Thanks for following the 2014 High School Ministries West Virginia GO Team’s blog. We appreciate your support and prayers! Stayed to find out more information for our next West Virginia GO Team.

– Impact Ministries Staff
Blackhawk Church

At last, the anticipated recap video of our time in West Virginia. Enjoy!

West Virginia 2014 Recap Video

As the students and leaders arrive home, you might notice your mission tripper is constantly singing, dancing, and humming to a particular song. 

The song “Deep Cries Out” became our theme song for the week. It has great actions and a catchy beat! 

 I’ve attached the link to the song so you can learn it and sing along! You’re welcome 🙂 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkJH3zGM-cs

Today is Friday and it is our free day!!

Everyone got to sleep in a little bit! We were off to the beach at around 9:30am.

There was food, sand sculptures, frisbee, friends, and possibly some jumping….

It was great to have one last day together before we had to go back to our everyday lives. God revealed Himself in the splendor of His creation and in the continued love our group showed the one another and the other people who were at the beach.

After our fun day, we returned to Anchor church and watching the final video in the series for the week! It wrapped up everything we had learned that week about lies and deception and how the world can look attractive, but ultimately, those things will let you down. However, there is someone who will never let us down. Someone who loves us perfectly, even if we can’t understand how. Someone who has broken our chains and set us free. A kind of humbled himself before us and who is the ultimate example of how to love and how to serve.  Continue reading →

This is our last day on the work sites! Everyone was pumped to try and get as much work done as possible today!

Students worked so hard and some of them didn’t want to stop! Reflecting on the week’s work with one another, it is so humbling and cool to think of what God did this week both in the work sites and also in our hearts.  Continue reading →

We interrupt this daily blogging session to bring some random photos that will hopefully show you how much fun we all had being the hands and feet of Jesus in West Virginia!!

On Thursday Night, we had a cookout at a park right by the community center and community members could come eat and hang out with us! It was a blast to play around and continue to build relationships with each other and the residents of Rosedale.  Continue reading →

We had a little bit more excitement today at one of the work sites! One student had to go to the doctor and get some stitches because she cut her hand on a knife! Good thing we had Marilyn, one of our leaders, who is a nurse calmly drive her there and comfort her throughout the process. Another student went along for moral support, and while watching them put the stitches in, almost passed out! She ended up needing to lay down and use the bed instead of the other female student! Good thing they were in a hospital room huh? I think she learned that day not to watch anyone get stitches or too graphic of TV shows!

At the end of the day, everyday still had all ten fingers and ten toes, so after dinner we all headed back to Anchor Church (where we sleep) in Glenville for more showers and ice cream! (obviously).  Continue reading →

It was a little harder to get up on day two! Similar to day two, students and leaders woke up at 6:45am, got ready, and headed to the bus and vans to drive to Rosedale where the community center and our worksites were!

Everyone was so impressed by how Randy, our bus driver, navigated the windy roads of West Virginia.

Some God moments of the day were everyone continuing to be safe on the work sites, having members of the community participate in devotional times with our teams. Two members especially, Daryl and Luke, sat and had lunch with the groups at their site every day and added to the discussion! It was so sweet to see God at work in their lives as well as in our lives!  Continue reading →

Today is our first day of work in West Virginia! All of the students and leaders were split ip in to four differenet groups and worksites. We are split up between the community center where we eat all of our meals this week, Tom and Lisa’s house, Mr. Guch’s, and other house.

The weather in West Birginia lately has been a little cooler which is nice for those groups working outside. Below is a picture of the community center where one group is building a future place in which next step staff can stay in the summer. Continue reading →

West Virginia Team, Friends, and Family:

Here are the rest of the amazing leaders going on the West Virginia trip!! 🙂

Emily Bostrom- Emily just graduated from UW-Madison with a degree in Psychology & Religious Studies. She will be using that to psychoanalyze your students’ faith as an intern with HSM this year (Just joking, mostly…but she really will be an intern)! Emily has gone on short term mission trips to Appalachia in Tennessee since she was a freshman in high school, and she is excited to see the Appalachian culture manifested in West Virginia. Before trusting Emily with your children, you should know that she is from Minnesota, is a Vikings fan, and occasionally says things like, “Dontcha know”. You’ve been warned.  Continue reading →