“Mobilizing the Church Through Short-term Missions
May 2023
We wanted to provide some exciting news from our most recent trip. Matt led a team from Boonsboro Bible Church down to Welch in April. The team consisted of four people but God used those four in a HUGE way! Never doubt what God can do with smaller groups. Jesus turned the world upside down with twelve followers. The team was incredibly hard-working and faithful. We started with simply running errands and getting ready for the next day. We packed LOTS of hygiene bags to hand out at our community event on Saturday. We didn’t quite have the turnout that we had hoped for, but we served around 40 people and had a chance to pray with folks on the streets.
Our team worked closely with the Living Waters Resource Center in Welch WV. The center’s primary purpose is to provide Christian drug rehab for women. There was only one lady actively involved in the program when we arrived. Her name is Margaret. Margaret had a long history of drug abuse, namely opioids. She kept telling us that she was ashamed of how she had wasted her life. The ladies on the trip poured out their love and attention on her. They provided her with a Bible study focusing on hope. She was so grateful and texted that she wants the ladies to come back again. The ladies also led a cooking class for Margaret. She wanted to learn basic life skills so she could live on her own one day. She was so proud to make meatballs for the first time. She couldn’t wait to tell her family that she was officially a ‘chef.’ Our team also worked on mudding walls that were recently dry-walled, reset cement to the fence, and planned future construction jobs to the shower area and a laundry area.
We also offered a painting class to the community. We had around 15 people come in to paint, most of them were unsaved and unchurched. Pastor Allen faithfully led the class. As we painted butterflies, he talked about how God changes our lives. The class was extremely fun and I’m not sure if I’ve ever laughed so much in my life. Needless to say, I don’t think I’ll be a professional painter in the future. This outreach allowed the church to build bridges of relationship to the community
Our
final outreach was to the teachers of Welch Elementary. The teams
prepared a lovely lunch for each teacher along with a goodie bag will with
teacher supplies and snacks. CiM
has built a wonderful relationship with the principal, Sarah Diaz. Sarah is a faithful follower of Jesus who is
passionate about giving children hope.
She loves having teams come to the school to reach boys and girls for
Jesus, but also to encourage her teachers.
Welch Elementary is one of the poorest schools in West Virginia. 100% of the children
receive free breakfast and lunch through the school. Also, a majority of the children are
dramatically behind. Pray for the school
and for other future projects to love the kids and teachers of the community.
Thank you for
partnering with us and loving our family. We are eagerly preparing for VBS,
camps, and mission trips this summer.
Pray for energy, good connections, our teams as they prepare, and mostly
that people would know Jesus as their Savior too!
Gifts sent to: P.O. Box 51519
Durham, NC 27717
give online via www.churchesinmissions.org
Designate
for Matt & Tiffanie Robinson
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