Sunday, July 17

Sunday morning came with beautiful sunshine and awareness of how fortunate we are to be able to participate in this event.  We were given a list of local churches at orientation, and we chose to worship at Calvary Baptist Church, just a few miles from our hotel.  What a warm welcome they extended to us!  (We even had a few hugs.) Their pastor was new to the church; in fact, he was preaching his third sermon there.

After lunch we had free time until 4:00 p.m. when we were scheduled to arrive at Palmetto to set up for the block party.  We decided to go early so that we could drive through and have some prayer time on site.

The Palmetto team showed up ready to work, and some of the other teams who didn't have Sunday afternoon assignments joined us.  The Spartanburg County Baptist Association brought two inflatables (a bounce house and maze), as well as the every popular snow cone machine.  Did I mention it was really hot?  Bro. Paul and Bro. Greg were everywhere making sure that everything was in place.  Kids started showing up as soon as we began setup, and many of the parents came out as well and lent a hand.

In addition to manning the inflatables, volunteers were doing face painting and fingernail painting.  The fingernails were a big hit with the girls, and provided an opportunity for the gospel story since salvation colors were being used.

Baptist Nursing Fellowship volunteers were also on site to do health screenings.  And Bro. Paul demonstrated his versatility by making balloon animals (turtle bracelets were a big hit with the girls), swords, and hats.

The rain finally put a stop to the fun as everyone headed for cover.  Most of us got soaking wet, but it was welcome after the heat of the day.  There was even a rainbow as we were packing up, reminding us of God's great promise.

Please pray for the Backyard Bible Club that begins tomorrow at Palmetto.  Ask God to give us patience, wisdom, and courage to speak the truth.

Saturday, July 16

Our drive up to Spartanburg was the kind of trip we like (uneventful), and we quickly found our hotel and Morningside Baptist Church where we reconnected with old friends and met new ones.

Opening Celebration included music by the group High Expectations from Cull Memorial Baptist Church and warm welcomes from the host church as well as representatives from South Carolina and National WMU.  Dinner was provided by the local congregation, and included fried chicken, baked beans, potato salad, and fresh sliced peaches on homemade pound cake!  Our South Carolina WMU representative reminded us that this state produces more peaches than any other state.  The table decor featured sunflowers and blue gingham.  We felt right at home.

At the end of the evening we met with the other teams who are partnering with us at Palmetto Mobile Home Park. In addition to the three of us from Providence, there are 12 other volunteers that make up our team.  Our Ministry Team Leader, Greg Castillo, is from The Gathering Church here in Spartanburg.  He told us that the residents are primarily Hispanic and talked about some of the cultural behaviors we would encounter.  With assignments nailed down, we said goodnight to our new friends and headed to our hotel for a much needed rest.

Please pray that we will be open to the opportunities God has placed in front of us.