Abounding Love

Happy Easter! Blessings to you and your family!

Today, our team was welcomed into the hands of Common Ground Church, where we had our Easter service. I immediately felt a great peace come over me as I walked into the church. There was a love that radiated from the people that was practically overwhelming (in the best way possible). Our preacher, Big John, called everyone who entered the church "friends" and never strangers. I felt very safe and accepted, sharing fellowship with the entire congregation. The church service was held in a smaller sized area, with no more than 25 people in the room. I had such a wonderful experience meeting with everyone. They treated us like we belonged there, something that's very hard to replicate. We went in a different order of matters throughout the service: worship, poetry, worship, announcements, small groups, message, communion, and worship. The entire service was about two and a half hours, which flew by quickly. I did not see one frown or bored look on anyone's face that was there. Everyone was really personal and loving towards one another, almost like a family. Worship was wonderful. Music from the service was stuck in our heads the entire day, causing us to dance and sing in His name! During our time to break off with small groups, I was in a prayer circle with a man on my left side. He had requested for us to pray for his family, for he was soon to be a new father. He told us the desire of his heart: to keep his family humble and to bless everyone within it. As I took his hand, it shook while his eyes watered. I saw some fear behind his eyes, but his nerves were instantly calmed while a worship leader, filled with the Spirit, spoke amazing words into his life that left all of us in awe. Wow! God is doing amazing things within this community, and we are witnessing it everyday. Every one of us left that church with a big smile on our faces. I am blessed to share this trip with a team that has such open hearts with everything it encounters. Day by day, we are seeking His face, learning and growing more to fulfill our purpose here in Jackson, Mississippi.

Jordan

Fun and Fellowship

Wow! I can't even begin to explain how amazing our time in Jackson has been so far. One thing that really resonated with me was meeting a girl around my age at the Easter Bash who also likes horses. For those of you who don't know I LOVE HORSES, so one of the jobs I was assigned was helping with the horseback riding. It made me realize how blessed I am for the many opportunities I've been given to grow as a rider and develop this gift that God blessed me with. I thought about how beneficial a riding program around here could be for kids like the girl I met, who don't have those same opportunities. I think God placed this on my heart as a potential difference I can make in the future. Yesterday night we shared about our experiences at the Easter Bash during team devotion. We all were struck by how welcoming the people in the community are here. We were once again reminded of this at church this morning. The gospel music was crazy awesome, especially when Alex and Tyler started dancing during one of the songs! It was amazing to see the congregation so on fire for the Lord, letting it out through their singing and dancing regardless of who watched them. Big John delivered a great sermon titled "It's Never Too Late". My favorite part of the service was when the congregation broke into small groups for prayer. We then shared a personal prayer request and a request for the world around us. During this time, we had the opportunity to meet different members of the congregation and pray with them. Today was also our last day with Dr. Perkins. He came for breakfast, accompanied by his great-grandson, Thad and Evan (staff of the foundation). It was an incredible time of fellowship and learning. Dr. Perkins discussed his vision that spending time with groups like us will help create a greater generation of leaders. The greatest thing about Dr. Perkins is how loving he is. On the first day of devotions, he started crying when talking about how much we mean to him and the hope that we give him for the future. His words have been such a blessing and have truly given me a different outlook on many aspects of life and faith.

Today, I saw the beautiful fruits of all of our labors yesterday. Yesterday we spent all day working on the grounds, cleaning it up, making it look nice, and setting everything up for the Easter Bash. This morning after another fantastic time with Dr. Perkins, we quickly got to putting the finishing touches on the grounds and getting all the booths set up. I had the blessing of receiving the job of parking everyone in the fields, which generally would be an extremely boring job. Instead, Tyler, Adam, Mr. Rivera and I made it more than enjoyable by parking everyone with enthusiasm in the form of dancing. You should have seen all the smiles and laughs of the people who saw us! Then, when I got a break to eat lunch (a very delicious one!), I was able to look around and see everyone working hard and using their gifts in many different ways. It was such a beautiful picture of what can be accomplished when a group of people set their minds to a common goal and work hard towards it. There were so many things going on at once, yet it ran smoothly because of good teamwork and hard work. The best example of this was when we put on a ton of relay races, with no prior rules or planning, and some people just jumped into control and organized things, successfully getting the kids pumped and giving them a good time. At the end of the day, we successfully worked together to put on a huge operation, and I think blessed the community. However, I believe that we were the ones that were really blessed, I know I was!

I’m looking forward to the rest of the week!

~Alex


 

One thing that had an impact on me today was my trip to the supermarket. I joined Tyler, Chris, and one of the staff, Evan, on a trip to the market to get ice tonight. Tyler asked me to join last minute and I thought they may need the extra help. Entering the truck I was not exactly enthusiastic about leaving house. I now know I am extremely grateful for Tyler inviting me on the quick trip. As we drove down the street, I saw people sitting on corners of streets, outside of homes, and in parks along the road. The trucks windows were down giving me a better look at each situation. Kids walked the streets of West Jackson at 7:30 unsupervised. Men sat in the streets looking as if they have been drained of all hope and determination. The supermarket was unlike any market I have ever seen. The shelves looked stripped of its products and the store appeared run down. Produce was nonexistent in the store. The people in the area are being deprived of the quality produce that we take for granted. While we drove back to the house I felt there was so much inequality in the city. I prayed to God asking if there will ever be true equality in these types of cities nation wide. Looking back, I am grateful that Tyler invited me along. I saw the reality that some may refuse to accept. This experience has made me want to find ways to improve communities that are in our own home towns. I was fortunate enough to meet Lee Harper who owned her own coffee shop in West Jackson. She told us her goal was to establish a place where people of all backgrounds can come to be together. After hearing the goal of Lee Harper, I realized that I can make the same change in my own community and her goal was similar to mine. Those experiences have laid a foundation for goals I hope to accomplish when I get home.

Jonathan

Koinonia Coffee House, West Jackson

This coffee house, owned and operated by Lee Harper, is a beautiful picture of a business that seeks to impact its community for good.  As we enjoyed our lattes and smoothies, Lee shared her story and her vision for the community of West Jackson - a community that many other businesses avoid.  Yet, she seeks to provide a place where both the wealthy seeking out good coffee and the poor or homeless looking for a place to read the newspaper can sit at the same table, share the same space, and find themselves as equals.  

Psalm 23

Today we started our morning off with devotions with John Perkins. I have heard what an amazing man of God he is and I was so excited to meet him. The minute he walked in I could just see his passion for the Lord and his love for other people. Our devotion this morning was based off of Psalm 23. We broke down each verse and really focused on the message and intentions of God's words. I have heard Psalm 23 repeated my whole life, but today my perspective was changed. The words in this verse are so powerful and are so encouraging. As we read through this passage, different points came to my realization. Christ is our Good Shepherd and we are his sheep. God will hold us tight and never let us out of his site. Christ brings peace into our lives when we face adversity. God puts circumstances and situations in our life to shape us and mold us into the Christian influences he wants us to be. When we go through those times of distress, God restores our soul. His love and power are bigger than our biggest problems in life. Our God has the power to move mountains and perform miracles in our lives. God will always be our constant companion as we pass through the rough waters. With Christ's strength he will help us to keep our eyes above the waves, and will catch us before we crash. With him by our side, we can face any circumstance life throws at us. Each day is a journey, and even though sometimes we don't know what our day with entail, we can affirm and trust in God's plan for us, as he is our ultimate navigator. 

Finish the race with perseverance.

Riley Ruiz

Love and Holiness

My theme and goal for this trip is love. Love is what I want to show, to do, to be, it is everything. Jesus is the most perfect example of true and pure love.  I believe that love is a way that I can connect to people the most and that is the way that you can relate to because that is what anyone could ever need. Most people are looking, yearning, searching for someone to love them or someone to fill their life and I honestly believe that the love of Jesus is the key to that. What better way to relate to the people who are hurting here in Jackson. This morning in our devotions, Big John - the guy who led us in devotions today - did a wonderful job at really digging into the scripture and seeing the message that God was trying to say to us. We were in Leviticus 19 looking at how God wants us to see be Holy because He is HOLY. That really spoke to me because he is so perfect in every way and the amount of awesomeness He has is just mind blowing! I love how beautiful His word is, the way that these words are put just make me want to be more in depth with Him. I want to understand what He wants and what He went through when He came down on earth.  Honoring your father and mother, treating people how you want to be treated, living in harmony with people, being honest and trusting, respectful, not oppressing anyone are all things that we are required to do. Sometimes it is difficult but Jesus was put under even worse circumstances than any of us could ever encounter and I really believe that in the midst of all our troubles and heart ache or anger, that we should pause and think about what happened on that cross and what it means to us. This trip is such a blessing to me already and I am so grateful for getting a chance to be here with all these beautiful people!

Aree

A Second Time Around

Last year I had the opportunity to be a part of the Jackson team, and I remember walking away from that experience with a completely different outlook on how I was living my life and almost felt as if I was ignorant and unaware of what was going on outside of the little bubble I put myself in. In history class we all learn of the civil rights movement and the means people went through in order to bring about a change to their society. But it’s only the words and testimonies of people that experienced it firsthand that we get our information from. I remember walking through the places where boycotts were held and seeing historical sites of famous civil rights activists and thinking it was so surreal to be standing in the same place where these events took place. You gain a different attitude towards these events while physically being there rather than in a classroom reading what a text book has to say about it. This year I feel so blessed to be able to partake in this trip again. While going on the tour of Jackson and Mendenhall, even though I had a general grasp at what we would see, I gained a lot more insight and I have taken away different things than I did last year. Throughout the tour the main focus is how African Americans fought to make differences and how they felt, which lead me to question how the whites in this area feel about their history. The city is still very segregated and many people living outside of West Jackson have this distorted view of the community. People are scared to even drive through this side of town due to the poverty and high crime. This community won’t be able to change if the majority of people won’t even come close to the community, thus sparking the Spencer Perkins Foundation. Seeing how the foundation works in the community and really having the heart to better the people and environment around them is so inspiring. As I go through this week I hope to be open minded to what God has in store for me and how this trip, and the people I meet, will influence the rest of my life.

-Morgan

Jackson Team #7

We are HERE!  And we couldn't be more excited! 

Jackson Team #7.  Spring Break 2014.