We started out at Word of Life in Hudson, Florida where we had two weeks of intense training camp. Between the two camps I’ve been a part of, this one was by far the hardest, but at the same time, my favorite. We had the opportunity to attend a service at Idlewild , have devotions with the staff, Ken Whiten came and spoke to us, and about a billion other blessings! It was an incredible and challenging time, all at once!
We were so blessed to have all of the team, the staff, and the board there!
Wings of Morning 2008::2009
(From left to right...)
Jessica Foster:: 19, Indianapolis, IN- Alto
Christopher Porter:: 23, Amarillo, TX- Sound Technician
Tanner Dalton:: 21, Nashville, TN- Tenor
Lauren Dye:: 22, Charlotte, NC- Alto
Kym Gagnon:: 21, Flagstaff, AZ- Soprano
Jeff Campbell:: 23, Atlanta, GA- Tenor
Elizabeth Evans:: 20, Nashville, TN- Soprano
Michael West:: 22, Tampa, FL- Tenor
Brianne Seeley:: 18, Grand Rapids, MI- Piano Accompanist
Christopher Muscarella:: 20, Cincinnati, OH- Media Technician
The staff consists of::
Dave (Executive Director and Founder) and Jackie Edwards
Derwin (Director of Administration and Missions) and Jackie Anderson
Allen (Director of Communication and Media, and Brooke Oliver
Ryan Hurlburt (Special Events and Promotions Assistant)
Katharine Hurlburt (Training and Discipleship Assistant).
Ryan and Katharine are the newest additions to the Wings Global Outreach staff, and the whole team loves and absolutely adores them! Please pray for them as they continue raise support. I admire them so much. They have completely stepped out in faith- they were just recently married in August 2008, and have started out their marriage with this incredible crazy adventure. They have such a supreme love for Christ, and have encouraged us all so much by their walk and faith.
The Ministry Board consists of::
Marc Evans- my daddy!
Wade Gates- business man and pastors and church in Franklin, OH
Bob Hester- business man and one of the nicest people I’ve ever met
Kevin Massey- any NY Giants fan is GREAT in my eyes!!!
We were all getting anxious to start singing and leading people in worship. Our first church was First Baptist Citrus Park on Sunday, September 14. That was definitely a good one to start out on! We sang there last year, and it was definitely one of my favorite churches. The church family is just so kind and so loving. The team did great- I was so proud of them! It was definitely a CRAZY Sunday- because, as soon as we finished eating lunch with some of the members, we packed up to leave for West Broad Street Baptist, where we set up immediately and prepared for the evening worship service. The Massey’s, along with Michael’s family came- it’s always great to have people we know there. After a great service, we packed up and headed back to Citrus Park, where we set back up for the Spiritual Emphasis week that we did with their school.
It was probably the best SE week that we’ve ever had with my time with Wings. EIGHT students came to Christ. It was incredible. Some of the students have been through things that I never would have imagined… broken homes, parents with substance abuse problems, abuse, bouncing between relatives, etc. All they needed was Jesus, and then someone to come along side of them and love them. Both the Senior and Junior high completely welcomed us- something that we don’t get very often from youth. It was a very blessed week and such an encouragement- especially for the new team members. That is EXACTLY what we strive for- to build relationships and trust, so that the walls might break down, so that they may be open to the Gospel and discipleship. Working with youth can be some of the hardest, but DEFINITELY the most rewarding things.
We met some awesome, awesome, awesome girls there who I absolutely LOVE! I hope that we can continue to stay in contact (gotta’ love Facebook!) and that we may grow together.
Kym, Brianne, and I stayed with Brad and Shelbi Lansing, along with their two kids- Lizzi (3 ½ years old), and Ben (2 years old). They are just extraordinary people. They had been foster parents for a few years- giving homes to dozens of kids, knowing that they would eventually be taken away. But finally, they were able to officially adopt Lizzi and Ben. They are such a sweet family, with HUGE hearts. They are completely selfless, and are such a great picture of the type of servants Christ called us to be. We absolutely love, love, love them!
After packing up and leaving on Friday afternoon, we arrived at Exciting Central Baptist in Tampa. Let me tell you what, that quickly became not only one of my favorite churches, but one of my favorite host homes during my time with Wings. All the girls stayed with Gary and Anna Wilkinson. We absolutely fell in love with them immediately- they are so kind, giving, loving, and are a perfect picture of what a Christ-follower should be like. Oh, and they are GREAT cooks! J Leaving them was so hard, because even after just three nights, they became like family. Well, they became family.
Exciting Central is doing series in their church called “Its All about Youth.” They had Christian hip hop artists coming in. And let me tell you what, they were preaching TRUTH. It definitely wasn’t in a conventional way, but it was so theologically sound. It just goes to show us that God can and will move and speak in any capacity. We then got up and sang “Holy, Holy, Holy” a capella and then busted out into a very contemporary, Gospel-y song called “Let Everything that has Breath,” and it was soooo fun! They were definitely a high energy congregation! We then lead worship the whole evening service and it went really well. Jeff tore up “Jesus will Make a Way.” They were just so kind and welcoming and it was a blast.
I’m sitting in the bus with all the girls (Dave is in a meeting with the pastor and all the guys are still at their host homes), and I can’t help but to be astounded at how blessed I am. Even after a year, it still amazes me that the Lord chose me to be a part of Wings GO. He is doing incredible things in and through our ministry, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year holds. Please pray for the team, staff, and board as we make decisions and continue to do the work we’ve been called to.
Love,
Elizabeth
