Sunday, December 30, 2018

Sunday: Worship at The Garden and Downtown Atlanta



This morning we had the privilege to worship here at the Garden. This is a treat to be able to worship with the people in this ministry. True, unashamed, beautiful worship to our God. Each year it is always interesting to hear everyone's thoughts and perspectives as we discuss the worship service. Services here are certainly different than what we are used to back at home, but still so good.  I think it is so great for our kids to experience different types of worship and begin to discern what is important to look for and listen for in a service.

After the worship service, which was nearly 2 1/2 hours, we headed downstairs for lunch. We were blessed with a delicious meal of fried chicken, collard greens, broccoli and rolls. Our group was split up amongst the different tables eating and enjoying fellowship. It's like a big family and we feel very welcomed.

We finished lunch around 1:45 and then headed upstairs to put all our stuff back in the sanctuary and then have a little downtime. We spent the afternoon/night exploring the Coca-Cola museum and eating downtown at The Varsity and then we came back for some hangout time with the kids, some devotion time and some game time.

Right now its about midnight and we are heading to bed so we can be ready for another day of serving tomorrow:)

Thank you for your prayers!

~ Kim Hendrikse

It's Sunday! Today was an amazing day that started off with a church service. We had church here at the Garden that started with a call to worship that was pumped and full of energy. The worship was like nothing else! Everyone danced with energy and every song, lyrics were followed by women shouting "amen, hallelujah!" The thing that stood out the most to me was the shameless worship, and the fact that the people at the Garden didn't care about what people thought about them and their worship between them and God. So that was our church service. What a wonderful day it was, and I can't wait for tomorrow! 

~ Ashlynn brown

I feel today went by super fast because it was so much fun. Today was like our “day off” from the route. We went to “The World of Coca-Cola” (The Coca-Cola museum). First we got pictures by the big Coke Christmas ornaments outside then we got tickets that allowed us to skip all the thousands of people in line (thanks to Mrs. Hendrikse) and got into the crowded building. We went through several interesting exhibits, but I think everyone’s favorite was either the short 4-D film, or the tasting room of the museum. This room was where there were different soda machines with all different flavors from around the world. Some of my personal favorites were the Bibo pineapple soda from Japan, and the Joy soda from Korea. Lastly we all went to the huge Coca-Cola gift shop and experienced how many items had the same logo on it. All in all it was a pretty awesome time.

~ Adriana Frank

Some game time last night

Group shot before church this morning
Ellie and Haley ready for worship


Pastor 7 before church


Charles using the example of repurposed wood as a picture of 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

We had to take all of our bedding and gear out of the sanctuary this morning before worship. Here we are pictured bringing it all back again.



Just arrived downtown Atlanta






















After exploring the Coke Museum we headed over to the Varsity for supper.








Back in time for a little hang out time with some of the kids:)




Tuesday: Bridge Route and Bluff

On the last day I think everyone was more aquatinted with the rejection of prayer but even though some people didn't want it they were ...