The Son & the Sand Newsletter – March ‘03
MARCH GLADNESS and a bit of MADNESS
9 mission teams from 2 college campuses, 2 Arkansas churches, 1 Mississippi church, and 4 Baldwin County Churches – Sometimes working with so many volunteers can make your head spin. The excitement of March and Spring Break gave us a lot for which to be thankful. We worked with a lot of wonderful people to share the love of Christ. Our projects included: ministering to Snowbirds through a “random acts of kindness day” at Gulf State Park Campground, work on the mission house at Orange Beach, concerts, beach evangelism, and believe it or not – ten backyard Bible clubs at 10 different locations during the busiest Spring Break week. The ten sites broke a record for Gulf Area Resort Ministries. We are glad (March gladness) to be able to serve in 10 different areas simultaneously. We pray for more avenues to open up for student mission teams to share the message of God’s love to children and parents. Getting around to all of the sites put a lot of miles on my car and it was often difficult to keep up with who was where (March madness):)!. God gave us much to be thankful for this month. Pray for us as we see our Snowbird family off, and begin to gear up for another amazing summer of missions & many ministry opportunities.
Volunteers, Volunteers, & More Volunteers
The Snowbird season is nearly over. This month, we have continued to minister through resort worship services, campground chaplaincy, Bible study, and other creative Snowbird outreach events such as karaoke and a Dauphin Island biking adventure. We will miss our Snowbird friends, and are already looking forward to fellowship with them next season.
With an emphasis on North American Missions, the Week of Prayer, and Annie Armstrong, this month I was able to share at several churches about our work on the Gulf Coast . Through Spring Break missions partnerships, I encouraged spring breakers on mission to be involved in missions beyond their one week experience here. We partnered with 9 teams over a period of three weeks to share the gospel through backyard Bible clubs a.k.a sand and son clubs, beach evangelism, drama, music, puppets, and various other work projects. This month was filled with excitement and joy.
During Spring Break we partnered with the following groups: Dane Ables & students from Central Baptist Church Pine Bluff, AR – Virginia Alexander & Baptist Campus Ministries’ collegiate student teams from Calhoun Community College and Athens State University – Jeff Ivey & students from Greenwood Baptist Church Greenwood AR, a Mississippi Spring Break student mission team, and a Baldwin County student mission team made up of students and youth leaders from Fish River Baptist, FBC Bay Minette, Perdido Baptist, and FBC Silverhill (special thanks to Cindy, Sonya, Jennifer, Ben, and Bro. J for all of their hard work and encouragement)
April’s Just Ahead
- Snowbird season will officially come to an end in April
- Resort worship services continue at several of the campgrounds
- We continue to “spread the word in 2003″ involving more and more volunteers in efforts to share the message of Christ
- Seminary classes continue in New Orleans
(a big answer to prayer – a Pensacola extension center will be opening in the Fall, no more long drives to Louisiana)
- Georgia Spring Break April 7-11
- Mobile County Spring Break April 14-18
- We will continue to gear up for summer 2003
- On Mission Celebration in Rome , GA – April 26-30
March Highlights
The ministry of 140 volunteers enabled us to make an impact on the Gulf Coast during three consecutive weeks of Spring Break. We reached out to hundreds of resort visitors, planted many seeds of the gospel in the lives of those we came in contact with at beaches, hotels, and campgrounds, and we were excited to see some make a first time decision to follow Christ. We continue to pray for the summer of 2003. Our summer missions staff is still in development. We have the names of five of the six summer missionaries that will be serving alongside us this summer. Pray for Abbey, Ashley, Amy, Tiffany, and Lacey as the prepare to spend a summer with Thea, Jeff, and the hundreds of week-long volunteers that we will be working with.
Motivations for March
I haven’t spent the time I have needed to in the area of exercise. I pray that the next couple of months (our time between Snowbird season and summer) will allow me more time to get fit. Continued prayer time, seminary classes, devotionals with Thea and personal Bible study are what keep things going strong. Pray for us as we continue to seek out God’s will for our marriage and lives.
It would be impossible to look back on the month of March without remembering the war that is impacting our world. We are strengthened by the awesome knowledge that we do indeed serve a mighty God, and that no matter what events might surround us He is completely sufficient. Please continue to pray daily for the men and women who are involved in this conflict and for their loved ones. Pray for wisdom and strength for all governmental leaders.
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
One Last Thing
Thank you so much for your prayers. We would like to know how we can pray you too.
We love you. Let us know if we can ever do anything for you.
Peace in Christ,
Jeff and Thea Ford
