Thirteen of us gathered Thursday, July 3, to embark on another mission trip to Jellico, TN. Shortly after arriving, we got an update on the Celebrate Recovery program that began just over a year ago on Thursday nights. That evening we provided a meal for around 50 who attended. Throughout the week, we were all encouraged to see how God is changing lives in Jellico as many are giving up their old addictions to drugs and alcohol and becoming addicted to Christ.

Our teens worked very hard everyday we were there. We began our mornings around 6:30 with Bible study, prayer and journaling. Followed by a tasty breakfast prepared by Chari and Connie. Rod Price led our building crew as they built shower stalls for groups like us to use in the future, others of us painted rooms that will be used for small group sessions as Celebrate Recovery continues to grow. Andrea and Mariani learned how to install baseboards and did a fine job of it, I might add. Saturday night was a special gift from God as He sent us Unbound from Oklahoma Christian. Unbound is a Christian drama team that has performed at WinterFest the last 4 years. We had a cookout for the community in which more than
70 attended.

Trips like this strengthen our faith, build new friendships, and always provide lasting memories. My
prayer is that we will forever be changed more into Christ’s likeness after such.

-Will Tucker