First Week Synopsis

So after I finally made it to Joplin, it's been a blast. Office days are not nearly as tedious as I pictured them. We have been getting a lot of stuff ready for events, such as folding shirts, shooting videos, making trophies, cleaning inflatables, and the like. One of the more exciting parts was walking through what the prayer room is going to look like. I am sooooo pumped and, to be honest, am almost brought to tears just thinking about how God's Spirit will be moving and speaking to students there and how they will be talking to and praising God. It's so exciting I can't contain it!

After work, we've been eating, chilling, and a couple extra tasks. It seems our hang out is the mall food court, home of the area's Chick-fil-A (because we are good Christians and eat there). It's sweet making these new friends, even though I do wish I could see those back home too.

I'm sure plenty of people are wondering about how Joplin is doing, after the tornado. I must admit, I haven't had much time to spend helping out and I haven't been to the most disastrous parts. What I have seen is an awesome response to the need. As we have off Saturday, we got to help out at a local church (http://cornerstonejoplin.org/) unpacking a semi full of supplies that they are handing out there. Not only do they have so many supplies they have to turn down donations in some places, but we were having trouble finding ways to help sometimes today because of the overwhelming response from volunteers. Praise the Lord for such an awesome response from his church. As well, a lot of us got shirts or stickers with proceeds going to the city. You can check them out on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/restorejoplin).

Please continue to pray. First, for the students attending Move events this summer. Ask that God can start working in them now and preparing them for the week they'll be with us and that the leaders and pastors have the wisdom, strength, and love to help them through their journey. Also, please pray for Joplin. Even though they have a lot of help, they still have a lot of need that I predict will outlast the help. Finally, please pray for my strength as I'm finding it harder and harder to be away from home.

I love you all. How can I pray for you?