Go

It's fitting that the last day's word is our commission, our marching orders.  Jesus gave them to us in Matthew 28:16-20.  "Go and make disciples of all the nations."  Jesus' last word to his friends was a directive to share what they'd seen, what they'd been taught, what they'd experienced.  As we come  down from this beautiful mountain, that's our directive too.  Plain and simple, go and tell everyone the Good News that is Jesus.

This morning, after cleaning up and loading up, we got to watch Jessica, our wonderful group leader this week, get a pie in the face!  Then worship, in which we were commissioned to return to our lives armed with our experiences this week.  Then off to the Ocoee River for a whitewater rafting trip!  We had fun on the river, in general, and not only did nobody drown, nobody even fell out of the boat!

Tonight we are back at Brainerd UMC in Chattanooga.  It's been a fabulous week, full of accomplishments and fun and bautiful scenery and great company and lots of laughter.  Stand back, everybody, Team Hinton is coming home!

Things to remember: moop, snore-chestra, Jack vs food, jokes about strokes, nice to meet you Emily, "Who are you?", Christopher Walken impersonations, peanut butter to jelly ratios, injuries doing simple things, wrapping Sarah in toilet paper, fogged-out sunrises, Billie eating nails (without milk), Florida's best burger, noisy ketchup, Mossy Oak wallpaper, what gets uncovered by the weedeater, Marcia zinging people, Wis-caaaaahn-sin, Johnny Appleseed song, night games, and too many more hilarious stuff to list!

His hands, His feet, His heart
Team Hinton

Serve

Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, as we read about in John 13, beginning in verse 3.  This was a complete reversal of His society's norms, as servants would normally perform such an unpalatable task for their master, rather than the other way around.  But what a powerful demonstration!  Jesus had the standing to require that His disciples wash His feet, but instead He served them in a personal and very humbling way.  As servants modeled after His example, that's a lot to live up to.  Team Hinton has tried to follow His example this week, and our prayer is that we have come close.

Today was an all-out push to "get it done" at Miss Bonnie's house.  As you can see from the before and after pictures, we didn't want to leave gaping holes in her house by not getting the new siding up.  We got it up, we got it painted, and we left feeling good that it was accomplished.

Before.

Before.

Before.

There's not even anything here to attach the new siding TO!

Old caulk looks like a dead snake...

Miss Marcia getting it done!

After.

Proud of our work and praying for our new friend.

However, we will admit that it's been a longish week, and there was a little bit of fatigue-induced goofiness.  Well, okay, there was a lot of goofiness, but this Instagram-worthy bit followed a comment that the paint was the color of blood...  Adam, Sarah, no need to fight over the tools... ??

It's been a once in a lifetime week, and we can't express our gratitude for the opportunity.  Tomorrow we're going to play!  White water rafting on the Ocoee, and then back to our host church in Chattanooga overnight.  No promises on pictures of the rafting, as cameras are neither waterproof nor rock-proof, but we will check in to assure everyone that a safe and fun time was had by all.  Later on!

His hands, His feet, His heart

Team Hinton

Love

Today's word is a familiar one for Christians.  God's very nature is love, and we are called to love each other that same way.  Today's verses come from the book of 1 John, a description of the love God has for us, the love that we are to mirror in our communities.

This came up in a discussion with Miss Bonnie, the lady whose house we worked on today.  Her story has some sadness in it, and she could be very closed off to love, but she isn't.  She said, "Love isn't how you feel.  It's how you act, the way you treat people."  And she is absolutely right.  The love we are called to show to all of our brothers and sisters has nothing whatever to do with how we might feel towards them, and everything to do with how we act towards them.  Love is a decision, an act of will to value others the way God values them.

Miss Bonnie's house needed all the siding replaced along the back, and the whole thing pressure washed in preparation for staining.  There's a whole lot of growth in the yard that needs cutting back.  We got all the old siding off the back, and a fair bit of the pressure washing done.  The overgrowth in the yard got hit by the buzzsaw that is Billie, Marcia and Paula, and Jack had that weed eater going hard.  Dave's and Sam's skills in carpentry and home repair became evident as we plan for the new siding to go up tomorrow.  Sarah tended the fire as we burned brush and old wood, and Adam can pressure wash and get drenched with the best of them!

Back at camp, we had a little rain, and a very nice worship service, followed by time with the community.

Back at it at Miss Bonnie's tomorrow!

His hands, His feet, His heart

Team Hinton

Prayer

"That's not why I pray. I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God, it changes me."
-Shadowlands

If being open to God is the first step in the transformation that is the Christian life, what is the next step?  That's right, communicating with God. Prayer is listening and speaking. Prayer is adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication. Prayer is allowing God to mold us, to guide us, to answer us, to bless us, to change us. Prayer is our need for God made into conversation. And change us it does. Just telling God how marvelous He is makes us more humble before Him.  Speaking remorse for our sins diminishes pride and sparks repentance.  Thanking God for our blessings brings gratitude that grows deeper with every prayer. Asking God for things makes us aware of the needs of others, and sometimes of our own priorities.  Today's verse is Daniel 9:4-10, which is our roadmap of how to  pray. Check it out, it'll seem familiar...

Today was Day 2 at Miss Eva's house, and we got a lot done!  Deck is all stained and the bad boards replaced, and the yard is all neat and tidy. We seem to have avoided the poison ivy, thanks to the smelly Burt's Bees Poison Ivy soap, and everyone had a good day.  Sarah is way stronger than she thought, and Dave is way more patient than anybody should have to be. Miss Eva was so sweet and appreciative of our work, and she baked us a cake to go with our lunch. Afterward we had time to stop in an adorable little shop and soda counter called Chinquapin's, for shakes and ice cream. Then back to Hinton for a quick swim in the lake, dinner and games with the whole community.

See y'all tomorrow!

His hands, His feet, His heart
Team Hinton

Open

Day one of actual project work!  We were so excited to actually get started!

This morning, as we will each morning, we had a brief worship time during which we talked about the focus/theme word for the day, and asked God to bless our labor today.

We spent today at the home of Miss Eva, a very sweet lady whose deck we will stain, and whose yard we will trim, and whose roof we will repair.  The deck staining went well, and we got a lot done until we ran out of stain, so we'll finish that up tomorrow.  Marcia and Billie put everyone else to absolute shame when it came to staining that deck - they got the mostest done the bestest in the leastest time.  Yeah, the rest of us got shown.

We had a little time afterwards to visit Fires Creek State Park, and check out some beautiful waterfalls and dip our tired feet into the super-cold water.

Back at camp, we participated in a mystery/riddle game that led us all over Hinton's beautiful campus.  Well, the adults did for a little while, until we got left in the dust by teenagers determined to find the answers first and win.  So we sat on the porch and enjoyed the view and watched it raining in Georgia.

The word for today is OPEN.  As in, being open to God and what plans He may have for our lives, and open to relationships with others.  Today's verse is Genesis 18:1-5, which is the story of Abraham coming out of his tent in the heat of the day to welcome and interact with some travelers.  Unbeknownst to him, though, those travelers were angels who were bringing him wonderful and welcome news.  Abraham, by being open to those travelers and whatever they might bring with them, also opened himself to God.  God spoke into Abraham's willingness to follow where God might lead, and to accept what God might give.  So our goal for this week, and to continue when we get home, is to try to stay as open to God as we possibly can!

His hands, His feet, His heart,
Team Hinton

Heading to Hinton

Today we worshipped with the congregation that was kind enough to house us last night.  We had a choice of the traditional service or the contemporary service.  They were both wonderful.

We stopped by to see the Ocoee River, where we will be rafting on Friday, and took a minute to watch some rafters and kayakers enjoying the water.

It's been a blur since we've arrived here at Hinton Rural Life Center, getting settled in and meeting our staff, and finding out where everything is, and learning what our schedule will be.  Lots to do, lots of new folks to meet.  Don't have many pictures yet of this beautiful lake and mountain, but more will be coming as the week continues.

Keep us in your prayers this week - we are looking forward to a wonderful, fulfilling week.  More pictures and stories to come!

His hands, His feet, His heart,

Team Hinton

On Our Way!

Today's the day! Team Hinton is on our way to Hayesville, NC!

We left from Maples Memorial about 10:30 this morning, stopped in Corinth for lunch, and arrived in Chattanooga about five-ish (or sixish Eastern time).  Dinner was some really good Mexican food, and after that we hung out and played in the church gym where we will be staying tonight.

According to our fearless leader, Rev. Adam Gordon, this week has two purposes: one, to build relationships with God and with each other; and two, to do some hands-on work that will bless the lives of some of our neighbors in North Carolina.  We have gotten a good start on the first one so far - we've been having a blast making some new friends and getting closer to existing ones!

Proverbs 27:17, Proverbs 25:13, Proverbs 17:17

More later, keep reading!

His Hands, His Feet, His Heart
Team Hinton

Coming Soon!

Join us here, beginning on July 20th, 2013, to follow our adventures and see our photos!