2011 Ehko NEO Trip

Final blog post.

2011-07-22T16:52:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone. Unfortunately, due to internet issues, a blog post full of stories and pictures is impossible. I have to blog from my phone.
But, I can tell you that our final full day was a great one. I am so impressed with what these kids were able to accomplish. What a great group. These volunteer leaders were amazing as well.
We finished our evening with a delectable meal at Vine Valley, munching on some on some Mediterranean food.
We are back at Urban Vision having some fun community time.
As for tomorrow, we have an important piece of information to get out. We will be back about an hour earlier than expected. We will arrive at the Akron campus at 2:30 pm.
We will see you there!
Thanks for your prayers.
-Eric

Thursday Night

2011-07-21T20:24:00.000-07:00

Hello all! We found a way to beat the heat by swimming in beautiful Lake Erie this afternoon. It was a great time for everyone. From there we hit up Dave and Busters. The food was delicious. After all the ethnic food they were freaking out over a chance to slam a cheeseburger. We played some fun arcade games in the air conditioned building and everyone had a blast. Pretty tired now, so we'll be off to bed. Look forward to tomorrows blogging to hear about some of the fun and our final day of VBS and Leggett programs as well as the final shift to get some work done at Urban Vision. It's been a great trip and this is a really fun, united and committed team. For the parents out there, thanks for blessing me with these kids! I'm so honored to lead them.

-Eric

Thursday Afternoon Blog Post

2011-07-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody! We've had another great day. Everybody is wrapping up their early responsibilities and finally FUN NIGHT has arrived.

Here are some stories from kids about their experiences.

This week has been great! I’m already super close to the kids. Whenever I leave and they say they’re going to miss me I feel like I can’t leave. Today at VBS we watched a movie and it was pretty crazy. The kids were getting a little rambunctious. Thanks to God’s help I was patient and made it through the day. I think that’s what God has showed me this week most of all, patience. I can tell the difference between the beginning of the week and now. I can handle these kids way better now then ever.

I’m so excited for the rest of the week and FUN DAY! I cannot wait to get even closer with these kids and to God. I’m sure the week is only going to get better!

C.J. Thompson

Hello. I am working at Miller Avenue Church VBS this week. Today was really hot so we watched the movie "Soccer Dog." The kids loved it. The next activity we did was explain the "Salvation Ball." Everyone got into their groups and started explaining. I took aside two little girls, ZZ and Imianna. After a few questions, and several Bible verses, Imianna said to me, "I want Jesus' gift, and I want it now!" I was so thrilled. The three of us prayed together and now, I am honored to say that I led two girls to Christ today! I am so happy and I know the Lord is too!"

~Lindsey Lucas

Fun is on its way! We are going to get some swimming in to cool down and then we are off to Dave and Busters for dinner and some games. Hope you are all staying cool. Please keep praying! God has been so good and we know he will continue to be!

-Eric

Brief Wednesday update.

2011-07-20T17:53:00.001-07:00

We had another great day. As far as events go, we did what we've done all week during the day. Today was extremely hot! We are making sure everyone is hydrated and so far spirits have not been dampened by the sweat inducing humidity.

Tonight the group was split in two and took shifts between serving South St. Ministry and eating some delicious Indian food at the Raj Mahal. As if the day weren't hot enough, we thought we'd add spicy curry to the mix.

We've still got some things to accomplish tonight and some sleeping to do so the stories and photos will have to wait until morning. Thanks for praying! We are having a blast and God is doing awesome things!

-Eric

Tuesday Night Update

2011-07-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

Hello browsers of the web. Eric Hays here. We are just about to go to bed after a long, eventful day of hard work. All the groups were at their respective sites, VBS, Leggett School and Urban Vision during the daytime.

In the afternoon, we spent some time in nature connecting with God at the Ledges at Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It was a great time to stop and think about why we're doing what we're doing.

For dinner, each van got $20 to feed everyone in their vehicle. One van with more people got $30. Not only did they have to figure out dinner for a relatively small amount of cash, but they also had to figure out a way to bless someone who is not a part of our group. It was a stretch for us, because we had to get creative with our meal, and have boldness to give a gift to someone on the street. The kids did an awesome job of facing their fears and as Jesus told us in Matthew 5, letting our light shine before all men that they might see our deeds and praise God. They really enjoyed it and I think it will have a lasting impact.

Here are some thoughts from the kids about their day.

"Today the Leggett group played with the kids and we got to know them more. We shared some Bible verses with them as well. Eric gave all of us a challenge tonight. We had to bless someone. It was very hard. Many of us were very scared. These past few days I've learned that God uses normal people to spread the good news to others, just like Esther. God used here to save her people. She didn't know why she became queen but God did. God has a reason for everything."

-Cecily

"Our group, Jesse's van, did a bunch of NON-demo things today. We started by having Caleb help clean up the room we were demo-ing, while the rest of us hauled tiles down a bunch of stairs. Then, we went outside and basically cleared out all of the chunks of concrete and a lot of plants, like weeds, and even small trees! Later, all of us (including the other groups) went to Ledges and had a quiet time with God. During my time, I read Psalm 51 and part of Revelation. After that time, our group walked the trail and named the cave that Brian Thomson and I found a few years ago. It is now 'Staircase Cavern.'"

-Drew

"Today we had soooo much fun. We played with the little kids and had some great laughs! I am part of the cheerleading group and there are 3 of us in charge and we get to teach different moves like jumps and kicks. Im learning a lot about everyone and I love talking to all the children. I wanted to add though that we went to a thai restaurant and i tried squid and a really hot pepper. Im not kidding, it was hot. I drank a gallon of water afterwards. hahahaha. The Lord is truly teaching me and inspiring me to pursue Him in all that I do. Jesus has blessed me with many things and I am grateful. I love all the kids and the leaders. Thanks for the fun that we have had and I know there is more to come. Please continue to pray for us as we journey through Akron. God Bless you all. Please read the book of James and 2 Corinthians. It is encouraging and a great way to start and end the day. Thanks. Love you all. Goodnight."

-Kayla Canterbury

And now some pictures.

Some sights from Leggett

And some video from Miller Ave.

Monday Night Update

2011-07-18T20:21:00.000-07:00

We have finished a great day of ministry. We got to experience some other cultures and we had a great time bonding as a team. We had a great night at South Street despite the thunderstorms and can't wait to be back there on Wednesday. Only a few pictures to share tonight due to some technical difficulties (I'll add more tomorrow morning) but here are some great thoughts from the students!

"The following is a collaboration of Syd and Haleigh...

Hey. Today we were working at Legett School. We each chose a child with whom we would chill with throughout the week. The day was hot but luckily we had air conditioning. We played, learned and played some more. Afterwards, our group went to dinner at Seoul Garden, a Korean restaurant, and tried new foods. When the meal was over, we went to the Crabbs House, South St. Ministries to work in the bike shop and clean. It stormed and so Joe Tucker (program director of South St) took the down time to share his testimony. It has been a fun day and we are looking forward to ka-noodles of splendiferous activities! We love you Mom!"

-Your friendly neighborhood Haleigh and Syd

"Hey everyone!

I’m Nathan Embaugh. My groups is working at Miller Ave. Chruch. We’re doing a VBS sports camp. I’m working in the soccer part of it, but, there are 4 different things you can do. There is Soccer, Basketball, Cheerleading, and Cooking. One of the harder things of being with all these little kids, is hearing about they’re stories and realizing how blessed we are. These kids go through a lot and I like to help them. But, one of the best things was going to Pad Thai, the food was so different! It was also funny to watch people get they’re food and be so surprised. Well I hope you guys are fine at home!"

-Nathan

"Hello! We made it past the first day! I am working at Miller Avenue church. Working on the cheerleading squad is tough! The girls most definitely keep us busy! The hardest part for me so far is remembering not to be intimidated by the girls we are with, because some are older than us. Dinner was great! Mom, I hope you're proud of me because I tried an egg roll, squid, and a really, really hot pepper at Pad Thai. Katie, Keith and I played a game at the restaurant too, but it didn't end so well! I love playing and carrying the little kids around at South Street Ministry. Please continue to pray for us! Thank you for your support."

~Lindsey Lucas

As you can see, a lot of fun and stretching experiences. Please pray that we will be open to what God wants to show us and that we can really make an impact by serving such great ministries this week! You'll hear more from us later. And now, some pictures.

-Eric

Monday Afternoon Update.

2011-07-18T11:27:00.000-07:00

Hello all! We are all finished with our early projects. All three sites went really well and kids are sweaty from all the hard work. One student commented that he didn't know playing with kids could be so hard! It can be hard but it has been fun and rewarding. Our Urban Vision work crew did some serious damage to a bathroom today! Thankfully, it was a demo job so that was the goal.

Half of our group is off at South Street Ministry helping with their summer program until 5:30 when they will head out for an ethnic dining experience. The other half of the group is getting ready for a ethnic dining experience of our own before we head to South Street for their bike shop.

Check back into the blog late tonight or tomorrow morning and we'll have some thoughts from students and pictures from our entire day. Please keep up the prayers!

-Eric

Day 1... Complete!

2011-07-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

Hello browsers of the internet! This is Eric Hays, the trip leader and chief blogger. I like to inflate my ego by making up extra titles for myself! Today was the first day of our trip and it was a good one. Today, was basically an orientation. We left the Chapel for Miller Avenue United Church of Christ, one of our VBS sites. There we prepared for the week. We learned about what we would do at each site and prayed for our trip.

From there, we went to South Street Ministry. Pastor Duane Crabbs and his wife Lisa gave us a picture of Urban Ministry while sharing the story of how God called them to South Akron. We're very excited to serve South Street this week by supporting their summer program, volunteering at their Bike Shop, and doing so manual labor for them.

Lastly, we went to Urban Vision, where we are staying and some of our group are serving. Rodney Matthews, the President of UV told our team about the great things they are doing in the community. It is a privilege to support their efforts to share love and the gospel with their neighborhood.

We finished the night with a team meeting and worshipped together. I challenged the students to really believe that God can use us as individuals and as a team to do big things this week. I can't wait to see what those things are going to be!

Here are a few thoughts from students.

"Hey parents,

We did a lot of stuff today even though we were just here for half a day. We met people we would be working with all week like Lisa Marshall from Leggett, and Rodney Matthews from Urban Vision. When we got here we played a game of duck, duck, goose, and two kids, Jordan and Justin just jumped right in. We didn’t invite them, but it was pretty awesome that they felt comfortable with us. If our whole week is like or even better than our first day, then this will be a FANTASTIC week!"

~Gabe Chambers~

"Hi There!

Today Was Basically A Day Of Information. We Had Different People Explain To Us What We Would Be Doing All Week. We’ll Be Working With A Lot Of Different Ministries All Week. Everyone Has Been So Nice And Really Comforting On What We’ll Be Doing With The Kids. When We Were At One Of The Ministries With Mr. Crabbs, There Was A Couple Of Kids There That Joined Our Group And Played With Us So Quickly. Our Biggest Prayer This Week Is To Show Christ’s Love To The Kids And Really Give Them The Good News About Christ. Please Keep Praying For Us This Week And Pray That God Will Give Us Strength And Protection As The Week Goes On. Thanks (:"

~ Kimmi Flight ~

Tomorrow, we will serve at our three daytime sites. One group will be working hard at Urban Vision, another at Leggett School working with kids, and another at Miller Ave. doing VBS. Everyone will serve in the afternoon/evening at South Street Ministry. Pray for good rest tonight and a great day of the Holy Spirit moving! Thanks!!!

-Eric

Welcome!!!

2011-05-25T10:51:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the blog for the EHKO Northeast Ohio Ministry Trip. We're so glad you're here. Our trip leaves in a few short weeks and we'd love it if you'd be praying for us. Visit during the trip to hear updates from students and leaders, and to see pictures of the kinds of things we're doing. Enjoy!!!