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Hey Woodmont! Today was our last official day here in Medina, Texas, and tomorrow we’ll be getting up bright and early to head on to our Surprise Day, an event that still remains unknown to the youth. David, Betsy, and the interns have kept the secret pretty well! Everyone’s packing for the quick morning departure we’ll be making, and even though we are sad that we have to leave Medina, we know that our mission isn’t ending simply because we’re leaving here.
Today we witnessed God in a lot of places. Betsy was incredible today as she took the reins on planning our Fun Day, making sure that our youth group was involved in helping to make it the best and most creative night possible. We had a doughnut eating contest, where the kids had to reach up and bite powdered doughnuts off a string; there was a lot of screaming and cheering for who could eat the fastest. A mighty game of kickball was played and some water balloons were thrown too— mostly at David— and we finished the night out with a dance party and root beer floats. We said our goodbyes, wrote some letters to those we made connections with, and finally, we sat down as a group to reflect upon the week and the things we experienced in this beautiful place.
Worship tonight was incredible. Leah and Duncan led “How He Loves”, “Revelation Song”, “I Ask You For Life”, and “Psalm 13”. How loud and sincere the teens were during parts of the songs just blew me away. I know that they were truly worshipping God, not just singing to end the night. We saw Jesus today in the incredible work Woodmont accomplished— hauling trailer upon trailer of fifty pound boxes of tiles (human assembly line included), organizing all of the clothing in the store and commissary, and cooking an amazing meal of fajitas, guacamole, and watermelon for two hundred people. But most of all, we saw God in the relationships we formed this week. It made me realize just how little we are, and how huge God is, because only He could have brought us as close as He has in such a small amount of time; this includes forming relationships with the Arms of Hope teenagers as well. We can’t mention enough just how much closer the group of us who came to Medina has become, and we look forward to bringing it back to Nashville and spreading it to the rest of the youth group.
Also, a final word for the night: as we were closing out our devotional tonight, Jared Miller, a former youth group member at Woodmont, told us that he had heard from all of the kids he’d talked to that we had won the “favorite award” for those who had come to Arms of Hope this summer.
Please pray for our safe travels over the next two days! We loved this year so much and can’t wait to see you again on Saturday!
