Here are some pictures from the trip:

Eunice’s is a simple woman that has inspired all of our hearts to sacrifice more and live a life of true love and service!  Listen to her story below.

For more videos click here:  http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=nextlevelmike+kenya&search_type=&aq=f

Many of you have already heard that NLC is partnering with the Housing Authority of Fort Myers to provide a brand new playground to children in the Sabal Palms Community of Fort Myers. The city was given a grant for the actual playground equipment and we have committed the volunteers for the demolition of the old one, and the building of the new.

This Saturday a group from NLC, as well as employees from Village Land Clearing and Fill, met to watch the old playground come down. We showed up with tools and the expectation to work all day long disassembling this playground, but to our surprise it was DONE in just under two hours.  We didn’t have to use one tool, we just stood by and watched, then picked up some small garbage at the end.  Village Land and Fill was a HUGE blessing!  They donated their time and equipment to lighten our load, and help out this community.

I am so grateful for Tim Herrmann who was able to over-see the project.  Buckey, thanks for getting Village to donate their time, and Mike and Josh, you did a fabulous job organizing as well!! 

April 16th is the official NEW Playground Build Day.  WE NEED YOU to get involved and help to make this possible.  Send us an e-mail at Next Level for more info!  It is an honor to serve our community with all of you!  

Are you interested in reaching out in your community to share the love of God with those that are outside of the church??  If so, we would love to help you with fresh ideas or or assisting in starting Community Service Connection Groups in your community as well!  E-mail me or call Next Level Church!

I am so blessed to be a part of starting these groups here at Next Level.  People that have never gotten involved in their communities are responding simply because we’re providing opportunities to love.

I am even more excited to know that what God is starting here, is simply the “trial ground” for training leaders in Latin America the same concepts, and equipping them to have a Movement of Love in their city!  God is changing lives!!  It’s great that it looks different than what we might have thought.

Check out this short video I recorded for Matt’s blog (pastor of NLC).  It will give you a glimpse of what I’ve been up to.

Also, if you’re interested in kicking off  ”Service Connection Groups” in your church, it’s MUCH easier than you think, and I would LOVE to spend some time with you to get it going!

Here’s a link to the message Matt and I preached on a Sunday @ NLC.  Check it out!  Thank you!!!!  On your iTunes store search:  Next Level Church, then click on Act Now: Part 3 The Needs Around Us.

Today we separated into two teams.  One team went to a local nursing home called The Lakes.  Mark and Jess did a great job at leading that team.  They sang Christmas songs with these sweet people, and showered them with hugs, kisses, and love!

The second team went back to Pine Manor, the low-income international neighborhood.  We had so much fun.  Hanging off the sides of trucks, hundreds of cookies, beautiful sunshine, door knocking, and more.  We broke into smaller teams, to go door-to-door giving out cookies, a hand-written Christmas card, and an invitation to come let us serve them at NLC.  

We had the opportunity to pray with some of these struggling families.  Many needed financial miracles and healing.

I was most excited that the people of NLC saw the poverty that exists here in SWFL, and allow the Holy Spirit to put a burden inside their hearts to do more.  I know we’re going to begin reaching out more in this area with the love of Christ.

Thanks again to EVERYONE that did SOMETHING the last five weeks.  You were all important, and I can’t wait to see what happens as this all keeps on growing through the New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!

This Saturday we had teams from NLC at four separate locations. One team helped out a single mother that needed work done on her house, another repaired a home for a single woman unable to do so herself, and the third group worked on building a home with Habitat for Humanity.
I was able to spend some time with one of  the single ladies yesterday, and joy filled my heart as she shared how blessed she was by these acts of service. 
See, the holidays aren’t all about giving gifts, but about giving love. Working for these families, and doing things they couldn’t do themselves, were the perfect gift of love at Christmas!  Everyone can do something to show God’s love, and these teams proved just that. 

The Morris family was our family that was chosen for an “X-treme Home Makeover.  God was ALL OVER this project.  We decided on his home on a Wednesday, and by Saturday morning, God had provided literally everything we needed.  A new air conditioner, new tile and wood floors, paint, wall paper, new decorations, and more!

Great job NLC!  You guys worked so hard, and it was so worth every moment!  I was amazed at the giving attitude.  We had young kids all the way up to “more mature” hands working to make it happen!

NBC came out to do a story… You HAVE to see this!!

We have been serving Palmetto Courts and Sabal Palms here in Fort Myers, FL for a while, and after continuing to see the dissenegration of the parks, we decided it was time to make a difference to brighten up the lives of young children.

So, the team from NLC headed out.  We landscaped, painted over graffiti, took out thorns and weeks, painted playground equipment, and cut down trees!  Everyone worked so hard all day, and the end product showed just that.

It was so great to see the children from the community jumping in and working hard to make their playground beautiful.  There was such a longing for love in each of their eyes.  Many of them come from struggling single mom families where they’re many times forgotten.  

One little boy even asked one of our men to walk him home because of 

The adult residents that I spoke with were quite amazed that we cared enough about them to what we did.  The people here assumed they had been forgotten because of the poor reputation the area holds. Moms were happy, and kids, well smiling BIG!

As they say, “Pictures say a thousand words”…so check out the YouTube video attached.

Many thanks to all of you that worked hard, and a special thanks to Matt, Mike, and Jim.  We couldn’t have done this without you guys!  ;-)

Oh boy what an adventure!  So…the original plan is that we were going to have a group of NLCers head out to the busiest intersection in Fort Myers, to hand out 3500 sodas that were donated by Pepsi.  We printed out little business size invite cards to let people know we’re here to serve them, and invite them to church.

The first group went perfectly according to plan.  They passed out lots of sodas to thirsty shoppers, and were greeted with smiles.  The second, well, hit a few bumps in the road.  About five minutes after arriving we had a huge accident in our intersection (not our fault), and were forced to leave when all the fire men showed up.  I thought Wal-Mart would be a swell place to go next, but the managers didn’t seem to agree.  So, after handing out a few sodas, the manager asked us to leave.  We started throwing out ideas, and decided on Pine Manor.  This is a very low income international community, known for it’s drugs, illegal immigrants, and high crime rate…EXACTLY where we wanted to be!!  ;-)

We loaded up, and headed to the place the Lord lead us through our crazy circumstances.  We passed out the 1000′s of remaining sodas.  People brought five-gallon buckets, plastic bags, and small boxes to fill up with the free stuff!  All of them were so grateful and excited that we cared enough about them and their community to do something small that would brighten their day.  They thought they were just forgotten.

This was just the beginning of what I know will be a lasting relationship with these beautiful people.  The people of NLC saw a need, and God placed a new desire in their hearts to meet it!  I can’t wait to see how this community will change, as we begin to show God’s unconditional love to the people there!

This last Saturday was the first of NLC’s Five Weeks of Service!  I was so encouraged that we’ve had the problem of having TOO MANY people signed up!  That’s a GREAT problem.  The first week we announced this community service project, we filled every slot, and gave away every single T-shirt we had printed!!!

God has definitely called us to do more than sit inside the four walls of our church.  Those in the community that may never walk in the doors of a church, can experience the love of God by us simply serving.  Touching the lives of fellow brothers and sisters in a tangible way.

On Saturday we helped to prepare and serve 150 meals with The Soup Kitchen in Downtown Fort Myers.  This is an awesome organization that serves this many meals every single day.  

We had a great team from NLC.  Everyone hopped in and served with a humble heart.  We mopped, disinfected, sorted food, cut veggies, cooked chicken, served plates, and cleaned garbage!  The best part for all of us was just hanging out with the clients that shared a meal with us.  We got to hear some of their stories, and let them know how much God loves them.

Our goal is to start connection groups the beginning of 2009 and serve in the Soup Kitchen on a regular basis.

Thanks to everyone that helped!!!  Great job!!!  This is just the beginning of a season of serving filled with fun, laughs, hard work, and touching lives!