At home at last

Well we are home and wanted to give everyone who has been following the blog want to know that we had two spirit stick winners this year. The Yellow Team and Lexis Hay. As some know Lexis is the Lead Mom on Mexico and Road Rules. She has been doing both trips for 9 years and all of her children are now in High School and she had moved up to Mexico only. She is proud owner of the Spirit Stick as her Thank You gift for being with us all of these years.

Michael Humphrey

On the way home

I heard from Matt this morning and they are on the way back to Marietta. He said that they expect to get in around 6:30 this evening (the 16th). If anything changes I will update the blog. Lisa

Orlando

I apologize that this is late, but like Matt said last night we did not have an internet connection in Orlando.

When we arrived in Orlando, we played with some of the kids that were at the church had a delicious dinner and had some group challenge. The challenge for tonight was Knight, Mount, Chariot, which if anyone knows the Junior High kids this is the most popular game. We then were led by our worship team of Grant and Jamey. Following that was a talk from Matt about calling from what we speak. Tonight's Spirit Stick goes to the Green Team.

Monday morning everyone had a nice surprise as we went to hang out with homeless children at Universal Studios. As the day progressed they got to know the kids and had a real friendship by the end of the day. Tonight everyone came home to the ever famous bird bath and had the last Road Rules dinner which is traditionally, Chicken Tuscany, which is cooked by the two Road Rules Moms, Mrs. Hay and Mrs. Kindred. This is the last year that Mrs. Hay is with us and is going to continue doing Mexico Missions. She has been doing both trips for 9 years and is going to go up to Mexico next year. The 226th Annual Newspaper Runway Show (By Matt's Standards) was for anyone who went last year was a lot cleaner then last years. The winner was champion last year and they are now 2-time running champion which is the Blue Team. The final talk of the topic "Call" was "Called to Do." The winner of the Spirit Stick tonight is the Red Team.

Michael Humphrey

Well, we had a great night in Valdosta. I was a little disappointed that we arrived a bit late to the food drop and unfortunately missed seeing most of the families that received food that day. We did have a great night though. taking advantage of a warm night in south Georgia filled a tarp with shaving cream and ping-pong balls and made a game out of it... thanks to Scott Sellers creativity! Then, a slip and slide, bird bath in the parking lot, wonderful spaghetti dinner prepared by our gourmet chefs (Beth kindred and Lexis Hay), and topped it all off with fresh brownies and ice cream. we had a wonderful night of worship as we talked about What it meant to see the Call of God in our everyday life. It was a great day!

Today began at 6:30 am with a quick pack of the bus and trailers, a bite to eat, and then off to the metropolis of Live Oak Florida. Here we found Advent Christian Village, a retirement/assisted living community. We were privileged to lead there worship service and hear some amazing stories from the residents here. We've played Bingo, Scrabble, and even Wii bowling where 88 year old Mr. Mech beat nearly every student he played (you pictured with Rachel VanHorn and Caroline Ficken). This has been a challenging tasdk for these junior highers, but, they've risen to the occasion and overcome there fears. Many of the residents told me that our kids felt like family with there warm smiles and big hearts.

Next it's off to Orlando!

Keep praying as our trip is not quite over!

Thanks,

Matt McConville

The day at Matt's Hometown

Down at the beach last night we had a good time in the water, sand football, burying Porter, and some good ole fried chicken. We had a time to reflect on the time we spent there with worship on the beach at sunset to follow. Matt talked about how God uses bits and pieces of your life to make a huge masterpiece. Yesterday the spirit stick ended up with the Blue Team.

Today was an early morning as we woke up before dawn to get on the road to Valdosta, Ga. Valdosta is Matt’s hometown. Here we went to a Government Housing Unit and hung out with the kids and helped out the National Food Bank pass out food and then load up their truck. At the church we just finished some water fun. It included find the ball in a huge mass of shaving cream, and some soap-slip-and-slide. That was the main attraction with Jamie and Porter having a tie with the longest slide of about 7 feet after the tarp. The best slide was Austin, Mitch’s friend, who was the first one to try surf and was about the funniest of them when he back flipped and then wiped out. We had enough time to do the Road Rules tradition of shaving someone's head and tonight we were able to shave Wesley and Porter's hair. It is not a complete shave, but there is a difference now and then when we left Marietta. Now we are about to have dinner made by the best cooks on the road.

Michael Humphrey

Friday in Pensacola

As morning came everyone was awake before the designated time. Everyone’s internal clock said it 8a and not 7a since we are in Central Time. After a good breakfast all the teams head off to work. The Red Team bounced around from making sandwiches, working at a thrift store sorting clothes, moved a few blocks to help clean up the facilities, then back to the church to make more sandwiches. The Yellow Team served lunch and gave out clothes at the soup kitchen, and helped the red team with the facilities. The Blue Team took the long ride out to Beck’s lake and out there they helped set up a tournament for the Salvation Army. They also made vinyl signs to help set up the fishing tournaments. The fishing tournament is the main fundraiser for the Salvation Army. The Green Team went down to the waterfront mission and sung songs for the homeless, and also served lunch to them. They also deep cleaning of the homeless shelter and had a great time getting to know the residence and their stories. Now we are heading to the beach where we will have a picnic, swim a little, have worship, and small groups, ending a great and long day of work.

Michael Humphrey

Thursday in Pensacola

After a 5 and a half hour drive we arrived in Pensacola, FL. On the way I asked a few people of what they believe they are going. Some people said New Orleans, Mobile, and Montgomery. Grant, Yellow Team leader, gave his team a clue that they are going to the Blue Angles home and no one knew that. The Yellow and Blue Teams both sorted and packed food. The Green Team went to the NW Florida Zoo and cleaned the grounds. The Red Team went to a children’s day camp and there they cleaned up the camp and hung out with the kids. Last night Matt gave the introduction of the week topic, “Call.” Today the Yellow Team won the first spirit stick of the year