Week 1 - Go!!
It is crazy to think that after 10 years of dreaming, 12 months of building a relationship with the Lost Bus and 6 months of renovations, we are actually on the road. We praise God for his faithfulness, provision and patience with our impatience.
When we moved to Greenville, SC we spent our first available Sunday at Thrive (a church we had googled the night before when we realized we didn’t have anywhere in mind for a service in the morning). Though we were not looking forward to it, we were prepared to church hop for at least a few months. But 5 Sundays in and we still hadn’t moved on from Thrive. We loved it there; it felt like home. As we prepared to move on to the Lost Bus, it was natural to ask that Thrive be our base and launching pad.
On Sunday, May 17th, the congregation stood around us in prayer to send us out - we were so touched by their support and encouragement. It was also sweet to bring the Bus with us that Sunday for everyone to walk through and grasp more of what our time on the road would look like.
Thrive sendoff
Australian Church cassie grew up in
The following weeks were a race to the finish line until we found ourselves on June 13th securing the cabinets and putting a bungy cord across the bookshelf in order to drive down to Charleston. We had decided that a sendoff here was necessary considering so many of those who had built out and originally sent off this 2009 converted school bus lived in this area. It was sweet to build on these relationships and share in the most recent renovations.
Charleston sendoff
June 15th: an early morning departure, a journal in hand from the “Lost Boys” and we were on our way to our first official stop of service; Brunswick, GA. Here we are connecting with Veritas Shapes Ministries (VSM). These guys are awesome. Their mission is to “chase a generation by winning favor, building relationships, getting into hearts, to bring them into life” (in Jesus). Day to day this looks like 4 things:
Surf camps in Jacksonville
Skate camps in Brunswick
yard work around town
“The Hub”; a base for all VSM activities and connections
Logan first connected with these guys while living down in Florida, serving with Ride Nature (another action sports ministry). We plan to be here for 3 weeks, helping out with surf and skate camps and hopefully smashing out a couple of building projects.
This week has primarily looked like getting involved in all ministry aspects; watching and learning how they do life at VSM. On Monday and Tuesday we toured the Hub and heard stories of how they first landed in this run-down mechanical shop and everything that went into transforming it to what it is now. We visited the various staff houses and heard of God’s provision in resourcing this ministry. As we went, Doug (founder and director) shared various projects we could get stuck into during our time here. Wednesday and Thursday we jumped into Skate and Surf camps. Friday we began to make a plan and prepare a list of materials for some projects next week.
Just to share a little more on Surf Camp … a lot of these kids have never been on a board before. So after an efficient set-up of camp by the VSM team, we start with a couple of drills on the sand and then head out into the water. Once they can pop up on their boards laying still, we start pushing them into the waves. Not one kid hadn’t ridden a wave to shore by the end of the day.
I got to talk with one of the kids who had an abundance of hobbies (aka many ways she could be spending our summer), but by the end of the day she was calling up her dad to plan how she could make it to every surf camp left in the summer. Surfing is pretty cool, but so are God’s people …
Florida things
It has been a gift to spend time with the VSM team this week. They are so passionate about reaching and loving their local community, providing a safe and fun space for young kids to hang out in - connecting over skate and surf - all in the name of Jesus. Their sacrifice, joy and devotion is inspiring.
While we are excited to get stuck into it next week, we are taking the weekend to enjoy some local surf breaks and connect with family in Jacksonville.
And just to keep it real, as I write this we are sitting on the side of the highway with a blown hose … thankfully, I have duct tape and a mechanic as a husband.
Catch ya next week!
For the praying folk:
Meaningful conversation with the youth at skate and surf camps
That we can smash out some projects next week
For us to be an encouragement to the VSM staff
A fix for this blown hose