Registration Open for 2010 World Changers: Bonne Terre July 19-24
You might think August 1 is a little bit early for registration for World Changers projects, since many participants have still not recovered from their lack of sleep or their hard work. But that is the date that registration opens, and we know that many churches plan ahead. We want you to keep these dates and location in mind:
Bonne Terre, MO All Youth Project July 19-24, 2010
The Bonne Terre project actually covers St. Francois County, and a little bit into the surrounding counties. This past year, we had work sites in Bonne Terre, Desloge, Park Hills, Bismarck, Leadwood, Farmington, Potosi and Irondale. Most sites were within 5-10 minutes drive of the lodging facility, and a few were as far as 15-20 minutes. The project registration reached capacity this year, so if you plan to come, register early!
We work with the East Missouri Action Agency, a community service organization that helps qualify the homeowners and provides part of the funding for the building materials. Several other sources, including churches, businesses and individual contributors, are also involved. The project will be in its third year, and has accumulated a waiting list of needs. The variance in homeowner qualifications and needs in this area means that some of the crews will work at the same site for the week, while others will work for more than one homeowner. Last year, because of need, we also had two worksites requiring two crews, one putting on a roof while the other scraped and painted. It required some delicate balancing, to keep the roofing on one side of the house, while the painters worked on another.
There are a lot of reasons why you should consider bringing your group to Bonne Terre in 2010. We are centrally located in the country, within a days drive of Chicago, Memphis, Nashville, Birmingham, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Wichita, Kansas City, St. Louis, Des Moines, Indianapolis, Detroit and Columbus, and anything inside that circle. Groups which have come from the bordering states, or from inside Missouri have commented on how great it was to have a short ride back home on Saturday after the project. The area is rural, but the cluster of communities that make up the “Mineral Area” has a collective population of about 50,000. The people are great, the project has received a warm welcome. There is a great need for the gospel to be preached in the area, though there are many small churches, there are many, many people living here who do not know Christ as their savior.
We’ve enjoyed excellent lodging facilities during our stays in the area. Though there is no longer a Wednesday afternoon off, there are many places nearby that your youth group can enjoy either prior to, or following, the project.
Email lsaunders@gobc.org for more information, or use the comment section on this blog. You can register for World Changers today at http://world-changers.net under the “leaders” tab. Remember, Bonne Terre, All Youth, July 19-24, 2010!
For project pictures from 2008 and 2009, visit http://wcbonneterre.com.
