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God's word says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 (NIV). Our team of six girls and two women saw the meaning of this verse proven during our week of service. In Manassas, Virginia.

An administrative error caused our group to be registered for a middle school workcamp instead of a pre-teen workcamp. The camp staff was more than willing to accommodate us; our group, with God's empowerment, was willing to take the challenge of tackling a more difficult schedule and assignments. Please allow me to share three examples of how God worked for the good during the week.

The workcamp theme was, "Let's not merely say that we love one another. Let us show the truth by our actions." 1 John 3:18 (NLT) All week we were challenged to "love out loud." Mr. Glenn, a World War II veteran, was the recipient of our love early in the week. The team, along with another youth group from New Jersey, was assigned to clean-up a fallen tree from Mr. Glenn's property.

Many hands makes little work, and before long the tree was cut into small pieces and bundled to be picked-up by city workers. Mr. Glenn was so happy that he wanted all of us to stay and to share a cup of cranberry juice with him. As the group sipped the refreshing beverage, they began to ask Mr. Glenn about World War II. Mr. Glenn was so delighted to share his wartime experiences that he invited us back later in the week to do more yard work.

We were blessed by great accommodations at a large church, The Rock. The church had bought an adjacent middle school to expand their ministries. We bunked in the renovated band room. At the other end of the facility, the church operated a senior citizen daycare center. Each day our team provided meals on wheels to the residents. The first day the girls delivered the meals and left to eat their lunch.

During our evening Bible devotions, we were challenged to consider how we could "Love Out Loud" more the next day. The girls decided to sing to the residents the next day. They sang, "John 3:16" and were excited when one resident declared that she knew that verse! Again God made good come from the situation.

Each breakfast and dinner a team was assigned to cook and clean-up. We were assigned the Monday evening meal of pork barbecue, baked beans, salad, watermelon, and chocolate chip cookies. The girls willingly prepared the mountains of food (109 hard-working volunteers eat a lot of food!) After all the food was served, we had to wash and dry all the pots and pans, dishes, and silverware.
The girls made a tedious job into fun by singing praise music. The effect had the same effect that the Bible heroes, Paul and Silas had on their cellmates. The other campers were encouraged by their joyful spirit. Again God worked for good.

Thank you for this opportunity to grow in our faith. The team, Lord willing, hopes to return to Manassas, Virginia, in June 2009.

Jodi Farmer is director of the children's ministry

Our summer mission trip

This summer I went on a week long mission trip to Manassas, Va., with five other 10- and 11-year-old girls. We had tons of fun. We enjoyed working at peoples' houses and jobs. We worked at an animal shelter cleaning cages and pulling weeds, and at a house that was abandoned where the grass was up to our knees. It was the first time I ever used a lawn mower and it was hard work. When we had to make dinner for a 100 some people, we were singing, laughing, and having fun, even when we had to wash all those dishes! We learned that work isn't always boring, that when you work as a team and help others, it can be fun too.
- Jessie Colby

The importance of all God's creatures
I really enjoyed the trip. I found out that helping other people can be a lot of fun as well as a lot of work. I was really glad that I was able to help the people I helped and it made me feel good. My most favorite place we volunteered was the animal shelter. This was my favorite because I love animals and know how important the shelter is to these animals. We weeded the front of the building and cleaned cages. I learned all of God's creatures can benefit from a missions trip.
- Samantha Crosier