Summer Mission Trip

 Summer went on a mission trip this summer with our youth group.  It was her first time being away on her own for longer than a weekend, and it was really cool to see how she learned to rely on God and how her faith grew.  They started their trip by driving 2 days to Appalachia, KY.  Once they got out there, they worked at Happy Church, a local church in the area, to serve the people there.  They cleaned, weeded, and helped lead a kids' camp.  Summer's role in the kids' camp was teaching piano lessons.  She created much of her lesson material (along with using some of her early piano books as a resource), and really enjoyed teaching the students!  It was so cool to see how God used her passions of kids, teaching, and music to serve him!  They also helped the church put on a carnival for the kids.  On the last day of the week, their team went hiking to enjoy the beauty of Natural Bridge, in Red River Gorge.  Then they drove two days back home.  

I sent this bracelet with Summer.  Each letter on the bracelet stands for a word.  Each day she opened a note that included a Bible verse where she discovered what word that letter stood for.  Also pictured is a bracelet my cousin Leah gave Summer that has a verse written in morse code in the beads.  She also had a whole team of people praying for her!

I am so proud of Summer.  She chose to follow the Lord's call to go on this mission trip despite feeling nervous, and she saw the Lord's faithfulness in action.  Ask her about it sometime!