Let’s see if I can fit this in before the team rolls out this morning. Last night, the power went out for about 10 seconds, and the internet was down until this morning. I probably could have typed up an entry, then posted it this morning, but I ended up falling asleep on the couch in the conference room while watching Jon & Kate +8 and the World Baseball Classic.

Anyways, onto the important stuff. We awoke yesterday morning to a pretty cloudy day. We were a bit apprehensive for what God had planned for us. We unloaded the food vans when they pulled up, and then made about 15 sack lunches for the group that was going to be headed downtown.

We circled up, prayed and then rolled out. One van headed downtown to find homeless people, talk to them and hand out some food, and the other 2 headed to sun splash. By the time we got to Sun Splash, it was raining pretty hard. I know that Erika and I were pretty discouraged, seeing no one out in the beach or even at the park. There were a few homeless guys there, and some members struck up a conversation. Liz went to go make him a sandwich, only to find that Ross & Christine had left the bread back in the hotel. Whoops.

Heather and Danny went across the street to talk to some of the people at the halfway house, but the Mortlands decided we should maybe try out some other sites. We went back to the hotel, picked up the bread, and then went to the mall further down the strip. Seeing that our prospectives weren’t much better, we were about to head to the indoor mall near the speedway when we got a call from Liz saying that people were starting to show up at the park.

We went back to the park, had lunch and began to set up our volleyball net.

From that point on, the day seemed to be more of a “normal” day at Sun Splash park for the people who had gone before, sans the large tent and free food. We had people down on the beach playing volleyball, others walking the beach striking up conversation, and some at the park chatting it up with whoever they saw.

For the veterans of years past, the day was a bit rough. We’re pretty set in our ways, and were used to the way things were last year. Beautiful weather, long lines, and free food. At sun splash, we had none. And we had to really rely on God, especially when we would try to compare our current experience to those last year.

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My story today is a bit on the boring side. I was pretty disappointed when the rain showed up, and even going to the mall felt sort of weird. I was glad when the sun came back and sun splash was repopulated.

There weren’t many people, and I ended up spending most of the afternoon in prayer. I opened up the bible in hopes that God would speak to me like he did last year, and he did. I read fro Isaiah 55, which was a great encouragement to me. Here are some of the highlights:

Verse 5:

Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations that do not know you will hasten to you,
because of the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.”

Verses 8-13:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.

Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the LORD’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
which will not be destroyed.”

And for me, having seen nothing but rain and clouds the entire morning, I was really touched by the 12th verse; “the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees in the field will clap their hands.” It was just a great reminder that God would continue to use us in great ways, whether we felt great or not.

At night, I went on the town with my bed mate, Dan Swartz. I knew he had had a rough day, so I was hoping for a really moving experience. Last year, Justin and I went out to town the first night, and ended up talking to 6 or 7 people, only having to sit at a park bench. They literally walked up to us wanting to talk with us.

This year, it wasn’t quite the same. One our way to the area where most of the clubs were, we stopped to talk to a homeless man. We ended up walking with him to a pizza place, buying him a slice, and just talking to him. He had been in the Navy, and then lived in New York as a construction worker. He then moved to Vegas, and was now in Daytona. He told us he was headed back to Vegas in 12 days, which I’m not sure if I believed. As another member on our team has said, it seems like all homeless people say that they’ve got their life in control and are headed to someplace to do something in the near future. Regardless, he has hungry, and something that we could offer him right there and then was some warm food and a listening ear. I know that it didn’t seem like the ultimate Daytona Beach night experience, but I have a sense of comfort that that is where God wanted us that night.

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Prayer:

- Please pray for our new members who have a sense of fear and apprehension as they begin to witness to people, some for the first time in their lives. Not that the veterans don’t have those feelings, but it seems to be sometimes overwhelming for the newer members

- Please pray for the older members who have the urge to compare this years trip with last years.

- Please pray for the girls on this trip. Daytona has a darkness about it, and no lie, sun splash is dirty old man central. Numerous guys will go there with binoculars, just to chill and enjoy the “scenery.” These are the guys we will be talking to, so just pray for the girls so that they can feel safe and protected.

- Pray for continued warmer weather

- Pray for people to continue to come out to sun splash

I’ll post some stories later.