Friday - 6/19/10 - by Micah

Today was our last full day at Wheery, and the day started as any other. We began at the main work house then split up into smaller groups. Myself and some other guys went to a house that we had taken the ceiling out of two days before. We started to put in sheet rock into the ceiling and walls of the bathroom, a bedroom, and a wall heater/electrical socket. The heater/electrical socket was my job. It's nickname was the jigsaw puzzle. Myself and other guys also put in sheet rock into the ceiling to finish the working day.

Later after lunch, we finished up the music and sports camps. The music camps had a performance with the kids and their parents. My group played hand bells and sang songs for their parents. The sports camp wrapped up the camp with a bible lesson and sports equipment given to the kids.

That night we went to Judson Baptist Church to sing with Kyle Matthews for the last time in Tennessee. The church was huge, and a ton of people came to hear us sing. For our last tiring performance, it was great. The night wrapped up back at Wheery with the seniors giving all of the students staying in youth group a challenge. Some cheerful tears and hugs were exchanged and that was it.

- Micah Smith

Friday - 6/18/10 - by Wyvolyn

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the ages"

Sadly our days at Wherry are now coming to an end. To give you a basic outline of our daily lives, we wake up, get ready, eat breakfast, and then split up into our family groups to do our daily quite times and discuss how we should apply them to our lives outside of church. After quiet time Bruce Coble gives us a little speech about the construction site, which always includes his puns. He really needs to keep his day job as a pastor instead of being a comedian.

When we arrive at the construction site, we set out to do our daily tasks from painting, to making a sidewalk, to caulking windows, etc. Through the midst of our work, I think at one point we all noticed that we are not building a house just for the purpose of building a house, but we are building it for a family who needs somewhere to stay to try to build their lives back up.

At lunch, we devour a bellyful of joy provided by Mrs. Stocks and Mrs. Dunne. After lunch we have camps where music camp goes and plays music with the children at Wherry, while sports camp enjoys their fifty-five minutes of sleep or time to reconnect until sports camp starts. At sports camp, we play soccer, or do cheer and dance with the girls. Soon after, the concert with Kyle Matthews starts and we are singing our hearts out until the last note.

This trip gives us all an opportunity to hang out with the children and get to know them and their families. We also get a chance to get their minds off of their daily struggles and focus on getting to knowing God and worshipping him and having fun at the same time with sports, dance, music, or just plain hanging out with new friends.

By Wyvolyn Kirkland

Friday - 6/18/10 - by Raven, an adopted member of SCBC youth

This week I have met the best group in the whole world. They're from Shades Crest Baptist Church in Alabama. I met the best friend I could ever have asked for. Her name is Amber Northcutt. I think this has been an amazing opportunity for me to get out, help and have fun while being serious.

I hope they'll come back next year.

Raven Garant

Thursday - 6/17/10 - by Phillip

WHY DO WE SERVE? WHY DO WE GO ON MISSION TRIPS? I found myself asking myself these questions throughout the week. This week, this place, and these people have finally answered these questions for me.

I have become very close to this one family in particular here at Wherry Housing. The children's names are Hser Nay, Hser Mu, Paw, and Hser Reya. I had no clude that I would get this close to anybody that I would mission to this week, but I have gotten this close to an entire family. While the other guys are taking naps before our sports camp, I am at this family's house with them playing for hours. Also, when I come back to our living quarters after working on houses all morning, Hser Mu (a nine-year-old soccer phenom) is waiting for me and we hang out all day, playing soccer and ninja (one of the best games EVER). Hser Mu has become one of my closest friends on this trip and he is an incredible kid. It will be SO hard to leave Smyrna, Tennessee after building such strong relationships with this family and especially Hser Mu.

I do not want anybody to take this the wrong way, but I think that I have a special bond with the people at Wherry that no one else in our group has. The residents and I all LOVE soccer and we have been playing it 24/7. Each day they allow me to become a bigger part of their groups after I prove my worth on a soccer pitch. I love that it does not matter what your age or race is, soccer brings all the residents at Wherry together. This is true in places all over the world. And for this, I am truly grateful. I truly believe that the simple game called soccer has given me the greatest opportunity to shine the light of Christ to the people of Wherry, and also to everyone back home.

I know that it might be hard to believe after reading this, but to be honest, I was not looking forward to this mission trip at all. I really don't know why I wasn't, but I just didn't have the same excitement and anticipation for this trip as I have for all of our other mission trips. But I am SO glad that I came. This trip has been absolutely amazing for me. It has moved me so much that I don't want to leave and I am actually contemplating trying to become an intern here. I will always remember all of the people, the work, and the things that God has shown me through out this week. And I will ALWAYS remember Hser Mu and his family.

Phillip Rawson

Thursday - 6/17/10 - by Winston

We got up and I, for once, was on time for breakfast.

It was not so hot today - I mean the weather.

The kids love what we do with the music and sports camp.

I love how I see God working in the Wherry community.

Last night, the concert was powerful with Kyle Matthews. I can't wait for Friday's concert.

The speakers at lunch told their testimonies and how God is using them.

It has been a great day!

God Bless - Winston

Thursday - 6/17/10 - by Faith and Madison

Mark 8:34

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

On our choir tour we are renovating an abandoned house for the Wherry community. The whole house and yard was old and trashed. One of our tasks was to clear out the rubble including wooden planks, cabinets, etc. While moving the objects to the dumpster we came across these wooden planks that made the shape of a cross. The planks in the midst of the garbage reminds us that even through the difficult life storms we can sift through the "garbage" and find that God is always there even though it might not be so apparent.

Faith and Madison

Wednesday - 6/16/10 - by Natalie

Today has been amazing; I've heard a few say that it has been the best day yet! Days are always great when they begin with a delicious breakfast (Stacey and Luanne are incredible), and we were ready to get to work right on time. The group was involved in many different jobs at a couple houses today, from creating a new sidewalk to painting the back of a house to clearing out overgrown plants from a front yard. I also discovered that I am pretty good at caulking! We had a blast working today and I know that the whole group is excited to start working again tomorrow.

After a morning of construction, we were ready to run our music and sports camps for the 3rd day. The number of kids grew, and they all seemed to be having a great time! My group, the Preschoolers through 1st graders, have loved learning new songs (especially if they have motions) and almost always have smiles on their faces.

In the late afternoon, we rode the bus to a church in Franklin, TN, where we met with Kyle Matthews and practiced for our concert this evening. After practicing, we were treated by the church to a spectacular dinner of some Southern home cookin'. Dinner was followed by our first concert, which was a benefit concert for the Christian Women's Job Corps and Habitat for Humanity. Kyle Matthews was amazing, and towards the end of the concert a woman told a very touching story about how her life has been radically changed by the Christian Women's Job Corps. After tears and applause, we made our way back to the Wherry houses and listened to yet another incredible testimony by a mother who lives in the community.

Meeting all of these kids and families who live in the Wherry community has truly been an amazing and eye-opening experience for all of the youth and the chaperones. Seeing not only their joy when interacting with us, but also our joy when interacting with them paints a wonderful picture of the impact we've been making, and it unbelievable that our experiences in this community are only halfway completed!

Natalie Thomley