To our Crossroads Volunteers: We wanted to give a great big shout-out to all of our amazing teen volunteers who have graciously accepted God's call to go into all the world and embarked on this incredible missions journey. We are so thankful to you for everything you do to make an impact in our communities here at West Lawn and at Kutztown. AND we are so proud of you for making an impact all the way in the Dominican Republic, too.
To the entire DR Team: Thank you for believing that even the littlest of people need to hear about God's Love for them. Thank you for bringing the joy of VBS to 200 kids in the DR. Thank you for loving and caring for entire families. Thank you for spreading hope to kids who might feel hopeless, and for giving companionship to those who might feel lonely.
To Rachel Baines: Thank you infinitely for taking on the huge responsibility of leading your team in children's ministry. Please remember that what you are doing is not insignificant. Your leadership is changing the lives of hundreds of children…for the second year in a row. So thank you for boldly marking a path for your team. Thank you for humbly loving these kids. Thank you for selflessly serving with all of your heart. We Love you so much and couldn't be more proud of you. Oh, and, if you weren't going away to school in the fall, we WOULD be stealing you from Real Life. ;) (P.S. I, Amanda who is writing this on behalf of the whole Crossroads Staff, Love you with all of my heart forever & ever. You have inspired me every single day for the past 18 years with your beautiful heart. Shoot me a text when you get back. AND, by the way, somehow you look as gorgeous as ever in the above photo!)
To PE: We are forever grateful to you for leading this incredible youth ministry. There is such a peace in knowing that when our 5th Graders graduate, they are in your hands. Thank you for opening such amazing doors for GT's teenagers to go on trips like this one. Thank you for tirelessly serving, and whole-heartedly loving. We are so happy to have you as a part of our GT Team and we love you. (I, Amanda, personally want to say that you are an incredible youth pastor and I couldn't be more thankful to have had you- and to still have you- in my life. Thank you for everything you have done for kids like me & AJ, and everything you are doing for kids like Lucas & this amazing DR Team! You're the best. DR Kids- Don't forget to thank this amazing dude constantly this week for giving you such amazing chances to learn & love!)
To a few of my (Amanda's) other personal faves: Brett- This is an awesome picture of you. So sweet :) I'm happy to hear that you are doing such incredible things in the DR. Thanks for being such a good friend to my Luke. You better hurry home, because he misses you & needs to have a sleepover soon. Lucas & I are so proud of you! You better be making your team laugh constantly ;) Caleb- Zac, AJ & I wanted to give you a shout out! You rock, kid. We hope you're causing lots of trouble & making your dad nuts. Have so much fun & keep spreading your awesomeness to the people of the DR!
We Love you all, The Crossroads Staff
P.S. As you're rounding the halfway point and are beginning to feel exhausted, remember Jesus' command in Matthew 11:28: "Come to me all who are weary and I will give you rest."
Hey Bretty!! Miss you lots! Praying for you! Believing for amazing things for you and the entire team!! Love all the pictures! Looking good Buddy! Ben says he misses you.. Almost :) can't wait to hear all your stories!!! Commenting from the Fourth of July festivities! Wish you were here to decorate the bean bag bracket with me! I'll try to win the tournament in your honor! Everyone wants you to know they miss you!!!
Seeing the joy these amazing people are bringing to the people of the DR is so heartwarming! These pictures are so wonderful. Isaiah 52:7 says "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'" You are all certainly bringing the good news and doing what God has called you to do. Blessings to all! :) ***Shoutout to Brett, Alexis, Sara, Karis and Rebekah... I can't wait to hear the amazing things God did and all of the wonderful stories. I miss and love you all tons!! See you soon...
Rachel, I love this photo of you! You are beautiful and I know without a doubt that you are doing an amazing job leading the children's ministry there in DR. Brett, you look so happy. I love seeing your smile and enthusiasm as it radiates out from the photos. I cannot believe how much you've grown from that little skinny 5th grader serving in GT preschool! You're awesome. Autumn, fantastic choreography. Michael D, great job painting those high walls! You are definitely the man for the job! Josh, we missed you so much tonight at Grandmom & Pop-Pops. We were wearing sweatshirts and drinking hot chocolate because it was so chilly! The funny thing was that the whole time we were there we kept looking for you like every half hour or so as we forgot you weren't with us. Matthew and I got a good chuckle out of this. Sparklers weren't nearly as fun without you. But I know you are doing what God wants you to do. That is what I want for you more than anything else in the world. I am so proud of you! I miss you and love you so much. Abby C, I spent the day with your mom yesterday cleaning for the birthday party. Your new house is lovely! I pray that you are having an amazing week. Miss you! Praying for you everyday. I believe in you and know God has incredible things in store for you! We will miss so many of you on Sunday! But you will be in our prayers and in our hearts. We know that you are where God wants yiu this Sunday...but look forward to having you back next week (especially my three amazing preschool workers, Alexis, Morgan, and Karina! Love, Mom McElwee
Karina & Gaby, we are so proud of the two of you, helping and sharing Gods word with others. At the same time we all miss you. Gaby, great job on painting the house and Karina, I love the mural on the outside wall that you helped paint. Baby, remember your sunscreen ok… and drink plenty of water. God bless you all. Love mom, always.
Hey y'all! Dang, don't know if the week is moving as slowly there as it is here. But I miss all y'all a ton! So happy to see how well its going down there. The pictures look fantastic. Bros, let me just tell ya, bro night was not the same this week without you guys, but it looks like you guys had a heck of bro night yourselves. So super proud of all of you. Praying hard. Keep up the good work! God bless!
--MattMc P.S. Turckey, I finally got some of my grandmother's potato salad yesterday that I've been whining about for two months. P.P.S. Dilly and Josh, the Ark is missing, y'all know where it is? P.P.P.S. Vinny Vee, any word? P.P.P.P.S. Ermergersh you went back to the waterfall!!! Newbies, was it not the best thing ever!?!?!?! Ok...I'm done now... Peace!
Hey! Thanks for stopping by.... Leave us a comment and we'll get it and share it with the whole team while we're on our trip. Thanks so much for all of your prayers and support!
Hello DR Team from the Crossroads Staff!
ReplyDeleteTo our Crossroads Volunteers: We wanted to give a great big shout-out to all of our amazing teen volunteers who have graciously accepted God's call to go into all the world and embarked on this incredible missions journey. We are so thankful to you for everything you do to make an impact in our communities here at West Lawn and at Kutztown. AND we are so proud of you for making an impact all the way in the Dominican Republic, too.
To the entire DR Team: Thank you for believing that even the littlest of people need to hear about God's Love for them. Thank you for bringing the joy of VBS to 200 kids in the DR. Thank you for loving and caring for entire families. Thank you for spreading hope to kids who might feel hopeless, and for giving companionship to those who might feel lonely.
To Rachel Baines: Thank you infinitely for taking on the huge responsibility of leading your team in children's ministry. Please remember that what you are doing is not insignificant. Your leadership is changing the lives of hundreds of children…for the second year in a row. So thank you for boldly marking a path for your team. Thank you for humbly loving these kids. Thank you for selflessly serving with all of your heart. We Love you so much and couldn't be more proud of you. Oh, and, if you weren't going away to school in the fall, we WOULD be stealing you from Real Life. ;) (P.S. I, Amanda who is writing this on behalf of the whole Crossroads Staff, Love you with all of my heart forever & ever. You have inspired me every single day for the past 18 years with your beautiful heart. Shoot me a text when you get back. AND, by the way, somehow you look as gorgeous as ever in the above photo!)
To PE: We are forever grateful to you for leading this incredible youth ministry. There is such a peace in knowing that when our 5th Graders graduate, they are in your hands. Thank you for opening such amazing doors for GT's teenagers to go on trips like this one. Thank you for tirelessly serving, and whole-heartedly loving. We are so happy to have you as a part of our GT Team and we love you. (I, Amanda, personally want to say that you are an incredible youth pastor and I couldn't be more thankful to have had you- and to still have you- in my life. Thank you for everything you have done for kids like me & AJ, and everything you are doing for kids like Lucas & this amazing DR Team! You're the best. DR Kids- Don't forget to thank this amazing dude constantly this week for giving you such amazing chances to learn & love!)
To a few of my (Amanda's) other personal faves: Brett- This is an awesome picture of you. So sweet :) I'm happy to hear that you are doing such incredible things in the DR. Thanks for being such a good friend to my Luke. You better hurry home, because he misses you & needs to have a sleepover soon. Lucas & I are so proud of you! You better be making your team laugh constantly ;)
Caleb- Zac, AJ & I wanted to give you a shout out! You rock, kid. We hope you're causing lots of trouble & making your dad nuts. Have so much fun & keep spreading your awesomeness to the people of the DR!
We Love you all,
The Crossroads Staff
P.S. As you're rounding the halfway point and are beginning to feel exhausted, remember Jesus' command in Matthew 11:28: "Come to me all who are weary and I will give you rest."
Hey Bretty!! Miss you lots! Praying for you! Believing for amazing things for you and the entire team!! Love all the pictures! Looking good Buddy! Ben says he misses you.. Almost :) can't wait to hear all your stories!!! Commenting from the Fourth of July festivities! Wish you were here to decorate the bean bag bracket with me! I'll try to win the tournament in your honor! Everyone wants you to know they miss you!!!
ReplyDeleteLove, Mom, Dad, Bryce, Ben, JEN :), Marsh, Dave, Ronda, John, Renee, Leah, Abby, Jake, Nate, Mamaw, Papaw, Barry, Marilee, Jess, and Bell-Bell
P.s. Come to the beeeeeeaaach! :)
Seeing the joy these amazing people are bringing to the people of the DR is so heartwarming! These pictures are so wonderful. Isaiah 52:7 says "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'" You are all certainly bringing the good news and doing what God has called you to do. Blessings to all! :)
ReplyDelete***Shoutout to Brett, Alexis, Sara, Karis and Rebekah... I can't wait to hear the amazing things God did and all of the wonderful stories. I miss and love you all tons!! See you soon...
Rachel, I love this photo of you! You are beautiful and I know without a doubt that you are doing an amazing job leading the children's ministry there in DR.
ReplyDeleteBrett, you look so happy. I love seeing your smile and enthusiasm as it radiates out from the photos. I cannot believe how much you've grown from that little skinny 5th grader serving in GT preschool! You're awesome.
Autumn, fantastic choreography.
Michael D, great job painting those high walls! You are definitely the man for the job!
Josh, we missed you so much tonight at Grandmom & Pop-Pops. We were wearing sweatshirts and drinking hot chocolate because it was so chilly! The funny thing was that the whole time we were there we kept looking for you like every half hour or so as we forgot you weren't with us. Matthew and I got a good chuckle out of this. Sparklers weren't nearly as fun without you. But I know you are doing what God wants you to do. That is what I want for you more than anything else in the world. I am so proud of you! I miss you and love you so much.
Abby C, I spent the day with your mom yesterday cleaning for the birthday party. Your new house is lovely! I pray that you are having an amazing week. Miss you! Praying for you everyday. I believe in you and know God has incredible things in store for you!
We will miss so many of you on Sunday! But you will be in our prayers and in our hearts. We know that you are where God wants yiu this Sunday...but look forward to having you back next week (especially my three amazing preschool workers, Alexis, Morgan, and Karina!
Love, Mom McElwee
Karina & Gaby, we are so proud of the two of you, helping and sharing Gods word with others. At the same time we all miss you. Gaby, great job on painting the house and Karina, I love the mural on the outside wall that you helped paint. Baby, remember your sunscreen ok… and drink plenty of water. God bless you all. Love mom, always.
ReplyDeleteHey y'all!
ReplyDeleteDang, don't know if the week is moving as slowly there as it is here. But I miss all y'all a ton!
So happy to see how well its going down there. The pictures look fantastic. Bros, let me just tell ya, bro night was not the same this week without you guys, but it looks like you guys had a heck of bro night yourselves.
So super proud of all of you. Praying hard. Keep up the good work!
God bless!
--MattMc
P.S. Turckey, I finally got some of my grandmother's potato salad yesterday that I've been whining about for two months.
P.P.S. Dilly and Josh, the Ark is missing, y'all know where it is?
P.P.P.S. Vinny Vee, any word?
P.P.P.P.S. Ermergersh you went back to the waterfall!!! Newbies, was it not the best thing ever!?!?!?!
Ok...I'm done now... Peace!