Filed under: events, news | Tags: habitat, Habitat for Humanity, Smith County
Habitat for Humanity of Smith County has been active for twenty years providing the opportunity for safe, decent and affordable housing. The families are screened through an extensive application process, then they work hundreds of hours of volunteer time on other people’s houses before construction begins on their home, where they again work hundreds of volunteer hours. This volunteer time is called “sweat equity,” as it represents their direct investment in the purchase of their home. When complete, the families sign a twenty to thirty year mortgage at ZERO percent interest based on the cost of actually building their home, and they become tax-paying homeowners, many for the first time! In essentially every case, the total monthly payment for their mortgage principal plus taxes plus insurance is LESS than what they have been paying for the substandard rental housing they are leaving! This program is truly a “hand up,” not a “handout.”
Filed under: youth | Tags: summer youth report, mystery trip, uplift, mission trip, work camp, camp victory, middle school fun trip
Mystery Trip, Uplift, Mission Trip, Work Camp, Camp Victory, and Middle School Fun Trip; 22 Days away from home; more than 4000 miles; 10 weeks of activities 4 days a week, and all with teenagers. I often get asked the question “Are you crazy?” Or “Why do you do this?” Well that question has an easy answer, but it is easier to show you. So next year block off a week and come on a Youth Trip, you will be glad that you did. This year we were blessed with 3 outstanding interns, Ben Rogers, Tyler Howell, and Molly Richey. When they first came and looked at our schedule, they said, “We are going to do all of that?” Each of our interns wrote an article for our newsletter this summer, and all did an outstanding job. Molly shared an experience in her article in which she does her best to explain why we do the things that we do. “…I knew that God chooses to speak through us every day, but to actually recognize that He was doing that with me was just an uplifting experience. I think I have learned more from these teenagers than they have probably learned from me. It has been a blessing being part of this church this summer!”
Summer is a time for ice cream, pool parties, staying up late, and of course vacations! We take full advantage of the extra time in the summer, but not just to have a good time (of course we do make time for that as well). We take advantage of the extra time to help our students grow closer to God and deepen their relationship with Him. When people look at our summer schedule, they often wonder why we do all the things that we do. If you have ever wondered that, or just like to keep up, join us Sunday night as we spend the evening reporting on our experiences from this summer and letting you see why we do the things that we do. This summer God impacted countless lives from within our youth ministry, but He also affected many lives outside of our youth ministry through our students. We look forward to sharing those experiences with you. See you on Sunday Night at 6 p.m. in the Chapel!
Filed under: worship | Tags: Bob Kauflin, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, hymns, Worship Matters
The famous hymn, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” has been especially meaningful to members of Glenwood.
Here’s a recent post by Bob Kauflin on his blog, Worship Matters:
“Our church as been trying to memorize one hymn a month for the past ten months. This month we’re working on Great is Thy Faithfulness. I had the opportunity to introduce the hymn yesterday morning and was moved by its history. Here’s what I shared.
The story behind Great is Thy Faithfulness should encourage every Christian who thinks of their life as ordinary. There’s no tragic story (think “It Is Well” by Horatio Spafford) associated with this hymn. It’s just the fruit of a faithful man with a simple faith in a faithful God.”
On August 12, Brian and Kristin Robinson and their children, Grace, Madelyn, Samuel and Aaron, will leave to become missionaries in Rwanda. This is their story:
Kristin and I have both had a desire to be more involved in God’s plan since before we met. Kristin went to Harding University and during her time there she was able to attend Harding University in Florence (Italy). After her time in Italy she was just drawn to a more committed life serving others and harbored the desire to do foreign missions from that point on.
After high school I attended Oklahoma Christian. I had attempted to go to Germany as a student missionary during the summer of my sophomore year but I couldn’t because I had to work in order to pay for college. The following year, through the great sacrifice of my parents I was able to attend the OC Vienna Studies program. Although our mission experience was limited and as a young college student our efforts also were limited (self-limited, you could say) God was working on me throughout that experience. Mostly by putting great people in my path that would later direct me onto a path that would lead me to Rwanda.
