What an incredible trip with 5 students and 3 adults. We truly felt God’s guidance and blessing the whole trip! Before you truly understand the extent of that statement, let me tell you the premise of this trip!! The trip was called Destination Unknown, which meant that we never knew where we would be the next day until we drew both a distance and a direction out of a hat the evening before. The distances ranged from 30-165 miles at 15 mile intervals inbetween. The directions were included north, northwest, northeast, east, west, south, southwest and southeast. Each day we would drive in that direction and distance and pray for God’s guidance as we sought to serve Him during that day.
On Monday, June 2nd we met at 8:00 in the morning at the church and drew our first direction
and distance. We drew 30 miles northeast which took us by Paris, Kentucky to Cane Ridge. This is considered the birthplace of the “Christian Church and Churches of Christ”. Once we got there we were given a tour and were told about the history of the building and location. We spend time pulling weeds and helping clean the area. Before we left we had worship service in the Cane Ridge Meeting House (church) which was enjoyed by all. That evening we stayed with a wonderful family in the church (the Fletchers).
On Tuesday, June 3rd, we came back 30 miles Southwest into Lexington. We thought it was funny that out of all the places God could have taken us, he brought us back to Lexington. After praying we decided to make snack bags complete with soda and scripture to take to the waiting rooms at UK Hospital. As we gave them out to families in the waiting rooms we talked and prayed with them. That night we stayed at my house, which I loved. How often do you get to go on a missions trip and sleep in your own bed!!
On Wednesday, June 4th we went 165 miles northeast to Lancaster, Ohio. We spent a brief
time talking with the small groups minister at the Christian Church there and praying with him. We then went to an assisted living home and pulled weeds, stakes, and other outside chores in between rainfalls. We then went inside and talked with the residents while they ate. Austin and I also took in our guitars and and tried hard to play some of the songs they requested. About the only one we were really able to work up was “You Are My Sunshine” which was quickly picked up by neighboring tables and soon the whole room was singing. That night the local Christian Church got us discounts at a hotel and we all enjoyed the bed and air conditioning.
On Thursday, June 5th, we went 90 miles north to a unincorporate
d town called Shenandoah, Ohio. We drove around the small town looking to see if we could find anyone to help out and we came upon the place of an 80 year old widow na
med Sarah. We spent time talking with Sarah and mowing her lawn and ended up also doing the same with her widow neighbor. A family from the Christian Church in town let us into the church and brought us pizza and ate with us. They also then took us out and showed us how to milk a cow, then they took us to an alpaca farm. After all that we went to a local general store where we all got ice cream. The church there was generous enough to let us stay in their basement.
Our last full day, Friday, June 6th, we drove 165 miles south to Portsmouth, Ohio (on the Ohio River). We had a difficult time finding things to do as all the churches and ministries stopped at were either closed up for the day or not needing help. We finally went and bought ice cream sandwiches and took them to the local fire station.
The men were happy to receive the snacks on the very hot day and ended up giving us a tour of the fire station. We spent a short time praying with them. We also spent time with a man outside the police station. After this, we decided to find a campground to stay at. After going to two different locations and being turned away, we decided out best bet was to go to the Shawnee State Park and find a campground there. On our way out to the Park we stopped at BJ’s Burgers to eat and started talking to man. After hearing his testimony he began telling us about the cabins up in the State Park. As he got up to leave h
e put $140 on the table and left. We still do not know the man’s name. We traveled out to the State Park to get a cabin and were told they were full. As I turned to leave, the man said to wait a second as he checked again. After doing some time checking he told me that they had one cabin that they could let us use. After an unsolicited reduction on the price of the cabin I was told the final price for the night was $144. Wow, isn’t it awesome how God provides?!!
On Saturday, June 7th, we drove back home after stopping at a “Gary Blake favorite” restaurant in Maysville, Kentucky. We were glad to be back home but enjoyed the faith building experience God had led us on for the week. It was great to see God’s universal church in action and to realize just how big and powerful it is and can be. It was also great to watch God take care of us over and over as well as use us in some mighty ways. We thank all who supported us in prayer and finances and for all those who were a blessing to us along the trip as well!!