My name is David Goodwin and I’m a junior at the University Central Arkansas and part of the Wesley Foundation at UCA.  When I saw that a college trip was going to be in Joplin this year, I knew I had to go. I previously went to New Orleans 2 years ago and knew something was going to be different about this trip. I remember the devastation I saw in the news in late May of 2011. When all 35 of us from 4 different Wesley Foundations drove into Joplin that Monday night,  my heart melted. My only thought that came up when I saw the destruction of a town of 50,000 was “Wow.” There was not anything I could say but “Wow.”

Our theme of the week to think about was rebuilding the church in a town that has had some hardships and how we can grow ourselves in dark/terrible times. I worked a wide scale of projects that week such as deconstructing a house, replacing a water line for a family who was not affected by the storm, putting a sub floor at Saint Paul United Methodist Church in Joplin and meeting the lady who owned the house we were tearing down. She was an amazing woman who had a warm heart and a bright spirit. She made my week by continuing what I do and that’s spreading the light to those who maybe have not seen the light. We had daily worship every night in the sanctuary at church we were staying at. On Saturday morning for our last worship, we sang the song Beautiful Things by Gungor. This song described what we were doing in Joplin that week. We were making new things better for the town of Joplin. As the song lyric goes “You make beautiful things,You make beautiful things out of dust.You make beautiful things,You make beautiful things out of us.” I truly believe we made new things for people and God makes us new every day.

I close with my personal quote, “doing the smallest things can make the biggest difference in someone’s life.”

Blessings,
David Goodwin

My name is Mary Dunlap, and I am the new Spring/Summer Intern for OMP!  I am so excited about this opportunity to share my love for OMP while working for some of the most grateful and humble people on this Earth.  God is so good!  Since many of you do not know me, here’s a short bio so you know who’s doing all the talking (since I’m really good at that).

• I’m a sophomore at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
• I’m majoring in Public Relations with a minor in history, hoping to one day work for a museum.
• I was a camper for five summers, and went on to be college staff in 2011 (what an adventure!)
• One of my favorite places to be is the lake.
• I love to craft!

I hope you all know me a little better, and I look forward to seeing all of you in the 2012 camp season!  It’s going to be a GREAT summer, with many new camps and a shiny new tool trailer!

If you have any questions about OMP, please don’t hesitate to call, text, or e-mail me.  I’m happy to talk to you about anything!

Many Blessings,

Mary Dunlap

“No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed.  Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light” –Luke 8:16

Ozark Mission Project is extending its 2012 College Staff application deadline to

DECEMBER 16, 2011

2012 College Staff Application

If you have scanning capabilities, you may email your application packet to Nancy Mulhearn at the contact information below.  Otherwise, please mail ASAP.

Applicants will be contacted by Nancy.

Thank you for your consideration of OMP and of being a part of a great ministry!

Every camp has a special moment. It may come as a camper gives us insight through his neighbor experience in sharing. I’ve seen it in the eyes and smiles of campers participating in a well planned game. I’ve seen it many times in worship. For the Lakewood camp, it camp Friday night. We did about 20 projects in an area called Dark Hollow in NLR very near my home church and camp, Lakewood UMC.

We had planned to do our Neighbor Night in Dark Hollow with just a cookout to wrap up the week. However, as we got to know the people in the community throughout the week, we built a special relationship with them. Several high school aged youth from King Solomon Baptist Church and several community leaders worked alongside our family groups to scrape, paint, hammer, and do yard work. So, we decided to try sharing and communion at King Solomon Baptist Church for our end-of-camp celebration.

Here is a Facebook post from Rev. Cindy Russell just before the big event:
“Off to King Solomon Baptist Church in Dark Hollow for a cookout and worship service with our OMP camp. Going to share Holy Communion with young and old, black and white, men and women, Baptists and Methodists. Am thinking this is the way God intended the meal to be…everyone at the table.”

I’m still processing what happened that evening. I know it was the most overt and diverse outpouring of love I have everexperienced. For starters, picture our neighbors of the week describing their experience with the OMP campers during sharing. Also, picture a black Baptist minister sharing communion with a white female Methodist minister! Imagine black and white youth embracing during the act of community and individual prayer.

I know a transformation occurred during that week. It culminated in a fellowship event that deserves words to honor what happen. I haven’t found them yet. However, I do know that OMP is widening our sphere of influence. We have always been about transforming lives (neighbors and campers). This week we were on the ground floor of transforming a whole community.

What we do is important and it honors God. It has never been so clear to me.

In His service,

Hank Godwin

Summer 2010

I was privileged enough to be able to work and serve the Lord through Ozark Mission Project during June and July. OMP is an organization that brings together youth and adults to work in the heat for the less fortunate or disabled for free. The most puzzling part?  The youth and adults pay or raise funds to come to camp.  They split up into groups of 5 once at camp, four youth and one adult, and go out into the community to build wheelchair ramps, porches, steps, do yard work, paint inside and out, or do whatever is needed.  A lot of people ask me why I would give up my summer to work for kids, the elderly, and in the heat.

Let me tell you why.

This is Mrs. Battle.  I met her in Texarkana, TX, and one of my groups built her a porch, and I put up some new siding where hers had rotted out.  But that’s not why God allowed me to meet her.  She told me a story of redemption, tears, and love.  About how she found the Lord through her children, the light of her life.  And that’s when I realized that God was shining through this woman into my own heart.  I couldn’t ignore the Holy Spirit on that porch, and in Mrs. Battle’s life.  I will never forget her, or the way she blessed me.

This is the second reason.  The campers.  Every day I was so humbled by the way these kids worked with each other and for the Lord.  I was a camper for five summers, and being able to step outside the camper “bubble” as a staff member was an incredibly rewarding experience.  They glorified God in everything they did.  They kept me going every day with their energy, love for Ozark Mission Project, and each other.  The fire that burned inside of them was so evident and glowing that it overflowed into each and every community that they stepped into.

The theme for this summer was “Sustained”.  The campers focused on how God sustained them mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially.  I was sustained in all these ways and more.  This summer, God allowed my groups to help 36 families in different communities all around Arkansas.  I couldn’t have asked for a better summer, and I won’t hesitate to do it again.

God is SO good.  To all the campers, adults, staff, and cooks, I know that God is proud and so is Alan Bruner.  Continue to serve the Lord in everything you do!

Mary Dunlap

Painting a house is one act I never thought would be a moving experience. I was wrong. The summer of 1996 I chose to attuned Ozark Mission Project or OMP with my youth group form Conway First United Methodist Church. We traveled to a camp close to Lewisville, Arkansas.  This is also where I first heard of Stamps, Arkansas……we will come back to that bit of information in a little while. It was a hot, long, tiring drive from our town in Central Arkansas. We arrived and settled into our bunks just as we had done the year prior.

We were assigned to our crews which were compiled of member of other churches around Arkansas. We were sent to paint the inside and outside of a home of an elderly woman. She lived in dirt road in the middle of nowhere. I really thought we might never find our way home. We began our like every other at OMP. We loaded our lunches, said our daily prayers, and set off for our journey. We arrived at the home which was in need of more work than our small crew of 7 or so could do in a month. We had been instructed to paint the inside and outside of the home. Sounds easy right? We were mistaken. We fought bees, insects that I had never even heard of, and snakes. Did I tell you that I am terrified of snakes? We worked for a day and were exhausted. I dreaded going back to the white frame house on the dirt road in this Southern Arkansas town. I would soon change my attitude.

Our second day on the job we really got to know the lady we had been helping. She was a recent widow who had taken care of ailing husband for a number of years. She had two children, but they had moved on to bigger and better endeavors as she put it. Her children rarely came to visit her and she was very lonely. She was struggling to make ends meet. She just wanted someone to talk to.  She came to think of us as friends and we became close to her. We were at her house from sun up to sun down. She was very kind and wanted to know all about our lives…..all of us. The last day we were there we saw her get into a change jar and start counting out quarters. We did not think a thing about it. She had an old car that would barely start and told us that she would return shortly. About thirty minutes later she returned with catfish, hushpuppies, and drinks. Shock and amazement are two words that I would use to describe what we all felt when she returned. She wanted to thank us for our hard work. We did not expect this at all. Our group sat down at her small kitchen table and held hand to say the blessing when she asked if she could say it for us on that day. She thanked the Lord for what he had given her and bringing us into our lives. She thanked the Lord for those who were willing to give unconditionally. This showed me that the little gifts in life often mean the most.

By Joslin Ashley

Over the course of 8 weeks I was on college staff with Ozark Mission Project this past summer. For those of you who have been to OMP before but not as staff, there is probably some sort of mystery which surrounds the people who have the title “College Staff”. Who are these people called college staff and from which planet do they come? If you have been on college staff before, when you run into another college staff member, you probably remember all the unique things you experienced.  One story I’ll never forget is riding down the road in a Ford Escape 35 mph and holding onto a rope which was holding down a piece of shower board and shut in the driver door to keep it tight. The board was trying to either fly off and hit the car behind me or turn my car into a hang glider. I decide to pull over when it began to flap up and down on my rear window. For those of you who have never been to OMP this job is not only surrounded by mystery but OMP is a mystery as well. Well, to be honest, I think OMP is a mystery to everyone involved, everyday bringing something new. Some of the many hats I wore this summer were: prophet, shepherd, priest, instructor, friend, salesman, social worker and game-master and to the coolest high schoolers, coolest college students and coolest adults on the face of this planet.

As the summer moved along I learned more and more about poverty in Arkansas. The flow of the summer changed the mission for me, as I realized that everything we did could be easily completed by the government and hired contractors. The government can do amazing things and does a lot of the time. In the end, the mission is not to build a wheel chair ramp. It’s not to paint a house. It’s not to provide a hot meal and a ride for a recently released prisoner who has no legs. It’s not even to improve quality of the living environment for the neighbor. The government can do all of these things when it has resources. The mission of Ozark Mission Project, which the government never can fulfill, is to be the broken body of Jesus hanging naked on a cross for the communities we serve. This is rooted in the ancient mission of the Church, and that is to bring Holy Communion to the communities surrounding her. The government can mend and restore, but when the church mends and restores she restores identity and shows people their sacred worth.

I could see it the eyes of a neighbor after I departed from her house for the last time. When I first met her, I could only sense bitterness that we could not do more for her. Who knows how many times she had been on a help list at the local Department of Community Development? When I was with the group who completed that project I could see the life come back into her as they built relationships with her and listened to her story. When I did final inspections on our work there, she looked at me just before I left. Those eyes, which have seen more than I can imagine looked at me as she said, “Thank You.” The word Eucharist is commonly used synonymously with Holy Communion or the Celebration of the Lord’s Supper. It comes from the Greek word eukharistia, which means thanksgiving or gratitude. The neighbor’s response to our Eucharistic mission was to say, “thank you.” The very same words, which are uttered to Jesus when we receive the bread and wine. The meal was, is and always will be the mission and it never halts for the end of our OMP camps but continues to be broken and poured out all across Arkansas and the world. Thanks be to God.

Peace,

Alex

RSVP Today!!! Just click on the 25th Anniversary tab above!

25th Anniversary Memorabilia: Monday, October 3rd

Scholarship Dinner:  Saturday, October 15th

25th Anniversary Hands On Mission: Friday, October 21st

25th Anniversary Event: Friday, October 21st

While you are RSVPing, don’t forget to buy a tool for OMP’s new trailer in honor or memory of a loved one, Sunday School class or youth group!  Check out the “Needed Items” under the Give – Donate tab!

I love OMP.

When I see a stranger wearing an OMP shirt or with an OMP bumper sticker it excites me because I know that that person has gotten to experience some of what I’ve experienced through OMP over the years.

I love it even more when I have on one of my OMP t-shirts or am using my OMP water botttle and someone asks me about OMP.  I love being able to tell people what OMP is and what it means to me.

Ozark Mission Project is where I learned to love helping others, where I learned the true importance of having a relationship with my God, and where I learned that my words and actions can either glorify God or degrade God.  I didn’t learn all of these things that first camp, but who knows where I would be if I had never gotten the oportunity to go to Cold Springs as a camper way back in 1994.

I am so happy that OMP is still a part of my life all these years later.  I never dreamed at that first camp that Ozark Mission Project would become such a big part of my life: and that God would use me as part of the committees that help make OMP happen each summer.

I am feeling nastalgic this morning…I woke up thinking about the upcoming 25th Anniversary celebration in October and what my responsibilities are for that, but also how exciting it was going to be to have so many people who have been a part of OMP together at one time and how many people have experienced God’s love and God’s goodness in these 25 years.

I have been trying to figure out exactly what makes OMP so attractive to me and why I have come back year after year.  The friends I have made are wonderful.  Helping the neighbors makes me feel awesome.  The worship is some of the best I’ve ever experienced.  But I think for me the best part about OMP is the inherent opportunity we have as campers, staff, and volunteers to witness to others and share God’s love without hesitation.

I’m excited just thinking about it!

Teresa Balloun

Painting a house is one act I never thought would be a moving experience. I was wrong. The summer of 1996 I chose to attend Ozark Mission Project, or OMP, with my youth group from Conway First United Methodist Church. We traveled to a camp close to Lewisville, Arkansas.  This is also where I first heard of Stamps, Arkansas……we will come back to that bit of information in a little while. It was a hot, long, tiring drive from our town in Central Arkansas. We arrived and settled into our bunks just as we had done the year prior.

We were assigned to our crews which were compiled of member of other churches around Arkansas. We were sent to paint the inside and outside of a home of an elderly woman. She lived on dirt road in the middle of nowhere. I really thought we might never find our way home. We began our day like every other at OMP. We loaded our lunches, said our daily prayers, and set off for our journey. We arrived at the home, which was in need of more work than our small crew of 7 or so could do in a month. We had been instructed to paint the inside and outside of the home. Sounds easy right? We were mistaken. We fought bees, insects that I had never even heard of, and snakes. Did I tell you that I am terrified of snakes? We worked for a day and were exhausted. I dreaded going back to the white frame house on the dirt road in this Southern Arkansas town. I would soon change my attitude.

Our second day on the job we really got to know the lady we had been helping. She was a recent widow who had taken care of ailing husband for a number of years. She had two children, but they had moved on to bigger and better endeavors, as she put it. Her children rarely came to visit her and she was very lonely. She was struggling to make ends meet. She just wanted someone to talk to.  She came to think of us as friends and we became close to her. We were at her house from sun up to sun down. She was very kind and wanted to know all about our lives…..all of us. The last day we were there we saw her get into a change jar and start counting out quarters. We did not think a thing about it. She had an old car that would barely start and told us that she would return shortly. About thirty minutes later, she returned with catfish, hush puppies, and drinks. Shock and amazement are two words that I would use to describe what we all felt when she returned. She wanted to thank us for our hard work. We did not expect this at all. Our group sat down at her small kitchen table and held hands to say the blessing when she asked if she could say it for us on that day.  She thanked the Lord for what he had given her and bringing us into our lives. She thanked the Lord for those who were willing to give unconditionally. This showed me that the little gifts in life often mean the most.

Joslin Ashley