As we wind down our trip, we are left with many impressions. God has given us so many opportunities; our students have ministered at a wide range of venues. From a posh retirement facility to a Children’s Home, to a service for the homeless in South Beach, to a Rescue Mission, to a jail, and finally to a church where the language of God’s love surpassed all language barriers.

We have been humbled at the amazing work the dedicated people at all these places are doing. All these servants of God were so thankful that we took time to sing and minister alongside them, but we have received more from each of them than we could ever give. Their acts of service to those less fortunate and their complete surrender to the will of God, makes our few minutes or hours we spent with them seem so lacking. Yet they all treated us like we were giving them a wonderful gift just by being there. This week our students stepped out of the way and let God use them in a mighty way. Some of our youth were put in situations in which they were very uncomfortable and even scared, but they all pushed that aside and did what they came to do. God can do amazing things when we let Him lead and work through us.

To our church family, we are eternally grateful for the support you have given us. Without each of you this would not have happened. Each day we knew we were carrying the torch of a church rich in missions heritage, and we knew we were surrounded by your prayers. Pray for a safe trip home. We will see you Sunday!

We will post some more pictures after we return home. For now, these are of our last day of sports camp and on the boat headed to snorkeling. There also may be a photo of the Cuban restaurant from last night.

Today has been another great, long, busy day. The Sports Camp at Christ Way Church in the morning is still going well. Today was very hot! Not a cloud in the sky and not a breeze in the trees. Our coaches and students persevered through that and the kids at camp had a wonderful time.
This afternoon we went to the Correctional Facility to present our program to a group of juvenile inmates. This was one of the most challenging venues for our kids, because most of them had never seen anything  quite like this. They did a great job singing and several shared their testimony. Our students and adults who shared all spoke very powerfully of Christ’s love for all, regardless of circumstances or choices that one has made. The inmates and correctional officers were appreciative of our visit and we were treated so well. After our presentation the officers gave us Little Debbie cakes and apple juice. We were quite thirsty and very grateful.

For supper tonight we went to a Cuban restaurant in Little Havana. This was a new experience for almost all of us, and we liked the food, especially the garlic bread. Experiencing different cultures is rather easy in Miami.

Speaking of different cultures, tonight we sang at Emmanuel Hatian Baptist Church, where they are having a week-long 37th anniversary celebration. What an experience! They began their service with a praise time–very joyful and heart-felt singing. Their service is a mixture of Creole, French, and English, and, while we could not understand most of what was being said, we were able to clap with them, sing “Halelujah” at the appropriate times, and worship with brothers and sisters in Christ. They, as with all our venues, were receptive to the students and seemed to enjoy our musical worship. After we sang they took us out to give us a snack and drink. Our friends in Miami would make good Southerners with how much they like to feed us!

We are sad that tomorrow will be our last day here. We must say goodbye to the children and many friends we have made at Christ Way Baptist Church.

We are glad to be coming home to all of you. Please plan to be at church this Sunday morning as New Voice sings and we share our thoughts about the trip.

Good night from Miami and a crowd of tired people.

The Sports Camp is continuing to go well. We have about 50 kids, 6 – 12 years old, participating. We have Bible lessons, led by our youth, first thing and move outside for sports. We have three rotations for sports: basketball, soccer, and silly games, in a wide open field with just a little shade. It is hot! The people of Christ Way Baptist are wonderful hosts; they are going out of their way to help us with whatever we need.

This afternoon we went to the Miami Rescue Mission to serve and to sing. This Rescue Mission has about eight buildings and covers a couple of city blocks. They have programs for homeless who are trying to get their education or re-enter the work force. They are a Christian organization focused on healing and helping. Some of us spent the afternoon working in the Thrift Store, sorting clothes to be sold. Others worked in the kitchen, helping to serve the evening meal, which is provided for the residents of their programs and also open to any homeless who want to come. They serve this evening meal 7 days a week, 365 days a year. They begin serving at 3 pm and have a different group coming in to eat hourly for the next three hours. We were happy for the opportunity to help serve the meal, and then to later share that meal with the workers there. After that New Voice presented their concert to a very enthusiastic audience. Once again, we were received far more than we gave.

Pray for us as we are entering the “downhill slide” of our trip. Pray for our continued safety and well-being, and pray that God’s hand will guide all our steps.

There are moments in everyone’s spiritual journey, if you are fortunate, which cannot be explained, except to say that God had His hand on the event. Tonight was such a time. Tonight our students, your students, sang at Lighthouse Community Church in South Beach. Specifically they sang for a group of homeless men and women. This church hosts a meal each Tuesday night for, as they call them, their brothers and sisters. They are given a meal, a change of clothes, and attend a service. Tonight New Voice sang for them. The kids sang with confidence, the confidence that comes from knowing your message is being heard and understood. Singing the song “Breathe,” the words take on a new meaning: This is my daily Bread, Your very word spoken to me. And I’m desperate for You. We will never be able to explain, or begin to recreate the worship service God gave us there. Our kids blessed many hearts tonight, but the biggest blessing was given to them.

Due to technical difficulties we were not able to make an entry last night. We have a post coming now. Many of your comments are not showing up on the blog, but we are seeing them and appreciate all the messages. Hopefully we will get your comments up later today. Pictures will come later this evening.

Click on the pictures to see the whole picture.

We have just returned to the hotel for the night. We sang at the Waterford Retirement Community. We had a great audience of about 75 Senior Adults, who really seemed to enjoy listening to New Voice. They did a great job singing and represented FBC well. After that we went to an outdoor mall in West Palm, in the rain. We all enjoyed a good supper and fellowship. We are now celebrating Harrison Martin’s birthday with a cake. In the pictures you may notice that several of the guys are sporting shorter haircuts. Our barber Jacob Freeman is offering buzz cuts at a greatly reduced rate!

Tomorrow will be a very busy day as we begin the Sports Camp and then sing at the Baptist Children’s Home and Lighthouse Community Church. Pray for our students as they will be leading Bible studies and directing the children in the various sports.