Wednesday, Day 6, was work day at Lighthouse Ministries. We arrived there around 9:00 a.m. We helped with cleaning tables, chairs, and floors in the dining area, picked up trash all around the property, helped get their sound and media hooked up for when they start church in a couple of weeks. Then as the people from the streets were entering the dining hall to eat, Four12 sang a few songs. The kids did great! After they sang, we prayed and then they were served lunch. They had already had people there to serve, so we packed up and headed back to church to eat our lunch. After lunch, we had time to rest a little, then we started to pack everything up. Everyone had to get showers because the ARK didn't have shower facilities. Our next time to get showers was going to be 30 hours later! Before we arrived at the ARK, we stopped to eat supper. We had Chick-Fil-A, Panera Bread, and Culvers. I've never heard of Culvers, but we tried it and it was really good. We also had another guest join us for the rest of the trip. Our pastor, Lee Waller, flew into Lexington to join us at the ARK and for the rest of the trip. Also, his wife, Tana, and their child, Caleb, didn't know he was coming. So, Andrea and Angela went to go pick up Lee from the airport and met us at the Culvers restaurant. Lee walked behind Tana and surprised her and Caleb. They were glad to see him. We were all glad to see him. After supper, we drove about 30 minutes and arrived at the ARK. We loaded on one of their buses that took us to the ARK. After bringing all of our overnight stuff to the decks we were sleeping on, they took us on a private tour. We had the entire ARK to ourselves. They gave us water, snacks, did a little game of charades, tried to show a movie, but it didn't work. It was fine though, because we were tired. But, we did sing a couple of songs to the staff before going to bed. The sleeping arrangements were: The boys were on deck three and the girls were on deck 2. Chaperones were the only ones to have air mattresses. The students had to sleep on the floor. We couldn't have cots. It was kinda roughing it, but how many chances do you get to sleep on the ARK?! Thursday, Day 7, started off with waking up, getting ready (remind you that there were no shower facilities, only bathrooms), packing everything back up to take back to the bus. After loading everything back on the bus, we went to their restaurant where they had breakfast ready for us. After breakfast, they took us on a private tour in the zoo where we got up close to a lot of the animals. After the zoo tour, our zip lining started. We had 18 of us go at 10:00 a.m. and another group of 10 went at 1:00 p.m. As the 1st group went, the rest of enjoyed the day in the ARK, looking at what we didn't get to see last night, including the gift shop. The 2nd group went zip lining at 1:00 p.m. After the 2nd group was done zip lining, we took a couple of group pictures in front of the ARK, then started home at 4:00 p.m. We arrived at our hotel just outside of Chattanooga, TN around 10:00 last night. The ARK experience was really a great experience and it is recommended for everyone to see it at least once. The overnight experience was really worth it and I HIGHLY recommend it for student groups. Friday, Day 8, (this morning), consists of traveling and arriving at DSBC around 3:00 or 3:30. This has been a great trip with some great kids and adults! Four12 will be singing at DSBC this Sunday, April 7 during the morning service. They will also present their whole program on Sunday night at 5:30 p.m. Thanks everyone for your prayers and I can't wait until next time! Brian
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Tuesday Day 5 was a sleep-in day. They didn’t have to get up until 8:00 a.m. We had someone go and wash all three of our Four12 t-shirts that morning while the students were waking up and getting ready for the day. (Lane says Hi)
Our first place was the Lexington Rescue Mission. We were there from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. It is a small house that feeds the homeless. The room is limited in space so there are two rooms that people come in to be fed. Our students got to sing a couple of songs in the hallway that divides the two rooms. After we sang, we did some work in and outside of the house. We helped washed the walls, and served the meal to the people. We also worked outside cleaning the side yards and backyard. We also pulled weeds and turned the dirt in the flower beds. After we did that, we went back to the bus and ate our sacked lunches we fixed earlier. Our second place was the Morning Pointe Senior Living Center in Lexington. The people there were so nice and appreciative of us coming. We not only sang our songs, but sang some hymns with them, which they enjoyed. After that, we went back to the church. Our third place was the Hope Center. The place we actually served was the cafeteria across from the Hope Center. When we were able to sing, there was this one guy named, Crest, who really enjoyed us singing. After we sang, Crest spoke to us giving some words of encouragement. After we got done at the Hope Center, we stopped at a place that had several restaurants to choose from. We ate supper, went back to the church, had group devotion and got ready for bed. We did have another student go down with sickness, but they seem to be doing better now. All of this was yesterday. I’m a little behind in getting this out. I hope to put today’s event’s out tonight or in the morning. We’ll be at the ARK tonight and all day tomorrow so I’m not promising anything. The students and chaperones have done great! Thanks for your prayers. Brian Monday Day 4 started off by going to the Lighthouse Ministries in downtown Lexington. This is a shelter who only feeds the homeless at lunch and dinner time each day. We helped cleaned the tables, cleaned chairs, mopped floors, wrapped pastries, assemble chair racks, painted, and serve the lunch meal to about 100 people who came off the street. This place was founded about 19 years ago. We finished around 1:30 and headed back to Immanuel Baptist Church to rest.
We left Immanuel around 4:45 p.m. to go to Isaiah House in Chaplin, KY. It was about an hour drive. This is a drug and alcohol recovery treatment for men. I’m guessing there were about 50 guys there. We started our program around 7:00 p.m. Remember the sound issue from yesterday? Well, it happened again. It went off before we started during sound check. Then 2 more times during the program. We decided to sing the rest of the way without sound and the kids did great! We’ve narrowed it down to the problem being with the sound board. I also got to see Kasey Hollingsworth and her husband, Justin, who drove an hour and a half from Indiana. Kasey was in the 10th grade when we started a youth choir, Know Mercy, at Union Valley Baptist Church, Beebe, AR. She was one of the first members and went on the first 2 choir trips (2011 and 2012) before graduating high school. It was great seeing them! After we finished, the Isaiah House bought pizza for everyone. Thank you Isaiah House! We went back to the church, had group devotion, and went to bed. Right now, it’s sleep in day. The students don’t have to get up until 8:00 a.m. this morning. We don’t have to be at our first place until 10:45 this morning. Today, we go to Lexington Rescue Mission, Morning Pointe Senior Living, and Hope Center. Thanks for your prayers! Brian Sunday Day 3 didn’t start off so hot. We had 2 kids get sick in the middle of the night-one with delayed motion sickness and the other with a stomach bug.
Our adults had our breakfast ready for us to eat, then we headed to worship at Immanuel Baptist Church (this is the church we are staying at). The student with the delayed motion sickness, Corban, was feeling better, but the other student with the stomach bug, Ayden, stayed behind hoping to get better soon. His mom happened to be on the trip so it worked out that she stayed with Ayden. After worship, we ate lunch at some restaurants in town. Then we went to the Nile Addiction Recovery Treatment Center. This center is for women who are struggling with drug or alcohol addiction. There were probably 13 to 17 women who were part of this month long program. We gathered together in the great room that was in the house, so it was cramped, but we adjusted well. The kids did a great job! The women were very glad we came by. After the presentation, one of the ladies prayed over us. We came back to the church to rest for a couple of hours. Then we went to the Salvation Army in downtown Lexington. This was in a good size chapel with a huge stage. We presented our program all the way without a hitch until the last song. As we were singing the 2nd chorus in Glorious Day, the sound all of a sudden cut off. Did it stop the kids from singing? NO! We kept on singing acapella for the rest of the song. They did great! It happens at 41:58 on our facebook live video on Four12’s facebook page. I was proud of them! They’ve done really great so far and they are continuing to get better each time! Thanks for your prayers! Brian Friday, day 1, was mainly a traveling day. We left Thomasville around 5:45 p.m. and arrived at our hotel, Courtyard Marriott Windy Hill/Ball Park, just north of Atlanta around 10:30 p.m.
Saturday, day 2, was traveling and presentation day. We left north Atlanta around 8:30 a.m. and arrived in Knoxville, TN at 12:00 p.m. We stopped and ate lunch. We arrived at Knox Area Rescue Mission around 1:00 p.m. This is one of the homeless shelters in Knoxville. We sang outside in their courtyard with the highway next to us. With that being said, the wind blew the instrument player’s music, music stands falling down, people walking and talking while we were singing, highway noise was loud, it was ADHD overload! And with all that going on, God still used these students to bless several of the ones who were listening. We had one lady come up and say how much she enjoyed listening and watching the students singing. It meant a lot to her. There was another guy who said he doesn’t see youth choirs doing this type of ministry anymore. He was blessed to see and hear them. He was also helping our musicians by keeping the music from flying away. After we had finished, we loaded up and arrived in Lexington around 7:45 p.m. We are staying at Immanuel Baptist Church for the next several days. Thanks for your prayers! Brian The time is here! Lexington 2019 will begin in a few hours. This is where we’ll update after each day of the trip. You can also follow us at our Instagram and our Facebook page. We’re looking forward to what God will do this week.
Today we had two presentation times. One at 1:00 p.m. at Mission of Hope for Men and then the other at 5:00 p.m. at Home of Grace for Women. Both of these places are drugs and alcohol addiction rehab centers.
Since we didn’t have to be anywhere early for the morning, we had a chance to sleep in and get some much needed rest. We arrived at Mission of Hope at 11:45 a.m. We shared our presentation in their chapel that was in the center of the campus with the guys at Mission of Hope and it was moving for a lot of them. God used this time to help some of the guys remember that He is with them and that He hasn’t left them. The students did great and Bobby did great sharing the word that was just right for that time and place. After we were done, we tore down, loaded up and headed back to Redemption Church since we had some extra time to kill. We had some chill time and some nap time (me) that was needed! When it was time to go, we headed to Home of Grace. They had a beautiful chapel on their campus with stained glass that the sun was shining just right and making beautiful colors on the floors and pews. The ladies arrived and we started the program. As soon as we started, the ladies were very much into it. They stood up and sang and clapped with us. You could fill the energy in the room. The students did great and Bobby shared the Christmas story about God findin favor with Mary. And that God has find found favor with them. It was a time of God moving through the ladies just letting them know that God still loves them. After the program, we took some time to visit with them. We then loaded up and headed to Dreamland BBQ Restaurant and had fellowship time together as our last night of the trip. Friday morning we headed back home and arrived at DSBC around 3:45 Friday afternoon. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support for Four12 as they served the Lord through song and service. I can’t wait until what next season holds! Brian Today we went to Mission of Hope (Men’s Campus). This is a Christian Addict Outreach Program that helps with drug and alcohol addiction. This is a nice campus with all kinds of projects that goes on every day.
When we got there, we divided into 3 groups. You could go and help in the workshop, helping with anything to do with wood. You could go and help paint base boards at a new house that was built on campus. Or you could go help with going to the peach orchard and help trim the peach trees. Our kids did great helping! After we worked for a couple of hours, we came in the chapel and cooled off because it was hot outside. We listened to two guys give their testimony of how they came to be in this program and how they are doing now. This one guy was 50 years old and had been there a year and was in step two of the program. He said at a young age, he learned to play the piano and at 19, he was a Music Minister at a church in north AL. But he was doing religion, not living a life for Jesus. He made one decision to drink that led to many other things. He found himself out of the ministry and doing drugs and alcohol. He basically wasted his life addicted to drugs and alcohol. He finally made the decision to get in the program in his late 40’s. He was a very good speaker and kept all of our attention to listen to him. After testimony time, we had lunch there which they had prepared. Then we came back to Redemption Church and chilled out until we had to leave to go to the Ronald McDonald House. We arrived at the Ronald McDonald House to prepare, cook and serve meals to some of the residences who are staying there. This is a very nice house with I think the lady said 38 rooms? They had a huge kitchen to prepare the meal. We also had some students go to some of the rooms to wipe down all the toys and straighten the play room up. Other students straighten the little library they had there. When it was time time to serve the meal, we also got to sing the songs from our program acapella style. The students did really good without any music. I’m very proud of them! You can see that video on the Church’s Facebook page. The residents you could tell were tired, exhausted. One of them had twins early and had been there for 5 months. She said her babies alternate good and bad days. Majority of these residents had babies prematurely and were just waiting for them to get stronger to be able to go home. One showed pictures of their baby which was the weight of a soda can. After everyone ate, we cleaned up and then came back to Redemption Church. The students are doing great! The adults are helping and doing a super job as well! Today is is our last mission day. This will be a long day with two presentations within 4 hours. We’ll leave here at 11:00 a.m. and won’t get back until around 8:00 or 9:00 tonight. I feel that these final two presentations are going to be the best ever and I’m looking forward to what God will do today. Thanks for your prayers! Brian Each morning we start by getting up, getting ready, having quiet time, eating breakfast, and then heading out for the morning to go to our mission site.
Yesterday, it rained and Waterfront Rescue Mission has outdoor projects scheduled for us. There was no way we could do those so we unloaded the trailer and set up our choir stuff because we were going to present our program to them that night. After we set up, we went back to Redemption Church to chill, rest, play games and waited until going back to Rescue Mission at 4:00. We arrived back to Waterfront Rescue Mission and we ate dinner with the guys. While we were eating dinner, some friends of the Prices, (Wade, Misty, and Dayton McClean) who are from Beebe, AR, who were at Gulfport, MS on business, came to watch Four12 present their program. There were probably around 40 - 50 guys there. The acoustics in that room were great! The students voices really projected well and just the music, everything sounded great. The mood of the service was great! The guys really got into the songs were singing. When it was time for Bobby to give a word, he really gave the word. The Holy Spirit guided him on what to say and it was the perfect message and the perfect tone. After the program, our friend from Beebe, Wade, came to me and wanted to talk to the students, but it ended up him talking to everyone. He told about his son, Dayton’s story and how he overcame his accident. (I don’t have time to explain his story, but DSBC church members knows who Dayton McClean is). After Wade finished up, Bobby felt like it was the right time to give an invitation and so he got the chaplain and he came up and prayed and about 5 guys came forward wanting to give their lives to Christ!!! See it wasn’t just the music. It wasn’t just the band. It wasn’t just the message. It wasn’t just the testimony. It was everything. It was all God. God had orchestrated this whole night before it even started. Thank you Lord for everything! Thank you all for your prayers! We begin Day 4 today. Brian Today started out by going to Waterfront Rescue Mission. This is a shelter for those who are serious about getting back on their feet. Most of these guys come from being in prison and they have to go through an interview process in order to get in this program. It’s is a one year program that helps them be more responsible about life. The Bible is taught to them in daily classes. They help with daily routines of cleaning around the campus.
We we were able to meet a lot of these guys and help them with cleaning bathrooms, dining hall, helping in the kitchen, dusting, washing down the tables and chairs in all the rooms. We split up into groups of about 10 - 12 and was spread out though the campus helping. At 10:00 A.M., we sat in a class with them as they took prayer requests and then listened as a lesson about Jesus was shared. At 12:00, we had lunch with them. Some of our people helped prepare and serve this meal that we ate. We were done around 1:30 and we came back to Redemption Church to chill, take naps (that was nice!), played in the gym, played games. It was a nice restful time. At 4:00, we headed to Missions of Hope for Women in Mt. Vernon, AL. This is at what used to be a residence, but the house was donated to this mission to house women who may been battered, maybe drugs or alcohol, etc. There were about 20 women plus some of their kids with them when they came to our presentation. We we met in a closed-in garage that was at least big enough for one vehicle. This room was tight, yet we manged to get all of us in there. As we started singing, the ladies had tears falling down their faces. Now, I couldn’t see them, but the students told after what was happening. When started singing the song “Trust in You”, they immediately started singing along with us, standing up, some with their hands raised. That got to all of us (yes, me too). That really set us off to sing even with more power and joyful hearts while shedding tears at the same time. Bobby did a great job when he shared the word with them. The Holy Spirit guiding him with the right scripture to share. It fit perfectly. When we sang Death Was Arrested, they sang with us even stronger. Tears coming down, praising God for His Son! After it was over, we got to visit with the ladies and it was great talking with them. We then went back to Saraland, AL where our church that we are staying is and stopped at Whataburger and Goldfingers to eat. This was a day that we needed to be a part of. We may have been a blessing to those ladies, but they were a blessing to us. Today we start Day 3 with going back to Waterfront Rescue Mission. We will present our program there at 6:00 P.M. Thanks! Brian |
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