God's Alarm Clock - 5:45 am Wake Up Call

This morning I woke up at 5:45 am. Nope, that wasn't part of my plan. Especially since I wasn't asleep till after midnight. But yet there I was, wide awake, wondering what I was going to do for the next few hours before church started. The thoughts began racing through my head of all that awaited me today, between church in the morning, our confirmation kickoff this afternoon, followed by youth group tonight. I wanted nothing more than to just roll back over and go back to sleep... but I could tell that wasn't going to happen. 

So I got up and moved to the couch, and my dog Ramble looked at me like I was crazy cause he knows we are never awake that early. I considered turning on the TV and seeing what was on at this unreasonable hour. A thought of taking an early morning walk quickly dissipated once I checked the temperature and saw it was below 40 degrees. But I just kept coming back to all I had going on today, thinking of my roles this morning at church, followed by what I needed to do to finalize prepping for my afternoon and evening youth activities. And I started to freak out a bit, as I thought to myself "There are just not going to be enough hours in the day to get everything done." 

Yet here I was, wide awake at 5:45 am, thinking, maybe there was a reason for this. So I busted out my laptop and began to work.

But it was a different kind of work. Normally when I get to work it's tweaking this or that, making adjustments here or there, reviewing this section of my lesson or playing out how the game is gonna go in my head. But as I sat in my house this morning, it was completely silent. I sat there in the stillness and I began to pray. I prayed over the events that were going to take place today. I prayed over each page of my lessons, I prayed over the game, I prayed for the students that I would be talking to today. And I also just sat, in the stillness, in the presence of God. And it was beautiful. 

It's hard for me to believe that I've worked in full time ministry nearly 8 years now, serving as youth pastor at 3 different churches in that time span. There have been many highlights of my ministry that I remember so well. There have also been many struggles in my ministry career. Seasons of change, disappointment, and whatever other challenges life and working in ministry could throw at you, it seems I've faced them all or I'm going through them right now. 

And as I sat in the silence this morning... I began to think about why I even did this. Why was I in ministry? Why do I even believe in God? Why am I a Christian? Who am I to be called and equipped to lead teenagers? And I prayed, and I sat, and I listened and let God speak. And through him speaking, I realized some things today about myself and my relationship with God. 

My life is a mess sometimes. Actually maybe sometimes is an understatement, maybe most of the time. Now some of you who see me and see my post on Facebook think "There is no way that is true! His life looks amazing and he always seems to have it together." Well maybe somedays I do, but other days I am faking it with the best of them. I can throw my highlights out on social media and make my life look good. But all too often, my life is a wreck.

But there is one consistent in my life, and thats God. No matter how many changes or trials I face in my life, more than I can even fathom at times, God never changes. And I'm thankful for that. I can always tell in my life when I'm the one trying to lead or I'm letting God lead. Because the moment I try to take control, the moment I think I've got my life together, I usually get humbled by something that quickly reminds me I don't. And I have to rely on God to lead me where I need to go. I need to stay in tune with his will, by no power of my own, but instead only of his grace and mercy.  And I'm thankful for a God who never changes. I'm thankful for a God who stays consistent yesterday, today and tomorrow. I'm thankful for a God who is there with me to celebrate my highs and my lows. 

Back in October, I made the decision to move to Lexington, SC. Uprooted my life in Southern Pines, leaving behind some highs but a lot of lows, for a chance to restart my life in a new town, a new job, and surrounded by people I love and people that love me, something that hadn't been a big part of my life in my previous years. Add in a global pandemic which didn't help anything. Chances are, if you were to walk up to me right now and ask me how I've enjoyed my time in Lexington and how my life is going, I would tell you it was amazing. It was all I could ever ask for. It's incredible to be closer to my family who I've seen more in the past 4 months than I did in the previous 4 years. I would tell you how many amazing people I've already met here, how awesome it is to be back close to some of my best friends from college, and how much I love and beg for a night to myself because I am constantly with people and that can be exhausting sometimes. And oh the irony that comes from me saying that statement because in the past year all I had was nights to myself, and I was longing for the human interaction that I have now.  And at the end of you asking me this question, I would probably say something like "I wouldn't trade my life right now for anything."

Heres the thing, everything I said above is 100% true. My life truly has made an incredible shift since moving to Lexington, and it has all been for the better. After experiencing some extreme loneliness and sadness while living in Southern Pines, I'm constantly around people I love and love me right back, and I love that. But, my life is far from perfect. Moving to Lexington has come with its own challenges. Some expected, others completely unexpected. There have been moments since moving here where I've been in the valley, yelling at God saying "Really? I have to go through this again?" But there have also been moments where God and I have been dancing together on the mountaintop and celebrating all the wonderful changes in my life. 

But you know what hasn't changed? God. And I'm thankful for that. As I sit here tonight, and reflect on what was a loooong day of ministry, Im exhausted. Physically, its tough to keep my eyes open right now (I guess that's what happens when you wake up at 5:45 am). But at the same time, my heart is exploding  because of all that God did today. 

As I reflect back on those questions I was asking myself this morning, I've just been reminded of how humbling a day like today can be. Because literally from the moment I woke up this morning, I wasn't on my time. I was on God's time, All Day Long. I didn't wanna wake up at 5:45 am. But that was when God decided to start my day. And God continued to move and work in me all day long. 

And I've just been constantly reminded of God's presence in me today. And at the end of the day while I'm exhausted, I'm extremely happy and my heart is full. But thats because I rediscovered my true happiness in God today. It's not even that I lost it. It hasn't gone away, its always been there, I just needed to be reminded of it. 

While sitting here tonight, I've been reminded that my life is nothing without God. And more importantly, I've been reminded that everything I do in my life is for Him and Him alone. I moved to Lexington to find happiness. And I've found many things that make me happy here, and so many blessings have poured into my life. But, today, Sunday, February 20, 2022, I remembered my true happiness. Because nothing in this world can make me as happy as the love, grace, and mercy of God and my lord and savior Jesus Christ. 

A few scripture verses have also been on my heart today. 

Psalm 46:10 -- He says, "Be Still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

Psalm 139:7-12 -- Where can I go from your Spirit? Where I can flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there you hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you, the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.  

These verses have been my prayer all day today. First, I was thankful God gave me some moments of stillness and silence this morning, but so that HE could be praised, not me. He shall be exalted, not me. 

But secondly, I'm thankful that I can't go anywhere without God. And I don't want to. I'm thankful God has followed my life every step of the way, from Spartanburg, to Due West, to Charleston, back to Spartanburg, up to Southern Pines, and He's right here with me in Lexington. 

I realize the length of this blog, and I think theres a 93.47% chance no one is even reading it at this point anymore. But if you are, let me challenge you with this. Why do YOU believe in God? Why are YOU a Christian? Maybe someone reading this isn't a Christian, so let me ask you this, Why not? Because you're missing out on a lot. A true joy and happiness that can't be found anywhere else. 

I could get to the end of the day and sing my own praises for all I've accomplished today, all the good ministry that happened today (or at least I hope it happened). But I'm not. Instead, I'm going to return the glory and praise back to God. Because he deserves it all. 

Today, maybe more than any other day in my entire life, I've been reminded of that. I've poured everything God gave me into today. But I give my all to him because he gave his all for me. I didn't write this blog post to brag about all I've accomplished in my long day. I wrote this because maybe someone out there needed to be reminded of this same message. Anything you do, do it all for the glory of God. Because today I've been reminded that no matter how much happiness Ive found on this earth, no matter how much joy I have in these changes in my life, that no friendship, no family, no relationship, no compliment, no prize, NOTHING can compare to the joy I rediscovered today in God the Father and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because I'm here on this earth to do one thing and one thing only, and thats to give my life, my all to Him and him alone, so that when I finally get to grace his presence at the pearly gates, he can say "Well Done, my good and faithful servant."

When I do get to heaven, I'm going to have to answer for some things I've done and said. I'm going to have to repent of some sins I've made along the way, but I can also find hope, that because of God, because of Jesus' sacrifice, I'll get to enter those gates and spend eternity praising God. I can only hope that my life here on earth is a small reflection of what my life will be like in eternity. 

The NEW Chicken Sandwich

If you have spent any time of the past year either online, watching TV commercials or visiting any Fast Food chain anytime in the past year or two, chances are you've seen 2 things. One, a now hiring sign (more recently, cause EVERYONE is hiring it seems) and two, a sign advertising a NEW Chicken Sandwich. Popeyes is the one who started the chicken sandwich war. And literally, I mean a war. Brawls broke out, they ran out of sandwiches, it was intense. And ever since then, everybody, and I mean everybody, has been trying to compete to make the NEW Chicken Sandwich. From Wendy's to Zaxby's, KFC to McDonalds, Church's to the latest of Burger King. Everyone's doing it. Some restaurants have even tried multiple chicken sandwiches and recipes during that time frame.  

Now all of these chicken sandwiches are VERY similar in appearance. A fried boneless chicken breast, placed on a toasted buttered bun, with two pickles on top. Sound familiar to anyone? Sure some throw in lettuce and tomato, but for the most part they are all trying to look the same...Because back in 1964, a man by the name of Truett Cathy invented this chicken sandwich at a place called Chick-Fil-A, and their recipe hasn't really changed since.

Now, I'm going to go ahead and stop right here and put a huge DISCLAIMER because I know the controversy people have with Chick-Fil-A. I know people disagree with their political stances or religious views, but that's not why I'm here. I'm strictly here to talk about what they do extremely well, and that's make delicious chicken.  And I won't even waste my breath explaining to you why they are the best fast food chain of all time (just my humble opinion😜). But I digress....

First off, lets start with the word "NEW" Why is this word so catchy to us? Because let me tell you, its not just in the world of chicken sandwiches it gets used. New iPhone, computer, car, house, new look, etc. I could go on for days! We have a culture that is obsessed with new. We must always have the latest and greatest thing. It's something that's been built into our culture. We have associated the term NEW = Better. And that's not certainly always the case is it? Let's take a look at a case when NEW failed miserably. Anyone remember "NEW" Coke. I mean it came out before my time, but I've heard the stories about how it wasn't as good and it wasn't very successful. We live in this ever changing world, but that's not always a good thing. 

First off, this makes me extremely thankful that we have a God that is not ever changing. 

Hebrews 13:8- Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. 

Could you imagine if we worshiped a God who changed as much as these chicken sandwiches do? We wouldn't be able to keep up. And I think we would quickly be annoyed with understanding what was the newest and greatest thing and what we were expected to do. I'm thankful for a God who never changes. 

However, NEW does not always equal a bad thing. In the bible, we see God use the term new multiple times to talk about us, as Christians. But this is the one I want to focus on. 

2 Corinthians 5:17-21: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the  ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 

We are called to become a NEW creation. But here's the key, we can't turn the old person into a new person. The old must be completely striped away and the new creation must replace it. And because of Christ, this new creation is even available. 

But the next thing I wanna talk about with these chicken sandwiches is the imitation factor. As I mentioned above, they all look very similar to the original made by Chick-Fil-A. And do you know why that is? Because all of these companies know that Chick-Fil-A struck Gold. They know they do it well and have for so long, and so these companies try to copy them to compete with them. There's a saying that goes "Imitation is the greatest form of Flattery." Every time I see one of these companies try to take a shot at Chick-Fil-A, whether talking bad about their food or whether or not they are closed on Sunday's, I just say to myself "Chick-Fil-A is laughing all the way to the bank" because it hasn't affected their business one bit. 

The bible also talks about a form of imitation. 

Ephesians 5:1-2: Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 

1 Corinthians 11:1- Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. 

Both these books, Ephesians and 1 Corinthians, were written as letters by Paul to both the churches in Ephesus and Corinth. And I find it interesting that he uses very similar language. First off, we are called to be imitators of God. I mean this, as Christians, is our entire life's purpose. To become like Christ so that we can bring others to Christ. To Walk in love, like Christ loved us. And giving everything back to God. It's by no means easy, but it is what we are called to do. 

But then, I love the boldness of Paul in 1 Corinthians. He no longer says to imitate God, but to imitate him, because he is of Christ. Paul founded the church in Corinth, so these people that he is writing to have a deep amount of respect to him. They looked up to him as their leader, and what a leader he was. Now, this doesn't mean Paul was perfect. That's not what imitating Christ means. Sure, the ultimate goal is that of Holy Perfection, but its not obtainable here on this earth (at least in my opinion). But imitating Christ means living with EVERYTHING you've got for Him, giving it your all towards him, and not following the ways of this world. 

I want to be like Paul. I want to have that boldness about me, that when people look at me, they know without a shadow of a doubt that I am imitating Christ, therefore they can imitate me. I want to be like that Chick-Fil-A sandwich. The OG, that everyone is trying to imitate. I want my life to undoubtedly be that of one that is for Christ. Especially as a person who is working with teenagers, shaping that next generation of youth. Actions speak louder than words. So I want to be that example of Christ to not only them, but everyone I come into contact with. 

I'm not perfect, nor am I anywhere close nor do I claim to be. But I'm trying. I'm giving it my all. The old has gone, the new has come. 

And for now, I'm going to eat some Chick-Fil-A.

Until Next Time.

Todd Handell

Is this thing on? - Finding the Good in the Bad

I know I never write on this blog anymore, yet here I am! Welcome back everyone! It's only been what, almost 2 years since my last post? Which was really just a mission trip update so... yea. But today, God really laid something on my heart and I think this is the best place to post it. I shared it with the church staff during our staff meeting today and something told me to share it with everyone else because someone else might need to hear it. 

I think its safe to say that since March 2020, many of us have faced some of the hardest times of our lives. Between the isolation, the suffering, the pain, the mental health issues, feeling the weight of the world on our shoulders, its been a bad year.  Every where you turn, something bad is happening again. In those moments, I think its really hard to see any good come out of it right? Like when bad things happen, its hard to step back and go "Oh its okay, it will work out for good eventually." 

Unfortunately, I think its in our human nature to focus on the bad, not the good. Its like the saying goes, that someone could give you 10 compliments, and 1 person will say something negative, and all you will focus on is that one negative comment. 

Now, I'm not saying this to try to minimize anything that has happened to anyone in the past year. That pain is real, the suffering is real, all the emotions that have been felt are very real. It's easily been the hardest and toughest year of my life, without a doubt. But something keeps telling me the good is going to come out of it. 

As I was thinking through all of this and reflecting, I kept thinking of the bad things that have happened in my own life, and not just in the past year. Times when I've lost loved ones, suffered immense grief, experienced emotional pain, felt lost with no direction to go, all of it. In fact, sometimes I reflect back and go "How is it possible that a 29 year old has experienced as much as I have at this point in my life?"

In each of those painful moments, I could have never seen the good. I could have never been able to probably point out even one positive thing to come out of those. But I was having a conversation with someone last night talking about some of these tough moments. Talking about the troubles I've faced in life. And I was able to say with 100% confidence that I am thankful for everything that has happened to me thus far in life, because I know for a fact that because of those, I'm who I am today. I know those situations shaped me into the Christian I am today, and my faith wouldn't be as strong if it wasn't for all those situations. 

What's crazy is, most of those situations were out of my control. Life just happens sometimes right? And sometimes you have to just deal with the cards your dealt and do your best to make some lemonade. We've actually come up with a saying here, that 2020 (and now 2021) kept handing us tomatoes, but we still make lemonade. Because its just what you do. 

I've always considered myself to be a positive person. I think of myself to be optimistic and can usually come around to find the good. But I have to be honest, the longer this year goes on (and I know its been more than a year, but I swear we are all still living in March 2020 sometimes) the harder it is to see the positive. The harder it becomes to remain hopeful and patient that some good will come out of it. 

This reminded me of a character in the bible who faced some tough times. Joseph (no not the Father of Jesus, the one with the fancy coat) grew up in a large family. A family of brothers who grew to hate him fairly quickly. So much so they sold him into slavery assuming he would die. I can't even imagine what Joseph must have felt in that moment. But you know he had to be feeling all hope was lost. There was nothing left to live for. But if you've read your bible, then you know how the story turns out. He becomes the second most powerful man in all of Egypt next to Pharaoh. His brothers end up returning to him when famine hits the land, and their father dies. His brothers assume he is now going to turn on them and seek out revenge, so they go to him making up lies of what their father said and begging for forgiveness. But this is how Joseph chooses to respond...

Genesis 50:19-21: "But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. 

Joseph could have taken a bad situation and made it much worse. But instead, he choose to see the good God brought out of a bad situation. Joseph's family lived "happily ever after" for a long time in the land of Egypt, despite all the bad that happened to him along the way. 

Maybe many of you out there are feeling like Joseph. Maybe you just feel like life keeps kicking you when your down. The longer this pandemic goes on, the tougher it feels. The harder it is to find the hope and the good. As we maybe are finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel of this thing, we begin to find hope. Now, I think most of us will just want to wipe our brow and go "Thank goodness that is over." move on, and never want to think of it again. 

But I'm hopeful it won't be like that. I'm hopeful that we will be able to reflect back on this tough year, something that most of us would say would be intended to harm us, and find the good that God has intended to come out of it. 

It will be easy to try to just return back to normal. But I don't think that's what we need. Normal was already broken. We live in such a broken world, that seems to just become even more broken by the day (or minute at times). So going back to the way things were is not the answer. I pray that as a society, and particularly as a body of Christians, we can learn from everything that has happened in the past year, and bring the good out of it as God has intended. So where are you going to find the good? Because I promise you God will bring good out of this, no matter how long it may take. Maybe you wont see it for 1, 5, 10 or even 15 years. But I promise you it will be there, and I encourage you to find it along the way. 

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I hope you enjoyed this post, but there are no guarantees it will be written on again anytime soon. Guess it just depends on what else God lays on my heart. If you are still reading this far, Bravo! Most people won't make it this far. But know this, I love you, God loves you, and we are going to make it through this. If there is one thing I have already learned out of this, its how much I appreciate time with people I love. Being a single person during a lockdown / pandemic is not fun! I need people in my life, and I'm thankful for all the people I do have in my life. And I want you to know I'm here if anyone ever needs to chat. I love talking to people and can always use more of it in my life! Have a great rest of your week (or month, year, or however long until I write again.) 

SPUMC Youth 2019 Mission Trip - Friday, July 19th, 2019 - Day 6

Hello for the last time from Wilmington!

Today was a fun day exploring the area of Wilmington! This morning we went down to Wrighstville Beach for a morning swimming in the ocean and relaxing on the beach. We stayed out there for around 2.5 hours. That may have been of a mistake. Despite the constant reminders to put on sunscreen, some students didn’t heed the warning, or didn’t apply well enough. We definitely had some students get sunburn. So this afternoon, we were supposed to spend a good portion of the time in downtown Wilmington. Instead, we took things a little slower and just relaxed at the house for the afternoon, while applying a lot of aloe!

Later in the afternoon, we came in downtown Wilmington and waked around for about an hour. The students did some shopping and just got to take in the sights of Wilmington. After that, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at The Reel Cafe!

Finally, after dinner, we went on a sunset boat ride up and down the Cape Fear River! It was hot, but also really relaxing to be out on the water. The kids seemed to enjoy it.

Now, tonight we are spending time getting packed up and ready to leave for home in the morning. Our goal is to be back at the church by 12 noon tomorrow! It really has been a fanstastic Trip this week! Everyone has seemed to enjoy themselves and we’ve accomplished a lot. Thank you all again for all the prayers. Check out pictures from today down below!

Your Servant in Christ,

Todd Handell

SPUMC Youth 2019 Mission Trip - Thursday, July 18th, 2019 - Day 5

Hello Everyone!

It's hard to believe today was our last day doing mission work here in Wilmington. Despite the pure exhaustion I am feeling right now, this week has absolutely flown by. It's kind of amazing how quickly time has seemed to pass this week. Monday of this week seemed to be the day that would never end. But ever since then, this week has absolutely flown by. Each day has been pretty busy, which has most certainly made the time pass more quickly.

Today, we went back to Ms. Nikita's home to finish up a few more additional projects. These projects weren't originally planned for the week, but because we finished our flooring project up yesterday, they got added on. Our main project was repainting the living room and hallway. This is where most students were involved. We also had to do some patch work on some of the walls, repairing some holes. We also had a small group of students repairing some brick work around the back of the house, and they replaced the dryer vent.

The painting project proved to be a little more difficult than originally expected. Unfortunately, we weren't the neatest with our painting, which led to a decent bit of paint spilled on the brand new floor that had just been laid down! A paint can also got tipped over, but luckily most of it went on the drop cloth. So that led to some extra work at the end of the day, as we were down on our hands and knees scrubbing the floor to get the paint up.

The best thing about today was that our homeowner, Ms. Nikita, was actually home today so we got to meet her and interact with her. She had been at work all week long, so we had not even met her yet. Her brother had been at the house with us. She also has two daughters and a son who were also there today. Her two teenage daughters even jumped in and help us paint part of their house. That was such a neat thing to see! Ms. Nikita also offered us Popsicles during the day, because it was a hot day, as it has been all week!

We wrapped up those projects today, said goodbye to the family as well as to our WARM Construction Manager, Dwayne, who has been working with us all week. He was so amazing, so we gave him a thank you note as well as a gift card to his favorite restaurant here in town. Check out some pictures below from today!

Tonight, we actually ended up adding something to the schedule that wasn't originally planned. So last night, while working with First Fruit Ministries, they invited us to come to their worship service, which takes place on Thursday's at 5:30 pm. Since we were able to wrap up at our work site a little early today, we were able to get back to our house. On Thursdays, First Fruit Ministries has their "homeless outreach day." This includes opening up their showers for anyone to come use, they have a free health clinic that people can come to, as well as on Thursday evening's they have a meal at 5 o'clock pm followed by a worship service at 5:30 pm. So tonight we decided to join them for the worship service. It was unique. Students said "they had never been to a service like that" and it was eye opening. Students said it provided a new perspective towards worship. There was a time of healing during the service which was very powerful. It was a relaxed atmosphere. There was an awesome worship leader. Students also describe the service as passionate, as they saw the leader of First Fruit Ministry, Rick, express his strong desire to help those in need. And that was true of all the volunteers there. It was a great experience for everyone to be able to attend.

Overall, this week has been incredible, and we have all worked really hard. Tomorrow we will get to enjoy a day relaxing, going to the beach and sightseeing in downtown Wilmington.  Thank you all again for your prayers and support this week. We are looking forward to sharing all about our trip with you on Sunday, August 11th.

Your Servant In Christ,

Todd Handell

SPUMC Youth 2019 Mission Trip - Wednesday, July 17th, 2019 - Day 4

Hello Everyone!

It was another great day working at our worksite with WARM. In fact, we worked so hard that we finished our intended projects for the week today!

First up was laying the tile in the bathroom. But we got it completely done! It definitely took a little while, because there were some tight corners to fit into, as well as some uneven floors, but we got it done! It was especially tricky having to move remove the toilet from the bathroom, but we got it out so we could get the tile all around it. After that, we had to go in and put the quarter round molding all in the bathroom, as well as fix a few spots in the bedroom. But we got all of that done as well. Then it definitely was tricky getting the toilet hooked back up, but that was no match for our students (with help from Dwayne) and it was reinstalled.

While a group of students were working on the bathroom, the rest of the students were working on other projects throughout the house. This included washing and cleaning off all of the walls, as they were quite dirty. We also replaced 5 light fixtures throughout the house, as well as all of the smoke detectors throughout the trailer. We also had to place transition strips in some of the doorways around the trailer where the tile didn't quite match up perfectly. We also had to replace one section of the sheet rock in the walls of the trailer. Check out the pictures of all the progress we made today.

This evening we partnered up with First Fruit Ministries for what they call their "Street Feed." First
Fruit Ministries is an organization that does all kind of ministries, including housing people in need, having a food pantry, and offering a free health clinic and showers for people who may not have
access to either. But tonight, we met them at a location in Downtown Wilmington, and helped serve a
meal to people, as well as ate and fellowship with them. It was a great experience! Check out a few pics below!

It was another really long day for us! But I’m just so proud of the resiliency and energy these students continue to show, even when we work most of the day, from the early morning into the late evening. It was nice because we did get a short break this afternoon to come back to the house and relax for a little while, and some of us made a short trip over to Krispy Kreme for an afternoon treat! But these students continue to give it all they’ve got this week, and everyone should be proud of the work they’ve done. 

Tomorrow is our last day of mission work. We will head back to the house to wrap up some other projects that we hope to tackle. This will include replacing some of the shower faucets, trimming out the new door, and repairing some of the brick located around the back. Not sure how long this will take, but we will work till we are done. Then we will enjoy another evening with not much else going on, which will be nice. All of our students have worked so hard this week and will deserve the rest and relaxation when it comes!

Thank you all again for all your continued prayers this week! It has been a fantastic trip and we are looking forward to the rest of it.

SPUMC Youth 2019 Mission Trip - Tuesday, July 16th, 2019 - Day 3

Hello!

It's been another busy day here in Wilmington. We got up early again and headed out to our worksite. We continued working on laying the quarter round molding around the entire trailer. We also put down new sub flooring in a bathroom and another bedroom today. We completely finished the one bedroom, with all sub flooring, tile and quarter round molding around the wall. The bathroom got all of the sub flooring done, and tomorrow we will lay tile and put the quarter round molding down. We have a construction manager, named Dwayne, who works for WARM. He is AWESOME! First, he is very skilled in knowing how to do this kind of work. Secondly, he is very patient with our students. He takes time to teach them how to do things, even if they’ve never done it before and he knows he could probably just do it faster himself. So we are very thankful to have him there with us helping us along the way!

Our students continued to work hard just like they did yesterday. It’s one thing for the students to just come on the trip. But they are not only here and present, but making great use of their time and serving God with everything they’ve got this week. 

Tonight we don't have any other places to go, which is kind of nice! It will be good to have some time to relax and chill at the house, since the rest of the week will be pretty busy! Each night, after dinner, we gather together to “debrief” from the day as well as spend some time together studying scripture and praying together. During this time, I ask the students the question “Where did you see God today?” and let them share stories from the day. You could see God in another person, in an action of another person, in something beautiful you saw in nature, or anything really. So it’s cool just to hear how with all of these students, they all see God a little differently throughout the day. Tonight we will also spend some time beginning to plan our Youth Sunday, which will take place on August 11th at Southern Pines UMC. The youth group will take over both services, leading parts of the worship service as well as sharing stories and pictures during the service. You do not want to miss it, so make sure you come!

After this, the students will get to spend time just hanging out with each other. It’s so awesome to watch these students enjoy each other’s company and just have fun together. It’s one of the main reasons I love working with students so much! They all do a great job of making sure everyone feels included, whether that is around the dinner table, playing games together, or when a random dance class session breaks out in our living room (yes, this has happened this week!) And hopefully after this time, it will be another night early to bed to get a good nights sleep! Honestly, the students have done a great job in getting to bed on time and getting a good nights sleep!!

Well, that is all for today. It’s hard for me to believe it’s only Tuesday! We’ve already done so much, yet there is still more to come! I will check in again tomorrow! Thanks again for the continued prayers!

Your Servant In Christ,

Todd Handell