A review of the August service project, by Melissa Dean

We began the day by meeting at the church at 9:30 am to make around 120 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to hand out with bottles of water. Our first stop was Spring Valley Rd and Maham Rd. where we approached some day laborers hanging around on curbs and outside gas stations. They were very appreciative and we explained to them what we were doing and where we attend church. We were successful but felt we could have even more impact in downtown.

So, our next stop was City Hall. As we were gathering to decide what direction to go, a couple walked right by us. He was covered in tattoos and was not wearing a shirt and she looked like she was on drugs and was pregnant. We offered them some food and water and they accepted. We began talking with her, Candace, about her pregnancy and how she was feeling. At that point she started to cry and explain to us she hadn’t slept in 4 days because she’s too afraid to sleep under the bridge. If she falls asleep she gets attacked. She has no friends or family that aren’t addicted to cocaine. A group of us walked with her to a bench in the shade and just listened. For an hour and a half we listened to her and we prayed over her, her husband and her baby. None of us ever imagined what offering someone a sandwich and water could do and how much that day affected us all.

While we were talking with the couple, the rest of our group made their way around downtown passing out the rest of the sandwiches and water. Everyone did such a great job to make this project a success. We all felt so blessed to be a part of something so special and look forward to do doing this again!

Join us September 17-19, 2010!

Visit the ALIVE in the Metroplex event page on Facebook and RSVP today!

A sampling of the outings we have gathered for in the past few months will let you know what getting plugged into the “social aspect” of B1 is all about.  Let’s face it…Christian friends are a necessity…make some incredible ones!

• Dallas Museum of Art and Twisted Root-

A splash of culture ending in an evening at one of Dallas’ elite burger joints.

• Fort Worth Arts Festival-

Sometimes it is fun to head out west to Funky Town!  This annual Fort Worth event is something locals look forward to.  A slight venture from Dallas culture.

• Night at the Drive-In-

A short drive to Ennis, Texas leads to a trip back in time.

• Summer at the Lake-

Afternoon/evening at Lake Ray Hubbard.  Grilling, sports, swimming…

• Impromptu hang-out sessions-

Girls Night, Dinner and Movie, Summer Musicals.  You name it…there is always someone wanting to hang-out!

Dia de los Ninos, a Mexican holiday, was a day of celebration for the neighborhood kids in the area surrounding the Rosemont Church of Christ.  A few of us from the B1 class helped prepare hot dogs, bounce houses, sno cones, volleyball and popcorn.  The afternoon was spent creating an atmosphere that was inviting for the kids and families around the church.  It was a fantastic experience for the kids as well as those who “worked” during the event.

Retreat background for those who couldn’t make it: The weekend focused on the book of James which digs into our human behavior and confronts our misbehavior, so we may outwardly demonstrate Christ-like behavior.  It’s our faith allowing Christ to transform us “From the Inside Out”!

There have been points in my life when repeatedly bottling up how I felt and living in ways that are contrary to my beliefs caught up to me.  Matthew 6:24 says “No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”  The more I leaned on myself to navigate my life, the more that other “masters” were allowed in.  The world had gotten to me and I found myself feeling callous and apathetic towards things in my life that didn’t deserve it.

I was looking forward to the retreat because I knew it was needed.  I knew that my heart needed to be softened and my life needed to be re-aligned and full control given back to the One who actually knows what he is doing.  Spending an entire weekend with friends up to my eyeballs in the book of James was the perfect remedy.  It changed my perspective.  Instead of me beating myself up for my many shortcomings, James 1:2 says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”

I had the honor of helping some talented folks plan the retreat.  We thought it would be a exciting experiment to have someone in our class lead every facet of the retreat, but we didn’t know how that would turn out.

Within the first couple of hours, I knew this retreat would be different.  We leaned on each other to lead and focused our efforts on becoming one with God.  It was powerful.

Saturday was spent in small groups, big groups, individually … playing … eating … bonfire-ing (you like that?).  The evening culminated with a prayer service that I will never forget.  Everyone wrote a prayer of praise on one card and a prayer request on another.  I so commonly ask, ask, ask that I forget to praise praise praise.  As the praise cards were being read, I was smiling … we serve such an amazing God.  Praises for healing, jobs, thanks giving … on and on it went.  It was hard not to smile.  The requests on each card were so honest and heart felt – I found myself in tears.  Personal and family concerns and issues – the things I had been avoiding – were staring me right in the face.  Lifting them up in prayer made me feel like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.  My heart had been softened – my eyes re-opened – my vigor to serve the Lord, our class and beyond was back to full strength.

The weekend re-filled my spiritual tank – something that had been missing and I thank God and each of you who went on the retreat for making this all possible.

Marvin

We left Dallas on Saturday, and hours later arrived at the new and modern Tegucigalpa airport. After we checked our passports all of us thought how we could not wait to spend time with children on the streets, working with the hungry, building houses, touring the city of Angels, and many other exciting opportunities you can do in this high poverty but beautiful country. After our luggage was picked up, Oscar, a professor at the Baxter Institute, chauffeured us to the Baxter Institute. As we drove through the city (with Gary and the boys riding on top of all the luggage) the people of Honduras seemed calm and collected going about their everyday lives. I could not wait to start working with all these people. Though, without knowing, God would have different plans for us instead.

The next day we woke up, got ready for church, and headed out to eat some delicious Honduran breakfast along with some tasty, Honduran, “Folgers” coffee. Gary announced that all of us were going to head to a church down the road where some of the Baxter students attended. Right when we were about to finish breakfast, Rachael, who is in charge of facilitating mission groups, told us some interesting news about the Honduran President. She basically told us that Manuel Zeyala was arrested in his home and the military has taken over the country until further notice. We were all advised to stay inside the campus instead of going out to work in the city. At first we were shocked and not sure what to think of the whole situation. Here I was, an American who never actually sees this kind of stuff, still wanting to go out and see what was going on outside the campus gates. All of us were wondering, ‘How bad could it really be?’ So we thought ‘Well, we will stay in today and hopefully go out tomorrow.’ That same day the Knoxville, Tennessee church group came and they were in for a surprise as well.

On Monday we thought the city was calm so maybe we could go out and start to work on some buildings. Outside we waited and more news was brought to us, telling us that it is still not okay to go out into the city. At that point we were all like ‘Okay God what kind of plans do you want us to take on?’ Later that day, Gary mentioned that some work was needed around the campus and there were some classrooms that needed a fresh coat of paint. All of us decided that was a good idea since we definitely did not want to just stand around all day doing nothing. We ended up painting several classrooms with high ceilings. At the end the rooms looked ten times better! From the smiles on the student’s faces, I could tell that they were excited to see their classrooms look brighter.

We still were not sure whether we should leave early or stay until Saturday. One night after a devotional with the Knoxville group, we sat around and discussed our situation. At the end we agreed to ahead and change our flight due to the fact that later in the week Tegucigalpa could have the airport closed if the President decided to fly back in. We were frustrated and sad at the same time, but we knew that we could not control what was going on.

The last night we gave the students a small party to celebrate not only the end of their exams but our last night with them. All of us pitched in what we brought from home such as clothes, toothbrushes, shoes, toys, and other items. The students line up to get what they wanted from the tables. They were so thankful and so blessed that we stayed to help them. Later on, Gary and Allen gave a short devotional and led some songs. All I can say is that I loved to hear the students sing in Spanish. The singing definitely made the whole week quite peaceful.

On the way home on Thursday, I reminded myself how sometimes we have no control over things and sometimes you just have to let God take over. Even though we did not get to fulfill our agenda we still filled God’s.

Phew! Road Rush is done. I’m exhausted, wet from rain, and my pink bandanna is soaked with sweat…errr I mean lady glow. As I take a hit off of my asthma inhaler, I think about all that has been accomplished and I’m proud of everyone involved in the planning and playing. I was shocked that all of the planning had gone even better than expected. Amidst the funnel clouds, I settled down to sleep in the backseat on a borrowed pillow and I thought about the blur that was the past 24 hours.

Before our road trip began, I was worried that driving into the unknown might unnerve some people but surprisingly, they embraced it. They packed their cars with their sleeping bags not knowing if they would have a bed to sleep in that night and drove out into the darkness….well technically, it wasn’t dark yet.

The competition was fierce as clues were given out and the backseat driver was brought out in everyone. Passengers rummaged through the car to find a 1982 penny, gum wrappers to make an art piece and something that was in the car that could be eaten. The teams frantically stopped at every McDonald’s they could while racing against time and each other to win coveted points.

I watched as team members ate whole jalapenos, boys painted their finger nails and girls fixed flat tires all hoping to gain unspecified amounts of points for the unknown prize (a wooden plaque spray painted electric yellow, then accented with handwritten letters and fun foam speed limit signs… truly a work of art).

Before long the most detailed game that Prestoncrest Singles had ever seen has been completed. The memories of proposals to strangers, Walmart greeter wars and paddle boat races will not soon be forgotten. As the game drew to a close and the Smithsonian-worthy awards were handed out, I heard talk of Road Rush: Deux. I thought to myself “Congratulations Team White on your victory and… the opportunity to plan it next year! Haha!” Put me in coach, I’m ready to play!

The breakfast seemed more like a banquet…awesome! We thank Barbara Cooper and team for their typically excellent job with the meal! Thanks also to a dedicated and talented team that decorated for the event! Several of our singles shared about the work and service of our groups with approximately 35 different missions and partnering organizations! God is at work among our singles!

Javier and Carla Leon of the Rosemont Church of Christ in south Fort Worth were our special guests for the morning. It was such a treat to have them with us! The weather was gray and rainy but the food and fellowship at Prestoncrest was bright and shiny! Thanks to all who attended the breakfast and generously provided your financial and prayerful support! You really are “World Class”!

My guess is that most of us have a few things in common. Most are looking to make sense out of life, purpose and the world around us.

We go to work, meet people, make choices, hang with friends, live life…but what does it all mean? What are the questions? Where are the answers? And where does God fit in all of this?

I look forward to exploring some of these roads with you. Lots of twists and turns. Some knowns. Some unknowns. And no doubt, lots of surprises. Are you ready?

Gary Cochran
Singles Minister

Our Sunday morning College/University Bible Class meets in Room 140 on the first floor of the Preston Place building. This building is just north of the main church building. You’ll find a warm atmosphere and friendly people! Our lead teacher for the class is Jeffrey Rasco (B1 Singles). Jeffrey also will be happy to get you involved!

One of the great things about our College/University group is that you can plug into what’s already happening with our Prestoncrest Singles as well as plan and create your own experiences among the college group!

We invite you to regularly check out this website, take of advantage of the many existing activities, attend Bible classes, devotionals, service opportunities, fun and fellowship events, trips and more!

Please contact me if I can help you in any way. I’ll be happy to do that and to introduce you to others that will help you find friends, opportunities, and a place to belong! Again, welcome!

Gary Cochran
Singles Minister