8.2.09 - Grace Youth Team
We just dropped the Grace Youth Team off at the airport after one of the fullest (if that's a word) weeks of the summer. Grace Church, from Greenville SC, has been one of the biggest blessings to CMA this summer. Not only is this the sending church for our missionaries Mike and Shannan Fastzkie, but they are "all in" when it comes to investing members in short-term missions.
The team came to the Training Center with the goal of doing construction and vacation Bible school. Throughout the week they split into two teams that rotated people between VBS and mixing and pouring a concrete floor for a church where our graduates attend.
Vacation Bible School was held in Palmetto Point, and each day the team had between 30-50 kids participating in crafts, small group studies, Bible lessons, and games. My favorite was the water-baloon toss (I almost got hit in the head). The group working construction exhausted themselves each day, and pushed themselves to get as much accomplished in their week as possible.
Generally, youth teams are more challenging than adult teams, however Grace came prepared. From morning wake-up calls to devotional time in the evening, their leaders did a fantastic job guiding these students in serving and sacrificing for the Mission of God.
I have no doubt that those children in VBS and the church with the new floor won't soon forget this Grace Youth Team. We here at CMA are equally thankful for their partnership, commitment, and service, and we look forward to a long future of youth and adult teams from Grace.