We made it home safe and sound. It was another long day, but we made it. We left Vero beach at 6:45am. Abby and Lindsay were able to get on a direct flight and avoided any of the problems they had last time. Thank you Mollie for picking them up.

Our flight was delayed about 45 minutes. We walked off the plane in Atlnata at 12:50pm which was exactly when our next flight was scheduled to depart. Thankfully, the flight was delayed 20 minutes. However, we had quite a ways to go to get to our gate. So off we ran. We made it to our gate and there was no plane. Come to find out, they had changed the gate. We went to the correct gate which wasn't too far away just in time for the last boarding call.

It is good to be home. Thanks for following along.

Spring ball starts Monday Night!

Day 4: Today started off with a few of us going to the beach for a run. We knew it was supposed to be a rainy day, so we thought we would get in just a few more minutes of beach time.

We then went back to work for The Source. We first went to their thrift shop to see what they are doing there. Some of the ladies had some fun shopping and picked up a few gifts. We then headed to a property where they have a storage building. The facility was a rehabilitation center that was purchased for that reason, but currently the neighbors are holding up its use in litigation. So for now, it is a storage facility. They have just about everything someone would need to start a home. When someone from their program gets on their feet and gets their first home, The Source has all of this stuff so they can help them get started furnishing it. When we arrived, you could barely move around the place. When we left, everything was organized and the aisles were clear. Rob, the man we were working with, was so excited. We were also able to sort through and remove things that were just trash. He wanted to make sure that when he delivers furnishings, that they are worthy of a home and not just junk someone gave away.

Another thing we were able to do is take a lot of things that were just not selling at their thrift store and deliver it to Goodwill. We were supposed to throw it away, but there was a lot of quality stuff that we thought someone could use.

We finished early today because once again, the ladies were underestimated and they plowed through the work and finished everything Rob wanted to accomplish.

After getting back, some of the girls took a nap, some went shopping with Mrs. Vigneau and Mrs. Baker, and a few brave souls went to the beach in the rain and played volleyball. We had hoped to spend our last afternoon at the beach, but the weather did not cooperate. Those brave souls also braved to the storm surge and did a little swimming.

When we got back to the hotel we weren't sure if we were in a hurricane, a tornado, or just a storm. It was raining something fierce and there were tornado warnings in the area. We are fine and nothing came near us, but the wind and rain was coming down sideways and heavy. We went to dinner and it was raining so hard that the roof began to leak and we had the staff scrambling with buckets and trying to find us new seats. We had a blast though and our last meal together in Florida was a lot of fun.

I think we are all at the point where we are ready to go home, but are sad to be leaving. We have accomplished so much and had so much fun surfing(serving) together.

We head out early in the morning and we'll be home soon. Thank you all for your prayers and love. We could not have done any of this without you.

Another uplifting evening. We met up with Pastor Brothers this evening and he brought us to his church. It is a small church of about 80 people who meet in a small space rented in an office park. Their original building was destroyed by a hurricane about 5 years ago. We were provided with a spaghetti dinner followed by a youth worship service. Only a few were in attendance, but they seemed engaged and interested. Pastor Bill believes that "the best way to grow a church is through the young adults and youth" and he is working to grow the youth attendance of his congregation.

We opened with some music provided by the church band. Youth themselves. After that, Abby, Eleanor and Alison all shared their stories of faith. Abby and Alison revamped their stories and shared of how they came to Gordon and what the Lord has done in their lives. Eleanor was led to speak from Isaiah 43:14-28 and shared her faith in such a beautiful way. Her genuine love for the Lord and passion to serve led to her prayinig with one of those in attendance. It was wonderful. After each of them shared, Pastor Bill asked some questions as well as some of the youth. Then Pastor Bill shared from John 15:1-5. He talked of how we are all being pruned by the Lord so that we can grow and multiply. He commended the girls for taking their break to serve and for staying true to who they are. He spoke of how through struggle we are more able to grow and give to others. It is so enjoyable to see the stages of growth and life that each of us goes through and how that pays out in each of our lives.

After we left we took a ride down Vero Beach and took a walk on the boardwalk. We also went for a walk on the beach and just had a fun time talking and hanging out. We then went to the Wendy's drive-through for Frosties. Despite everyone being tired/exhausted, the energy to enjoy each other and laugh has not subsided. I am so full of joy and I am so blessed to work with such great women of God.

Sorry about the time of the posts being off.

Day 3: Today is El's birthday!!! So we had some cake and ice cream at lunch and Abby made her a sign which you can see hanging in the back ground.


Today was and is a very busy day. We were again serving at Habitat at the building center and at the de-construction house. We sent a new crew to the house and they finished ripping up the floor. Our lead worker Will said that the two crews he has worked with are the hardest working volunteers he has ever worked with. Way to go ladies!

The rest of us began the day organzing the store before it opened and then we went on an interesting trip. A local church had recently installed a new $4.3 million organ. In the process they covered the floor with plywood which we were packing up to take back to the building center to sell. While we were there we toured the church and ended up doing a quick project for them. The church building is very large with a membership of only about 1300. They run a preschool and all sorts of other youth and adult activities. They have a very wealthy congregation and the things they are building and doing are AMAZING! We were all blown away by the facilities and what they allow them to accomplish. The rest of the day we worked removing hardware from doors and shelving all of the parts for sale, stocking the store with whatever we could, unloading truck loads of donations, cleaning up storage areas, cleaning ovens and refrigerators, and painting a little playhouse to be used in a local parade.

After finishing up our Habitat time, we took a quick drive to local community built by Habitat. Abby and I were here three years ago and saw everything in the beginning stages. The building phase is now complete with around 40 homes, a playground and a picnic area. It was neat to see houses that we worked on finished and occupied by families.

Tonght we are heading to a local baptist church to work with a youth group of high school and college aged young adults. We are doing a Q&A with them so they can ask us about college life, the Christian life, and why we are here serving. I hope we can help share what it means to be a young person of faith living and serving God daily. The pastor says that many of these kids are struggling to make a commitment to live the faith daily and he is hoping and praying that seeing our ladies living out what he is preaching can be a life chaning experince for his kids.

Please be praying that God can speak through us all tonight.

I will update later on how everything went.

Just reflecting on our first few days, it is amazing to see how hard the girls are working. Apparently 80% of volunteers just don't cut it. I would gladly put the girls in to the 20% category. They are accomplishing so much more then anyone thought possible. People of Florida work at a nice easy going pace and getting enough work for us all to keep busy is challenging at times. However, no matter what the task or how daunting it initially seems, everyone is doing what is asked of them and doing it with a smile. We wanted to come here and serve. While we are loving the sun and the short times we get to go to the beach, the main reason we are here is work and share our joy with others. This experience has been so much fun for me because I get to see each person in a whole new light. Each player, alumni, and parent here has something unique to give and it has been such a blessing to see what that is. Whether it be energy when we are slowing done, prayer to open our day, or just a good laugh when we need it, everyone is contributing. I strongly felt God's hand on this trip during the planning and fund raising phase, and now I get to see the strength and courage of each person as they live their faith out daily. I am truly blessed to be working with strong Christian women who are committed to living out their faith. I have the greatest job!

Busy day. Today we worked with Habitat for Humanity at their home center. A location where they accept used stuff, fix it up, and sell it. They also have started a new project where they de-construct homes and strip them off whatever they can to sell in the home center. They have everything including the kitchen sink for sale! Most of us spent the day organizing and stocking shelves. We made labels, sorted through hundreds of scrap door knobs to create complete sets, reorganized shelves, helped customers load purchases into heir cars, and did whatever else we could to help. One group went to a local home and spent the morning knocking down walls and tearing up a hardwood floor.

Atfer our day with Habitat we went back to the beach and played a great game of beach volleyball. I do believe everyone will sleep well tonight.

Off to dinner.

First day is done. A very good day. The worship service went extremely well. Mindy, El and Heidi did a great job singing and Abby and Ali shared their testimony. They did well and it is amazing how God has and continues to bless their lives. We then served lunch to around 75 people; men, women and a children. It was tough, but they were very grateful. We ate with them and it was touching to watch the girls talk with the folks. There were some date offers and one man thought Heidi should pursue a singing career. We had brought a donation to give and found out that the amount we were giving was the exact cost to open the shleter for one night when it gets too cold. Usually below 37 degrees. They have had more cold nights then usual so the gift was well received.

We then moved on to Immanuel Church where we helped clean out their youth house. We also swept and cleaned up the trash in the new sanctuary they are building. We finished the day going to the beach to cool down and enjoy the sun before it set. By the way, Lindsay has a new nickname; Lindsay-Fine! I will upload some pictures later.

BEAUTIFUL morning here in sunny FL! Most slept in today. Some went to the beach and went for a run. Gorgeous sun and sand. We are heading out soon to worship and then off to Immanuel Church for some service there.

Dinner at Outback! A combination of exhaustion and giggles. A lot of fun. We're all looking forward to a good nights rest.

We finally made it to our hotel. No major problems other then 5 flight changes for Abby and Lindsay. We are settled in to our hotel and the girls are all headed to the pool. We are excited to be here and look forward to leading worship in the morning. The weather is perfect. High 60's and sunny!

Welcome to the Gordon College Field Hockey blog. I have started this to keep our family updated on our upcoming service trip to Vero Beach, Florida. I hope you enjoy our posts and pictures.