Nicholasville Methodist Church

After a long trip, we settled in Thorncreek Reformed Church in South Holland, IL. Pastor Mark, our host pastor joined us and told us all about the ministries and communities we would be serving in this week. He shared his vision for the church and how he wants the Gospel and the power it brings to transform the surrounding communities, removing racial and cultural barriers that stand in the way. We are so excited to be a part of all God is doing in this community!

We attended church at Thorncreek Reformed Church with Pastor Mark. He discussed the role of the Holy Spirit and His importance in our lives as Christians. The Holy Spirit walks with us as a companion and teaches us everything we need to know. Pray for us as we begin a week of ministry, so the Holy Spirit guides us in all we say and do!

Today the team spent the afternoon near Lake Michigan worshipping, praying together for our week, and getting to know the other group that is on the trip. It was a beautiful day and we made new friends!

Tonight we attended a youth event with multiple denominations and churches represented. There was worship, a message, pizza, and then games. We have taken the victory several times in Gaga ball and are having a ball!

Five of us went to help a church member named Renee by staining her deck. We have gotten to know Renee well today. She lives by herself but has two children and ten grandchildren. She even has five great grandchildren! Renee has many stories to tell about her life and has shared her wisdom with us. 

After a cloudy start, the sun came out and helped dry the stain for the second coat! Renee joined us outside to watch the process happen. Kenny is carefully instructing us on how to stain with excellence!

While half of the team was staining the deck, we were cleaning up the landscaping and spraying weeds around church. It was a tiresome and good day of ministry!

Tonight we joined the young adults at Supply, which is a group geared towards young adults in growing their faith. They meet weekly and eat a meal, hear a biblical lesson, and then games. We had a blast connecting with students and playing a game with a giant beach ball!

Today we are serving at Unity Christian Academy, which is a private Christian High School in the area. They focus on giving a quality education with a focus on making Christ and their relationship with Him come alive. The head of the school explained that they encourage students to become whole people in Christ, teach them life skills, and how to share that love and knowledge with others. We will be doing demo and landscaping today in the school!

We jumped right into tearing down the shed, and are making good progress! Unity Christian Academy will be blessed!

Here’s a progress photo of the shed! Kenny is teaching us how to properly use tools and reminding us to be safe!

Kenny was probably thinking of this verse as he looked at this shed:

“Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭26‬ ‭CSB‬

Here’s the update on the shed we are tearing down!

No comment here. We are watching the roof come off shingle by shingle. 

Here is a group photo from the successful day of ministry!

Today we are at Calvin Christian school, cleaning, weeding, and painting. The other half of the group is going to do similar projects at Transformation church!

Today we ate lunch together at the school after working on a variety of projects. We pulled weeds, cleaned walls and bathrooms, painted, and more. 

The other half of our team went to Transformation Church to power wash and clean the basement. The church is super grateful to our team because they want to have VBS as soon as it’s completed!

After a busy day of ministry, we had our nightly debrief. We discussed some of the things we saw today, how we saw God, and what lesson are we bringing home from this trip. Then we found a tub full of toys to keep us entertained. British accents were definitely used. “Oh my days!”, said Tucker. 

We’re headed downtown for a day of sightseeing!

We are walking downtown headed to Portillos for lunch!

After a day of walking around Chicago, we ended the night with deep dish pizza. 

Pray for safe travels as we head home. Here is a photo with Pastor Mark and Leah, the PPM staff who was traveling with them (other names for Leah include Marlow, Michelle, Melissa, and Megan)