Matthew 16:24Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 

My Family, the Kentucky Staff, and I are excited to see what the lord has planned for the summer and would like to thank you for your willingness to come along side us and serve the Lord. This summer we will be serving people who are poverty stricken and bringing them a message of hope and grace. The scripture above is what God has laid on my heart for the theme if you will for the trip this summer. 

The summer is coming quickly upon us and I pray that your group meetings are going well. Your Missions 101 book is a great resource but if you have any questions or need help with your meetings please let me know. As you prepare your teams to Follow God…Reach Your World we realize that meeting physical needs is a part of what we will be doing this summer. On the other hand we also believe that God is calling us to minister to the whole person and meet spiritual and emotional needs as well. Prayer is the key that can open the door to these opportunities and "Listening Prayer" gives us the opportunity to ask the questions and then Listen for the answers that will guide us to those doors.

This summer is not only about serving but building relationships. As we grow in our relationship with Christ, we learn about Gods Love for us. As we learn about his love we learn to build relationships with the people we are serving and show them that love. An important part of building that relationship is not only talking to God but also listening for his guidance.

All of the logistics have not been finalized for this summer but here are some of the basics that we do know. God is awesome and has provided all of our lodging for the summer. We already have several different opportunities to serve in the community in places like nursing homes, basketball courts, door to door and, prayer walks. One thing we always keep in mind is to be in constant prayer and be flexible.

From now until the end of summer I will be using the blog site http://harlan.myadventures.org/ to give you weekly updates with more information about your upcoming trip and updates from current trips. If you have questions please check it first and if it does not answer your questions than email me and I will do my best to answer that question.

Your summer leadership teams commitment is to serve Christ first and foremost; and then to serve you as you participate in helping to bring hope to Kentucky. Your team will spend 50% of their time on relational ministry with the local community and 50% on construction projects; however we want to commit to working on things that are of eternal value. The enemy is confronted when we get out of the buildings we sit in every Sunday, and begin to act as the body of Christ in the streets and homes of the needy and hurting.

God Bless You and We will be praying for each and every one of you

Jimmy Hutson

The Hutson Family (courtney, blake, austin, jimmy) see picture above

Your Kentucky Team

Suggested Packing List

Clothes (See Dress Code for guidelines.)

v 3-5 changes of work/paint clothes including work gloves, bandana, hat, sturdy work shoes (boots highly recommended), safety glasses or goggles

v 3-5 changes of ministry clothing, including church clothes Lightweight jacket, Poncho or Rain Jacket

v Knee length shorts for free time

v Underwear and socks

v 1 pair flat dress shoes, comfortable walking shoes, shower shoes (No open-toed shoes for work or ministry.)

Bed

v Pajamas, flashlight, battery operated alarm clock

v Pillow and sleeping bag or set of twin sheets and light blanket

Toiletries

v Soap, shampoo, razor, shaving cream, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, washcloth and towel

v Brush or comb, ponytail holders, small mirror

v Extra glasses, extra contact lenses, cleaning solution, sun glasses

v Unscented moisturizer, nail clippers, nail file, Q tips, bandages, Kleenex

v Sunscreen, sunburn relief, bug spray, bug bite relief

Other

v Bible, student journal, pens

v Backpack, water bottle, camera, film, batteries

v Photo identification

v Extra money for snacks, souvenirs and offering

Phones and MP3 players need to be put away when the trip starts and not brought out until they are on there way home.

North American Locations

FEMALES

Church services Wear skirts or dresses that reach below the bottom of the knee or longer. shirts with sleeves that cover the shoulders. You can wear short sleeves, but they must cover the shoulders and upper arms. No cap sleeves or sleeveless shirts of any kind. Shirts should not have scoop necks or low v-necks.  The community and churches we are serving in dress this way for church services and we do not want to be a stumbling block for the ministries God has for this church so please follow the dress code.

· Institutional ministry / Feeding program / Door To Door ministry. Capri pants, khaki slacks, or shorts that reach to the knee or jeans, and shirts with sleeves that cover the shoulders. You can wear short sleeves, but they must cover the shoulders and upper arms. No cap sleeves or sleeveless shirts of any kind. Shirts should not have scoop necks or low v-necks. Nice shoes or Sneakers.

· VBS ministry Capri pants, or knee length shorts. Khaki slacks or jeans, and shirts with sleeves that cover the shoulders. You can wear short sleeves, but they must cover the shoulders and upper arms. Shirts should not have scoop necks or low v-necks. Nice shoes or Sneakers.

· Construction  Jeans or other full length pants. Work shirt or t-shirt, (no tank tops, cap or sleeveless tops). Shirts should not have scoop necks or low v-necks. Boots, strong shoes or tennis shoes.

· Sports Evangelism Jeans, Capri pants or knee length shorts. Work shirt or t-shirt, (no tank tops, cap or sleeveless tops). Shirts should not have scoop necks or low v-necks. Tennis shoes, or sneakers.

MALES

· Church Services. Nice slacks, nice shirt with a collar, nice shoes or tennis shoes. The community and churches we are serving in dress this way for church services and we do not want to be a stumbling block for the ministries God has for this church so please follow the dress code.

· Institutional Ministry / Door to Door Ministry / VBS Ministry / Feeding Program

Nice pants, jeans or knee length shorts. Nice shirt, nice shoes or tennis shoes

· Construction Jeans or other full length pants must be worn, t-shirt and boots or other solid shoes.   

· Sports Evangelism Knee length shorts, basketball shorts, t-shirt (no tank tops), tennis shoes.

No flashy clothes or jewelry. Do not bring clothes with logos and advertisements. Something simple like Old Navy is ok, but remember what you wear is a physical representation of who you are. Both guys and girls do not bring clothing that is tight, too small, or form-fitting in any way. Do not bring pants that are low-cut. If you can bend over and touch your toes without showing any skin in the back, then your shirt and pants are ok. If you can raise your hands all the way above your head and not show your stomach, then your shirt is ok. No open-toed sandals. All shoes must be close-toed and preferably closed-heel, as well.

As you are going through your mission 101 manuels you can probably see that with AIM everything we do is birthed in prayer. To keep with this model several of the ministries you will be doing will be about prayer.

Prayer walking Getting out in the community and using your physical and spirtual eyes to pray for the people in that community.

Covering Prayer- A group assigned to pray for the day, for the people,and the ministry teams. They will be shown several ways that we can pray. (I.E listening prayer, through the scriptures, outloud)

ATL- Ask the Lord (more about this when you here

As a level 1 trip 50 percent of your trip will be in construction. Construction is used to meet a felt need but also to build relationships.

Types of construction could include painting, building wheelchair ramps, building fences, putting on or taking off a roof, replacing toilets, putting up drywall. These are all examples of what we did last year. Christian is still taking applications and getting the summer organized so we do not know exactly what construction your group will be doing.

What we do know is that God will put us at the right place at the right time.

What do you need to bring for construction?

Long Pants, Closed Toe Shoes, Water Bottle, Hat, Sunscreen, and a Joyfull attitude. These are not optional.

If someone in your group has construction experience please let us know so we can plan accordingly if noone has experience do not worry most of the stuff we do we can teach you. See pictures.

If you want to bring some basic tools you can but Christian usually has everything we will need.

There is a basketball court in Harlan called The Bluecourts. You will see why when you get here. At the courts there is also a sand volleyball court, a tennis court, a playground, a sandbox type of area, and a small walking track.

This area opens itself up for lots of ministry oppurtunities. You can bring sand box toys, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and hulla hoops for the little ones. You can play basketball and volleyball with the young and old. You can bring water bottles and hand out to the walkers. We had a group last year that gave manicures to some of the ladies walking around.

Your group will visit either the Laurels Nursing Home or the Horizon Adult Day Care.

At the Laurels you will see a wide range of people who live there. Some are there becaue of age and some are there because they can not take care of themselves. Most of them love to talk and share their story. You will also have a group of about 7 to 15 that love to do crafts and sing songs. Especially hymns. You will be able to go around and do some Door to Door and Prayer Walking Also.

At the Horizon you have people who live at home but can not stay at home by themselves. They also love to talk and hang out. They love to listen to music and sing too.

A group of ladies brought manicure equipment and gave manicures to the ladies and they loved it.

You should recieve your VBS packet from your Church Mob rep 4 to 6 weeks before your trip. If you do not please let me know.

You will have at least 1 day of VBS but may have more. depending on the number of participants The packet will give you the story and drama you will be giving to the kids.  There are some game and craft ideas also but if you can use your own material if you like.  You can expect from 15 to 30 kids on average for VBS. If your group likes puppets they are usually a hit. The kids love action songs. Use the skills that God has given your kids. 

Read over the whole packet it also gives you a basic timeline and logistics of running the VBS.