Orlando- Day 4

It was a work project kind of day today.  We were at the Orlando Union Rescue Mission all day.  The group was split up into several smaller groups to do a multitude of projects.

Here were some of the projects:

Sanding small picnic tables covered in paint

Prepping lunch for the little kids

Playing with the kids

Even Addisyn got to participate today and play with some kids her age.

Some of the boys prepped & served food at the Men's Shelter

Encouraging notes were also written

The girls assisted in organizing the thrift store.

There were also groups sorting toiletries & hanging out with older kids.

Following the morning work projects, we got to take a tour of their main campus.

After that, it was a continuation of work projects & dinner. Followed by set-up for our concert.

Right before the concert, all the kids were praying.  I snapped this photo of Addisyn praying with the kids.  They all have a huge influence on her & it blesses my heart to see this.

Up tomorrow:  Our last 2 concerts, a yummy lunch at Fogo & some fun at Fun Spot.

Orlando- Day 3

It's Salvation Army Day!  Ministry at the Salvation Army has always been a big deal to our students.  It is usually one of their all time favorite days.  Each one we visit has or does something different than any other one we have been to.  This year we got a pretty awesome tour of the complex.  This particular Salvation Army had a low income housing building for senior citizens.  The students worked hard cleaning up the campus for easter services.  We were fed a spaghetti lunch before our concert.  The kids put forth all their energy into the concert for a group of senior citizens, as well as a few teens that came to watch.

Immediately following the concert, we loaded up to pass out flyers for Hospitality Church.  Hospitality Church is a new church that currently has less people attending than we brought on tour.  They were so appreciative of the extra help.

Our last concert of the day was at Fun Spot Amusement Park.  The kids drew quite the crowd by starting with their stomp routine.  They loved having the opportunity to sing in an amusement park.  We are looking forward to another concert there on Thursday.

We ended the day with a quick trip to Disney Springs (formerly known as Downtown Disney) so the kids could shop or get a snack.

Tomorrow we are spending the day at the Orlando Union Rescue Mission.

Orlando- Day 2

We all got a little extra sleep today since our schedule started mid-morning.  After a late day traveling  & an early morning yesterday, it was much needed.  We loaded up and headed to our first ministry location of the day- Lake Eola.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day to have a concert in the park.  Not only did it draw many people to come and watch, but the concert could also be heard on the other side of the lake. I can't even guess how many people heard their presentation of the gospel today.

After a quick bagged lunch in the park, we headed down to St. James Cathedral to do a little a cappella singing.  It was a beautiful cathedral.  The kids sounded awesome.  Check out our instagram @resolvedstudentmusic to here a snippet of the entire choir singing.

Our final ministry of the day was Jesus Loves You, Love Him Back Ministry.  They provide meals to the homeless.  We set up in a parking lot to do the concert.  While the kids were singing, the sponsors got to jump in and pass out meals to each of the people watching.  

It was a fantastic day of ministry.  We look forward to serving tomorrow at the Salvation Army & at Fun Spot Amusement Park.

Orlando- Day 1

We had a fantastic first day in Orlando!  We started the day off super early at Aloma Church.  (For those that may not know, this is one of the churches that Desiree went to when she lived in Orlando.)  The kids led worship in 2 services & did a wonderful job as usual.  They sang 2 songs with the congregation then shared one of their concert songs as a special.

Aloma was gracious and provided a pizza lunch for our group as well as some of their youth.  After that, we headed over to downtown Winter Park for their art festival.  It was a neat opportunity to see some really awesome pieces of art & shop in some of the little boutique stores. Dinner was at Buca di Beppo.  We dined family style on chicken parmesan, spaghetti & fettucine alfredo.  There were brownies for dessert. No one was complaining about that.  :)

 Our first full concert of the trip was at the Orlando Union Rescue Mission.  We had an unusually quick turnaround time.  They were able to get the tech set up & have a sound check in about 20 minutes.  Although exhausted from such an early morning, the Lord definitely gave the kids a supernatural amount of energy.  They did a wonderful job.

We are looking forward to a great day tomorrow with a concert at a park, singing in a cathedral & working with a homeless ministry.  If you'd like to see photos as we go throughout the day, check us out on Instagram @resolvedstudentchoir

Getting Ready to Go!

What is getting ready for choir tour like?
      Well, there is a lot of rehearsing, organizing, mathematics, shopping, more organizing & packing!

The students spend approximately 19 hours in choir rehearsal together.  In addition to that, the ensemble practices 19 hours before their weekly choir rehearsal, drama team spends approximately 19 hours & stomp approximately 9 hours rehearsing.  Our band also rehearses the last few weeks before tour.  Oh and by the way, those counts are not even including the time these students & sponsors spend rehearsing at home.

This year we will be taking 65 students, 21 sponsors & 1 toddler on the trip.  Most of these sponsors have also been in the rehearsals with the kids each week.  Those that haven't been in weekly rehearsals have given their time to help get ready in other aspects of the tour.  Our sponsors also pay their own way to go on this trip.  They are all excited to spend this week really pouring into the lives of these students.

In order to feed this large group of students this year, we had to take several shopping trips.  Here's what it is going to take to feed this hungry bunch:

627 Slices of Meat
209 Slices of Cheese
120 Packets of PB & J
650 Slices of bread
258 Bags of Chips
258 pieces of fruit
258 packages of cookies
774 snacks

Opening Thoughts 2016

This year we are focusing on the grace of God. It is a theme that can resonate with everyone, because we all need the grace of God in our lives. Grace is something that has been absent from our culture, in the way we treat each other and the way we understand who God is. Many of the people we will minister to need to hear about the grace our Savior offers. Easter week is a great time to share the love and grace of Jesus with those we meet!

We will be spending lots of time on the trip meeting people’s physical needs through donating our time, energy, and resources, but the ultimate expression of service is to give them the Gospel. Being obedient to Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we use the gifts that have been given to us as we sing and speak the name of Jesus. 

The ministry we engage in will be diverse and is intended to give students a brief glimpse of different kinds of ministry. Concert venues include churches, homeless shelters, public parks, tourist attractions, and community areas. 

Our students will be exposed to the realities of a fallen world: people that have been neglected, who are hungry, and who have no one that loves and cares for them on this earth. It will be difficult. It won’t always be pretty, but that’s reality. The experiences that students often have on these kinds of mission trips can impact them for a lifetime. It can break down the walls of selfishness and expose the compassion that Christ-followers should display. 

The adult sponsors accompanying the students on this mission are all gifted, trusted individuals who have a heart for students and evangelism. They each pay financially for this trip and sacrifice throughout the year as servant leaders. All of the adults have gone through a three-step background check as well. Please be in prayer for them as they teach and exhibit the attributes of Christ during our time on the trip. 

In closing, please know that I will do my best to provide the leadership you expect on this mission trip. It’s hard to believe, but this is my 22nd student choir mission trip at WBC. In the past eleven years, I have learned that there are always unpredictable situations and difficult decisions that have to be made. Please pray that I will have divine wisdom in making those decisions. I am excited to be ministering with your student(s) on this mission trip!

Love,

Dr. Matthew D. Sloma

Chicago: Day 3

The weather in Chicago was cold and snow was still on the ground this morning, therefore we couldn't do our outside concert.  So, we made some changes to the schedule and started the morning off with a communion worship service.  It was a powerful time of sharing communion with our family groups.  

It was awesome to share communion and explain what each part of communion with each other.  It was neat to see the students serve each other too.

After that, we headed to Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) to pack food for children in other countries.  Due to the weather, we were able to do a 4 hour session and help them catch up on the deficit that they had due to the snow.  

 Vitamins, Veggies, Soy and Rice make up the meal packs that are sent to the children in other countries.

 When we were finished, we went into the Warehouse to pray over the pallets we packed.  We also sang for the employees at FMSC.

Team Burkina Faso beat FMSC's current table record with 61 meals packed in a 2 hour session.

Our final totals for our 4 hour session.

We had a great day of ministering! 

 Wednesday we are at the Salvation Army doing work projects and a concert.