Somewhere along the way we end up in Wisconsin at an amazing resort named Kalahari. No expense was sparred to allow for great fun, relaxation and enjoyment in this place. If anyone earned this “vacation” as sorts it was the people I had been with the last 8 days. They worked hard and did all they could to perfect what they had committed to do.
In our van alone as we pulled up around 10pm at night, there was shouts and screams and gasps at how massive this place is. If you’ve not seen it please check out the links. This place is amazing! We were honored to stay in an amazing condo, whose floor plan rocked with amazing decor and features that simply was a home I could have stayed in forever
Can’t say enough about the park and amusements, food and fun. We even had a ice cream eating contest that Nathan swamped Jim on. I mean seriously how fast can you eat a half gallon of ice cream? I’m pretty sure Nathan can beat you!
Many many thanks to Church on the Rock, Pastors David and Kim Blunt for trusting me with driving these amazing people and allowing me just a tiny glimpse into the excellence of the people of MidWest Movement.
The next place we visited was Bridgeton, Iowa where we visited First Assembly of God, The Great River Christian School and one of the movements own Joy’s home!
Performing an amazing event of Drama’s, Human Videos, Song and Ministry the team was confronted with low ceilings and small smiling faces that allowed them to close the gaps and journey into the realm of being instant in season and out. They rocked and as we left..the small voice from inside the fence at the Great River School screaming: “I love you, you’re awesome” if just that one little voice was affected by what he saw and heard that day, then… it was all worth it. Every moment! Because he’ll never forget the group that showed up and performed for him that day!
After that we we drove to team member Joy’s home, where her family prepared lunch for everyone and her father gave us ample amounts of pepperidge farms products to eat along the way. Serious, have you tried their new products? YUMMY! thanks so much to Joy’s family for their hospitality and love shown to us!
Next stop: Pleasant Hills Arts Center, Pleasant Hills, Missouri and New Life Christian Church in Danville, Ill.
I was once again asked to drive for the Midwest movement (MWM) and I can’t tell you what an honor it is to be with these people. Top notch, class and a whole bunch of energy rolled into one!
Let me introduce you to them:
Sean – 3rd year, sensible, down to earth, leader
Shanon – 3rd year, considerate, organized, mom figure to group
Jeff – 3rd year, artist, created groups T shirt design, observant
Tim – caring, open, will pray for anyone and has
Ricky – strong, big heart, sensitive and shaves his head
Landon – bass player, witty, focused, loves music
Jeremy – funny man and all around tech guy
Tank – dancer, heart and a ton of energy
Marquis – thoughtful, will do anything he’s asked and really tall
Nathan – strong, helpful and mechanically inclined
Justin – musician, inquisitive, concerned and a great singer
Jamison – musician, thinker, hard working
Christina – investigative, inquisitive, funny, and lots of questions!!
Mackenzie- hard working, strong, sensible
Millie – lovable, caring, smart, artist and loves to hug
Joy – kind, caring, and growing
They have all made immeasurable impact in my life from our first meetings till now. I’m blessed to know you all!
Yours truly got to drive a HUGE 7 passenger van, and I’ll be honest, I was not comfortable, but I have to admit I rocked it! It was not as bad as I thought and with that awesome backup navigation beepy thing, I was home free. I did however follow the wrong van for a period of time and I think I would have followed them right to their home if my mistake was not revealed to me. Hey, in my defense, a white van is a white van right?
I took notes this trip about where we were and what we did. Basically what the movement does is travel for 9 days and it’s a stretching on everyone involved, but it’s all good. They may not think so, but they are an extraordinary! I’ve said it to them and I’ll tell you “I know exceptional people who can’t get along together for 12 hours much less then 9 days” This is rare, yet so common for them! It’s an honor to be around them!
So this tour we traveled to Moberly Missouri, Bridgeton, Iowa, Pleasant Hill, Mo., and Danville Ill. with a fun stop in Wisc. for a team retreat at Kalahari Resorts!
I got to experience several different ministries and meet a TON of new people and that is one of my most favorite things to do!
Let’s start with Moberly Missouri, Family Life Fellowship Destiny Center, Pastor Shawn and over 200 young people filling this 2nd story brownstone in downtown Moberly. This is quite a place for young people to hang out, skate park on the lower level, cafe, pool table, basketball and then the stage and ministry center.
Here’s a bit of video from our travels and a few of the team ministering…
Next blog post: MWM 2! Why they do it, what they did and Fun times at Kalahari!
