Under Construction & Overjoyed

by Erin Clegg

After over a year with the inability to take short-term trips, our team, 4 adults and 4 teenagers, was eager to get down to Elkhorn City, KY to invest into the lives of youth in the area. Our team from Gateway partnered with the Freeda Harris Baptist Center to help put together and run a Vacation Bible School for youth in the area. Elkhorn City is a town on the far east side of the state of Kentucky with a small population and beautiful, scenic views. It is also an area that is poverty-stricken and sees much addiction. Oftentimes during summer breaks, children are left at home by themselves, or with older siblings, due to neglect from their parents and many times do not have enough to eat. Seeing this heartbreaking reality, Richard Greene, Director of the Freeda Harris Baptist Center, has been looking for ways to invest into the lives of the children in all of the Pike County area. Richard has a real heart to see the Gospel advance in his community, so this trip was one that he had been looking forward to for months.

During the planning months leading up to the trip, Richard and his team at FHBC had decided on a theme for the VBS titled “Under Construction & Overjoyed,” centered around Ephesians 2:10 which tells us that we are God’s workmanship. Many know that we also always have a theme for our VBS each year at Gateway. We had been trying to decide for weeks whether we should use this year’s VBS material (Keepin’ in Step with the Spirit), or last year’s (Concretes & Cranes), but at the time, we didn’t realize Richard had already created the theme. This was a neat way in which we saw God’s providence at play in our planning phases of the trip. Once Richard told us the theme they had chosen, it obviously made sense then for us to use the material from our “Concretes and Cranes” themed VBS during our time in Elkhorn City. The VBS in Elkhorn City ran from Monday-Thursday from 12:00-3:00pm each day. Each day featured worship songs with singing and dancing, crafts, games, a cookout, a science experiment, and of course, Bible stories. Kids got to learn lessons from God’s Word centered around the theme that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ, to bring God glory in all we do. Our team was able to share the Gospel message each day by sharing God’s Plan for Me: God reigns, we sinned, God provides, Jesus gives, and we respond. Our team from Gateway was really able to connect well with the kids participating during the time they spent with them each day. Smiles and laughter that reflected the joy and excitement flowing from the activities were encouraging for the team to see!

In addition to the VBS for the kids everyday, the team also offered a Bible study for the adults that stuck around. One lady who stuck around for Bible study was named Tammy. Tammy was a grandmother who had taken full guardianship of her 3 grandchildren: 7 months, 3, and 7 years old. Tammy really opened up to the group about what was going on in her life and how she is now raising all 3 kids by herself. Although this situation was hard to hear about, many ladies from our team were able to encourage Tammy, listen to her, invest in her, and pray for her. She was very thankful for all that was offered each day.

Just as we do following our Vacation Bible School, I want to encourage everyone to pray for the kids and adults who were invested in during the mission trip to Elkhorn City. Pray that the Gospel message will sink in to those who heard it and that those individuals will desire to tell others about the Good News of Jesus. As we reflect on the excitement brought from our first mission trip in over a year, we look forward to picking back up with more trips next year! Until then, may we all live our everyday lives proclaiming the Gospel in all that we do.