Day 7

Our last day in Montana :( We started out the morning frantically cleaning up the church so that it would be presentable for church this morning. Once we had strategically stuffed everything into closets and unseen rooms people began to show up and shortly afterwards the service began. Our worship team led us in a few songs and then Sam and Josh went up and shared their testimonies. They did a great job and the Lord was definitely working. Then Ricky got up and gave the message (to our surprise, or else we would have asked you to be praying for him). He spoke about the prodigal son and how Jesus will always welcome anyone into his family. This little explanation does not do Ricky justice. Everyone's attention was on him and he laid it out so clearly. The Holy Spirit was at work. After the service the whole congregation joined us for a potluck lunch and then the kids went outside and played volleyball. Once most of the congregation had left the BPPC youth went to do the last of the service projects. One group went to Cindy's house to finish painting her deck and the second group went back to the family's house to finish rebuilding the tree house. We were done within an hour so we went back to the church to grab a few things, and now we are hanging out at the Pit Stop. Tonight we are having another BBQ at the park and we will be playing ultimate frisbee. The Lord has shown Himself this whole week and we are praying that He will see us through to the very end.

Prayer requests:

• For Jessa, Zach, and Coletin as they share their testimonies tonight
• For our green bus, it is having mechanical difficulties and we're not sure if it will make it all the way home
• For Anthony, a local kid who has been asking a lot of questions about Jesus, that he would accept the Lord
• For Art and Connie and their ministry, that it would continue to be successful even after we leave, and that their youth group would continue to draw kids in.
• A praise for Coletin: He's getting baptized tonight!
• For Miki as she gives a message tonight
• That the kids would stay interested in Jesus after we leave
• For a safe trip home

That's all folks!

Morristown, New Jersey and Shreveport, Louisiana

Signing off, Naomi, Josh, & Emily

   

Day 6

Today day started out with, once again, a fabulous breakfast and a few work projects. This time there were four work groups that went out. Today was basically our last day of work projects so we wanted to make sure we could get a lot done. One group finished up at the senior center and got a chance to pray with Diane, the woman who runs the center. Another group went to Cindy's (the woman who made us cookies) house to paint her deck. The next group set out to do yard work and paint a shed for an elderly woman. The last group stained a deck and fixed a treehouse for a family. After a good morning of blessing others we went back to the church to eat lunch, and from there we went out to the Lincoln rodeo grounds to go ride horses through the "shining mountains" of Montana. It was a blast, even though some of the horses were powered by gas, if you know what I mean. Once we got back we all had the honey glow in our cheeks from the beautiful landscape. We also had some down time to hang out with the local kids. After we ate dinner the kids headed out on a scavenger hunt around town. As they run in and out of the Pit Stop it looks like they are having the time of their lives, though the waitresses are sort of confused by their sudden popularity. Once they finish we will all head back to the church to play another game of rabbit sticks. Over all it has been a blessed day.

The completed tables at the Senior Center

Diane (in red), Emily, and Jessa feeding a deer at the Senior Center

Some prayer requests:

• For Kaleb as he shares his testimony tonight
• For Josh and Sam as they share their testimonies tomorrow during church
• For Jessa and Zach as they share their testimonies tomorrow night at the BBQ
• For Coletin (a local kid who met the Lord last summer) as he shares his testimony tomorrow during church     
• For our team, that we would be able to keep the energy levels up... Most of us are running on fumes
• That the Lord would do amazing things in our last few days

Twinies for the the winsies!

Day 5

Today we woke up a half hour earlier so we could go on a day trip to "The Falls" with some of the local kids. "The Falls" is exactly what is sounds like, a water fall. One of the families here owns a house right on a river and she was gracious enough to let us crash our stuff there as we went on a small hike up to the water fall. Once we got to the Falls Naomi and Tomas shared their testimonies and then we spent a few hours swimming and jumping off rocks into the water. Surrounded by all the trees, water, rocks and the beautiful sky it was easy to see why the people here call it "God's Country". The whole day valuable relationships were being built and  good conversations were being held. What else can I say? We had a blast.

Tonight we will be hosting a movie night at the church. We will be watching Wreck It Ralph.

A few prayer requests:

• For Matthew and Emily as the share their testimonies
• For Shianne who is starting to ask questions about Jesus
• For Coletin (a local kid who met the Lord last year) who will be sharing his testimony on Sunday
• That the conversations would continue to go deeper

 Naomi Homie & The OG Twin

Day 4

Once again we woke up to a wonderful breakfast made by Mrs. Kent. Everyone is jealous that Patrick got to grow up with her cooking. After we all got fueled up we went off to bless some more people with our service projects. One group went back to the senior center to finish repairing and painting the picnic tables and another group went over to a woman's house to tear out her old walkway. The work that God is doing is so evident. This week we had the pleasure of meeting a woman named Cindy who was recently widowed. She has been hanging out with us this whole week and keeps telling us how much fun she is having. This morning she came over to the senior center and brought us some delicious homemade cookies to show her appreciation. Please keep Cindy in your prayers. She has overcome a lot and she seems to be searching for something more.

After our service projects we hung out with the kids and then headed over to the Pit Stop for a game night (and ice cream). Then we went back to the church, where John led us in worship and shared his testimony. Most of the kids stuck around afterward to play volleyball and just chill out.

On a side note, we are sorry we didn't post anything yesterday. Luke's computer got taken over by minions (the yellow things from Despicable Me) and froze.

Please continue to pray for our team and for the people we are reaching.

:) Enthusiastic Emily and her trusty horse Neigh-omi

Day 3

Another day has gone by and the Lord has been working! Last night after our last post we headed over to the park for a BBQ and some worship through song and testimonies. Trent and Anna shared and God was definitely working through them. Many people who showed up from the community were moved by what they heard. Afterward many of the kids who were at the BBQ came back to the church with us to play some volleyball and have snacks. It was a blast and a blessing for all the kids in the community (and for the BPPC kids as well).

We didn't wake up with frostbite this morning. Miki, the genius in our group, figured out how to work the thermostat. After a good breakfast we set out to do some work projects. This time we were divided into two groups. One group headed over to Alice's house to wash her windows and her dogs. The other group went to the senior center to fix up their picnic tables. We started by scraping the old paint off and sweeping the tables. Then we started painting them and replacing the old decayed wood. We didn't finish, but we will be going back tomorrow to finish the job. After the morning was over we headed over to the school to put on a free car wash. Let me tell you, it was a hit! We got about thirty cars and a few motorcycles and some sunburns. We set out refreshments for all the people who stopped by and had some good conversations with them. Also, a lot of the community kids came and helped us wash the cars. After an inevitable water fight we took all the kids who helped us down to the river to relax and cool off. Please keep these "Car Wash Kids" in your prayers. They are obviously looking for something more, and they know we have it. They are a blast to hang out with and we hope that as the week progresses they will know the love that God has for each of them.

Please be praying for:

• Ricky as he shares his testimony tonight
• That we would have the opportunity to have deeper conversations with the people of Lincoln
• That all our up coming events would run smoothly
•  That the people who are hanging out with us would make a commitment to Jesus

Shreve Slice & Muchacha Morris 

Pictures by Hipster Henry

Day 2

After a frigid night in the basement we all woke up ready to seize the opportunities that the Lord had put before us. We started off with morning devotions led by Patrick. Then we gratefully devoured a marvelous breakfast made by our even better cook Mrs. Kent. After that we were assigned a work project for the day. One group set off to wash the windows of someone's house and ended up washing their car as well. Another group stained the porch for a very enthusiastic lady. Yet another group prowled the streets of Lincoln for tomorrow's projects. After a couple hours in the hot sun we all met back up at HQ (Black Foot Bible Church) to eat lunch and break up into smaller groups to canvas the town with flyers of our upcoming events. After a couple hours of talking with the friendly folks of Lincoln a few local kids invited us to go swimming with them in the glacial swimming hole. Now we are here in the Pit Stop, a local diner, about to head across the street to the park for the BBQ we are putting on for the community. Even though we have only been here a short while it is evident that God is opening up doors for us.

Here are some things that you can help us pray for:

• Trent and Anna as they share their testimonies tonight
• That the people would be responsive to what they hear
• For Robin (a cashier at the local grocery store) that the Lord would give her a new perspective on  what the church is about

Lil' Naomi & Em Dawg

Day 1

On the Road

Praise the Lord! We made it safely to Lincoln! Thankfully we had a very uneventful trip and the only things that we hit were the bugs on our windshield. Inside the buses we all laughed, told stories and sang along to some good music. However, the atmosphere in the buses were noticeably different from the loud excitement that usually entails on a bus caravan. Don't get me wrong, there was definitely excitement but it was of a different kind. At the top of every hour we spent on the road everyone on the bus would stop what they were doing (or be shaken awake) gather in a circle and pray for our time in Lincoln. As each hour passed the anticipation of what God is planning for this town grew.

Matthew being a diva

Our First Hours in Lincoln

As we got off the bus at Black Foot Bible Church everyone was thankful for the chance to stretch their legs. After we finished unpacking we all gathered around in the yard to play a game of "Smash Face". Can you see where this is going? The point of the game is to hit a volleyball into someone's face. It was all going smoothly when one of our leaders, Patrick, decided he wanted to join. The ball was set perfectly to him and BAM! Can you guess who got hurt? The ball hit Sam square on the nose. There was blood, but Sam the Man took it like a champ. Hopefully this will be the last injury we have to report.

Emily out!