Thursday comes to a close

Here are the pictures from Wednesday.

Here the pictures from Thursday.

Sorry for not posting much in the last 24 hours, but this post will be a big one! We have many topics to cover, so here we go! After a good night of sleep, the group still woke up a little sluggish this morning. It’s hard to get out bed after a huge day at the ocean! But after breakfast and quiet time, the groups were off again to their work sites. As we are approaching the end of the week, the projects are beginning to take shape and in some cases, come to a close. However, today was still a full day with much work to be done!

One twist for today was that the small groups have been challenged this week to do a special project of whatever kind they see fit. It could be something they do for one person or a group of people. In addition, the Host Team is giving them $25 to help with the project, and they are free to contribute more if they see fit. We have already started to hear about some of these special projects. Here’s an example of one:

In addition, this morning the groups made some summer emergency kits to hand out to people. These kits include items such as sunscreen, tissues, hard candy, wet wipes and lip balm. So we also heard some stories tonight of the experience students had with handing out these kits to the people they encountered during the day. Once again, the groups have had to step out of their comfort zones for the week. One leader remarked that he couldn’t imagine that he would have walked around the block outside the Mission in Stockton today after seeing the setting on Monday. The beautiful thing about serving others is that it forces you to stretch a little more each time. We are seeing evidence of this each and every day this week!

Tonight Pastor Dave challenged the students to see how the role of Christ in their lives plays such a big part in what they do each and every day. He offered the opportunity for those who wanted to come forward and make a commitment to Christ. He used the concept of clocking into work as making your commitment to serve Christ. Pastor Dave had a time clock sitting in the front for those who wanted to come and clock in for Christ. Many people came forward to either commit their lives to Christ for the first time or make a re-commitment. It was a blessing to see the young people makes this pledge in their lives!

Tomorrow marks the last day for the work sites. It will be a sad day as many people have made such a connection to the various work sites, but it will also be a joyous day as they will see all the work they have accomplished! It will make for an exciting day! Have a great night!

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Life’s A Beach…

Body Boarding

Originally uploaded by Ripon SERVE.

Hey everyone! Everyone has returned safely from the day away in Santa Cruz. By the amount of energy in the students, it sounds like everyone had a lot of fun. The group set up camp on the beach, right off the boardwalk. The students and leaders then set out to explore all that the boardwalk has to offer! From rides, surf and sand to shopping and food, Santa Cruz has something for everyone. More than a few even returned with tattoos! Don’t worry, many of them have already washed off in the showers! They had dinner on the beach, and then the road crews met together right on the beach. What a beautiful setting to sit and think about how God is so awesome and powerful!

Now, everyone is off to bed and preparing for the last day at the work sites. Although some of the jobs are wrapping up, there is still work to be done! Have a great night and enjoy the pictures from today!

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Gone to the beach…

Good morning! Day Six is off to a flying start. After waking up and having breakfast, we immediately had worship this morning. Matt spoke this morning on Living Water and what that means to our lives. He used sponges and water to illustrate how we can absorb God’s Living Water, and then pass it on to others. While we are able to pass some Living Water on to others, we cannot satisfy their thirst. God is the true supplier of Living Water, and so it is our responsibility to bring others to His Water Supply!

After worship, the teams loaded up in a caravan of vans and cars for their journey to Santa Cruz. It’s about a 2 hour drive there, but to be able to jump into the Pacific Ocean is a great treat for everyone! They are specifically going to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Click here to check out more information about the boardwalk.

We thought we’d take the opportunity to share some information about the different work sites the team has been working at this. So here we go!

Stockton Gospel Rescue Mission
– The Gospel Center Rescue Mission provides long-term shelter for homeless women and children, overnight shelter for homeless men, a residential drug and alcohol treatment program, a kitchen that serves breakfast and dinner every day and other services to Stockton’s downtrodden. The work done this week included: concrete pour, landscaping, painting (dining, kitchen and Chapel areas), clean and insulate walk-in refrigerator and freezer, fence replacement, building block walls, and demoing a house.

Redwood Family Center

– The Redwood Center is a transitional housing center for women in recovery and their children. The facility offers housing for 60 women and their children, most of whom might otherwise be homeless. The Center offers many services to the women and their children to help meet their needs. The work done this week included: install grass sod, building planter boxes, planting trees, installing irrigation lines, and spending time with the children at the center.

Various Ripon Projects

– Several people around Ripon needed various things done on their properties as they did not have the means or the man-power to do them. The work done this week included fence replacement, painting rooms, and yard maintenance.

Denair House Project

– A single mom, who lives in Denair (south of Ripon), needed some maintenance done on her house. The work done this week included: installing a new roof and yard maintenance.

Hopefully these descriptions and the pictures paint a vivid picture of the work being done this week. The fact is that a lot of hard work has been accomplished with very visible results to the eyes of everyone involved. However, what the team may not always see is how this work has changed the lives of the people at these work sites. Their lives will be changed because of the work that this group of young people and adult leaders has accomplished over the week. That is the true blessing and the reason why SERVE changes some many lives!

Check back tonight as we will have some pictures and stories from the day away at Santa Cruz!! Have a great day!

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