It is early Friday, 8/8, as I type this update.  Just received word from our Michigan friends that they arrived home around 1:00AM their time which means all team members are now safely home.  We are thankful to God for traveling mercies.  Yes, the folks flying United into Mobile were delayed by about two and a half hours but they did arrive.

Our last day (Wednesday) was an emotional one for most of the team members.  We began with the usual time of worship in the upper room.  That time is so crucial to the teams I lead.  It is definitely one of the most important aspects of the trip.

Prior to the morning worship time, the team packed food bags to be given to the families from the ministry center and also prepared sandwiches for the folks from the local dump.

After the worship time, we immediately headed to the local dump to provide a meal to the folks going through the garbage.  Humbling would be a good adjective but even it does not adequately describe it.  The men, women and children there were a bit “stand offish” at first but eventually warmed up and received the food i.e. sandwiches, chips, cookies and drinks we had brought for them.  The Gospel was shared before we shared the food.

The team then moved on to dedicate the final twelve homes that had been built.  We had three dedicating teams and the stories told during our share time were powerful.  You would never think that two bags of food would mean so much to a family!

We went to an early supper and then came back to the mission house for our share time.  Good stuff!  All of the team except for the Michiganders left at 3:30AM headed to the airport.  The Michiganders followed suit at 7:00AM.  The first wave arrived at the airport in about forty five minutes while the second wave took about ninety minutes to do the same.  Yes, the traffic makes that much of a difference.

So, who gets the credit for all that was done during this trip?  Does not matter!  What does matter is that God receives the glory and He does!

I close by simply saying “thank you” to the team members, the prayer warriors, and those who supported this trip financially!  God is good!