What do you say.

Well yesterday was quite a day. We woke up in the morning and Headed to Buffalo Christian Center to help them prepare for the VBS they have coming up. Little did I know what God had in store for me. We finished signs and ran errands along with a little cleaning. When 5:30 rolled around we headed to the park for a prayer walk. There is a new church plant that is happening in the neighborood we specifically prayered for among other things. We had an incredible meal that included a Buffalo tradition of Beef on Weck. We came back to the church for our evening closing. Mitch had prepared an incredible message. Each Student had thier own task to do. In the process of ministering to these students they halted everything to minister to me. I love these kids. You all should be very proud to have this group representing you in Buffalo. I am!! So after a somewhat emotional night we all went to bed. I did not have time to to upload pictures but I hope you understand.

Finishing the Job

Well we are at Thursady and everyone is in bed but me after a long day. This may have been the best day so far. Our group has been invited back to help West Buffalo ministries anytime. We set out to scrap and prime a house. Gary, the foreman expected this to be task bigger than we could accomplish so when our group put the finishing touches on the final coat of paint he was extremely thankful. We even satyed over to finish it because our Youth did not want to leave the task undone. We even had the opportunity to teach "Hanky Spanks" to the children at Vive la casa. They really enjoyed this. To end the day we had ice cream and a bon fire at the house of one of the CIY leaders. It is fun to watch this group grow and finally admit Cody's team building activities have paid off. I think we have made an impact here in Buffalo and among ourselves. We have a couple more suprises in store for us and it shall be interesting to see.

John

Building Our Walls.

Things have been a great blessing so far. Tonight is the first night that we have had an internet connection. During the first part of the week we were staying at a large ministry center. Tonight we moved locations to a church where I am now typing this blog in the gymnasium where they have a wireless connection.

This trip has been an incredible trip for so many reasons. I will do my best to explain it by going through our nightly reflection questions. Each night I ask 4 questions. What did you see today? What did you feel today? What did you do today? Lastly, I ask what did WE do today?

Here is what I have seen. I have seen students look for ways to serve instead of hiding back and waiting. I have seen students encourage each other, I have seen them notice the small things, I have seen them step out of their comfort zones physically and spiritually.

Also, I have felt a great sense of unity with this trip. They know how to have fun, but they also know how to work hard and be serious. They are getting things done quicker than any of the project leaders know what to do with. They are making sure they keep each other more focused (which is not easy with a bunch of seemingly ADHD teenagers). They are encouraging each other and challenging each other. I have felt pride seeing them begin to take hold of this vision that God has for them in their lives and taking the steps of necessary for them to take that next spiritual step in their lives.

I have seen these students do some amazing things. They have demolished walls, stacked desks and chairs, carried tables, cleaned rooms, painted walls, paint pictures, put up shower curtains and put together detailed things for a big outreach event for the christian center. However, together we have served God by serving others. Caleb said it best tonight when he said "What we did today saved the people we served weeks of efforts". By each of us doing seemingly small tasks we have freed the people there to focus on people and the ministry and be blessed. We haven't just painted walls, we've prepared homes. We haven't just stacked desks, we have created a sanctuary. We haven't just worked, we've served.

Tonight we talked about Nehemiah and how he faced so many oppositions in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. However, Nehemiah trusted God and built the walls one stone at a time. Parents, be proud of your kids. I know you may have a hard time getting them to clean their room at home, but here they are helping build a Kingdom one act at a time.

pictures

you can access pictures on the Fusion facebook page. check them out

been a couple days

hey it has been a couple days since we have logged in. We are not in much internet range so it will be spotty. Keep track on out twitter accounts. Today we help the Buffalo Christian center paint for their Vbs. We went to the waterfront and ate ORIGINAL Buffalo wings. I will report more later.

The mission trip begins

I am writing this from Kentucky still but it has been an interesting day. They biggest part of our group left yesterday morning. I and Pam waited to bring up Austin and Julia who were attending his mom's wedding. As usual things do not go as planned. The main group got to Buffalo without much problem. We still at home have had much problem. It turned out I had to work the night before driving. Sorry Tracy and Vahid I did not make your reception. My concern was getting a good nights sleep before driving, but I was not worried I had Pam to help drive me. Well when calling her to make arrangements for the trip she answered the phone in tears. To make a long story short she had fallen and fractured her elbow. She now can not go on the trip. Well I did get a good night sleep last night which will help but Pam we love you and you get better girl. You can keep up to the minute tabs on our trip by looking at our Twitter entries. They say when you go on a mission trip remain flexible I guess this start we one we had to remain flexible with. Hopefully the next entry will be from Buffalo. See you then.


John

First Buffalo Blog

Welcome to the Fusion trip Blog I guess. This is John again. It is our intent to keep you updated using This Blog and on our Twitter links. You can find Cody's and John's Twitter logs to the left of this blog. Also you can look at our pictures via the Photo slide show. We are about a week out and Just had a team building meeting at Bluegrass Christian Camp it was a good time. I hope this helps you to keep track and in touch with your children while they are away.

home

After a couple of interesting events on the way home we are finally home at about midnight. We Mulched the high ropes course yeserday morning. Then we were able to do the climbing wall in the afternoon. It was great seeing those who thought they couldn't make it get to the top of the wall. I dare say there are some mighty sore youth this morning Way to go Caitlin and John. Thanks to David, Tasha, John,Tommy and all the staff at Deer Run. I hope to make it back there again some day. Over all it was a great trip. We learned a lot about ourselves and others. I hope the lessons from "Friends" sticks with us. Everyone have a great Easter and We wll see you Sunday.

John

Maybe...

Well, today started out pretty inconspicuously - or so it seemed. Just an average American breakfast, complete with triangular syrup packets. We set off promptly, still sleepy-headed and bed-ridden, Tom-Tom in hand. Twenty minutes later, we arrived at our destination, the Nashville Rescue Center. My own experience consisted, almost entirely, of pouring grape juice. A simple enough job, but meaningful just the same. Others shoveled out rice and passed out trays, heavily laden with fresh bread and pastel-colored cubes of various forms of store bought cake and homemade cookies, still warm from the oven. As the day progressed, it gradually became clear that this wasn't just some chore, some duty we had to perform. The difference that a smile, the smallest act of kindness, had upon these people was, in itself, astounding. And, the thought comes to mind, that if everyone, or even just a select few, would reach out to those beside them, or even across from them, the world might not be a better place, but, maybe, just maybe, it could be a happier place. Maybe.

If the NRC was the entree of the day, the high ropes was the main course. As our group struggled through, the psychological bonds were shredded, and, everyone, myself included, found a confidence, a determination, that we might not have even known was there.

So here I am at the end of the day, looking back on all that has come to pass, and all I can remember is, the one thing that sticks out in my mind, is the sheen of inspiration I saw reflected in my companions' eyes as Demitri and Matt, both YWAM volunteers, chronicled their spirtual journey - a gleam I can only describe as the realization, the anticipation of possibility, the conclusive power of this last final maybe.

E. Kayla Biddle

Saving lives

Today started with Biscuits and Gravy,Sausage Eggs. We then headed to Nashville and worked at project cure. They are a company who provides used and obsolete medical equipment to third world countries. We were told the the 3 hours we spent affected the lives of 300 people, possibly save some lives. The things we take for granted are appreciated overseas. We then came back and did the low ropes course. It was quite obvious that we did not work well as a team and struggled through most of the exercises. The final event Kayla led and we did really well on. It was good to see them grow as a group a little more. We are now waiting for some snacks and campfire. Best wishes from Nashville and have a good night.

John Gosper

Spring Breakaway

This is John and we called this Spring Breakaway but it feels more like Winter Breakaway. Our trip down went well although it has been cold and rainy all day. We hope tomorrow is better. We will be getting to work early in the morning so it is bedtime soon. Praise and worship went well and a special shout out goes to Erin Shepherd for being such a trooper and coming down despite a badly sprained ankle. I have post some the fusion facebook page if you want to check them out. Well until tomorrow I wish you a good night.