Three weeks in and I’m really seeing God’s work. We spent the first ten days rehearsing at the College For Officer’s Training. The first day we arrived there, we immediately got to work. We had to prepare for our show that we will be performing at various locations around the territory, along with our Partners in Mission Tribute that we performed at Congress in Merrillville, Indiana. We also had the chance to really get to know each other before having to go out on the field.
The last week was spent in Lawrence, Kansas. We had the privilege of helping to lead VBS there. The theme was “Gangway to Galilee: Amazing Grace Adventures.” The kids were taught about five different accounts of Jesus and the disciples on the Sea of Galilee. He taught them to obey, trust in Him, and keep focus on Him. The kids definitely loved having us there. A couple of them got pretty attached, and were sad to see us go. There was even a boy named Dominic who walked around with Greg saying that he had his very own Greg. It was the cutest thing. There was also a girl named Kori, who got very attached to me, but I didn’t get to say goodbye because she wasn’t there on the last day.
On Wednesday we helped with their feeding program called “Loaves and Fishes.” We served many people a meal that consisted of some tasty chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans. The cooks did a fantastic job, and I can tell that they really get joy out of what they do. I had an interesting conversation about my home state of Michigan with one of the people we served. All the people were so welcoming and grateful. We loved having the chance to serve God’s people. We helped with clean-up that day, and on Friday. It was definitely a humbling experience.
We performed our show on the last day. It is an Old and New Testament Rewind, which we put together and just called “Bible Rewind.” The kids and their parents came to see it, along with a few church members. After the show, Lt. Matt McCluer had an altar call, and a couple accepted Jesus that day. Also, all the kids either accepted Jesus, or said that they already had. It was amazing to see God’s work in the people there. They were so welcoming and loving. That was a corps that we will for sure keep in my heart and my prayers. We are now on our way to our first of five divisional music camps to perform our show. I’ll let you know how all of that goes next week!
-With love from Kansas,
Kayla and the CAST team <3