evening exploring good food and shops in the Mystic-New London area of Connecticut (Jamie’s old stomping grounds as a US-2 missionary)

Wednesday, June 30
· Third day of Day Camp
· Today’s emphasis: middle children workers—Logan Blake, Caroline Caneer, Ben Fowler, Jessica Russell, and Felecia Stallup
· Pray for the team as they will be prayer walking through the community asking people what they need prayed for that evening at the church’s prayer service.

Thursday, July 1
· Fourth day of Day Camp
· Today’s emphasis: older children’s workers—Allie Foshee, Alexandra Martin, Anne Reasons, Eric Stallcup, and Adam Thompson
· This afternoon our mission team will be having fun with the Waterbury Baptist Ministries youth at an indoor water park. Pray for the conversations and ministry that can take place through this event.
· Pray for Hope Mackey as she will be flying from Connecticut to Illinois to meet up with her and Jamie’s children at her parents home.


Friday, July 2
· Fifth and last day of Day Camp
· Today emphasis: other day camp workers—Crafts - Amanda Anderson, Sarah Fowler, and Rebecca Frady; Drama - Caleb Eldridge, Garrett Ellison, Auseel Yousefi and Sarah Sizemore; Music - Ashley Belk, Bruce Bowlin, Sarah Leffel, and Ryan Stallcup; Recreation - Brandon Andrews, Mitch McKenzie, and Kyle Reasons; Technical/Video - Charles Boyd and Geoff Davidson; Bogdan Lazslo (student from Hungary); Trip leaders - Cindy Russell (Day Camp Coordinator) and Jamie Mackey (Trip Coordinator)
· The team will be participating in WBM’s Nic at Night ministry where the church ministers to the people of the community. The ministry is modeled after Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus at night in John 3.

Saturday, July 3
· Travel to Hershey, Pennsylvania
· Fun day at Hershey Park

Sunday, July 4
· Fourth of July Celebration in Philadelphia
· Safe enjoyment of the festivities
· Safe travel through the night after the 4th fireworks in Philadelphia.

Monday, July 5
· Arrival home mid to late morning