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Several high school boys from Grace Orlando connected with teens from Grace Edgewood this past Saturday to paint a wall in Pine Hills with a message of hope.

The wall at Hiawassee and Balboa was covered with graffiti back in the late 90s when Grace member Jerry Owens assembled a team to paint mural to encourage the community. This weekend, students from Grace Edgewood and Grace Orlando joined forces to make it like new again.

The painting was done in several stages. The wall was painted white, then the image was projected on the wall and traced, then the students painted in the fish colors and the ocean color, and finally the black outlines were drawn in. A total of about 18 hours was put into the project, with the students completing 80% of the work.

“Many cars that passed by honked in encouragement, and there were several cars that slowed down to tell the teens ‘great job’ and ‘thank you for helping our community,’ ” says Norm Tumlinson, Pastor to GraceStudents. “We had several people ask questions about the two campuses and about our mission.”

Mr. Owens also loved seeing the community respond. “It was rewarding to see this group of guys from both Grace Orlando and Grace Edgewood, working together on this service project. The act of painting a wall with a Christian message and scripture, and watching the community respond immediately by honking car horns, shouting ‘good job!’, and even stopping with one drive-by cash donation, shows the hunger for the gospel in this area. ”

“I’ve seen this wall for nearly 20 years now, but never knew the history behind it,” says Dan Hoyle, student volunteer. ”I am thankful that we were given an opportunity to preserve this local treasure for others to enjoy.  Now each time I drive by it, it will bring joy knowing that God used our hands to honor him and witness to the many people who pass this wall daily.”

One of our main goals for our Edgewood campus is to help the kids who live there see themselves as people who have something to give and someone else to serve. This project was one more step in the right direction.

“All the students were glad to be able to do a project with immediate results,” says Norm. “They want to continue serving in different areas near the Edgewood Ranch.”

Rod Hubert was just looking for a place where he could belong.

“I drove by (a church) one day and the police were directing traffic to go to a service. It was crowded and complex, so I drove on. I just wanted to belong to a group that was less complicated.”

Enter Grace Conway. Through our vision to plant smaller churches to reach the needs of specific neighborhoods, this new community met Rod right where he was. “I received a postcard with the invitation to Grace Conway, and I decided to go. The invitation felt genuine, and thank God I did go. This was the best decision in my life.”

We agree: Rod accepted Christ at Grace Conway’s first service. “For many years, I had excuses why I could not serve Jesus and why I was running away from God,” he says. “I was trying to do things my way and failed at many things — my family, my marriage, financially.”

But things have changed. “Jesus has come into my life like waters in a cascade. I have fresh ideas, new energy and a new outlook for life. Since I started Grace, I have started a new page. Jesus is with me at all times, and with Him, nothing is impossible. At Grace Conway, I feel at home and like am welcome in a family of friends that are all there because we want the same thing — to spread the good news that Jesus loves you.”

Rod has started new spiritual disciplines, including reading the Bible and going to the men’s leadership group. “I go to get close to Christ and understand the scriptures. It’s very challenging living in today’s world to stay away from earthly thoughts and actions. But with Jesus in my life, these challenges are overcome.”

Rod took another step, too — entering the water for our fall baptism. “I had to make a public commitment once and for all. When I came of the water, I felt good and refreshed. But I also did not feel alone anymore.”

Ginnely Carrasco and her family started attending Grace the day we moved into Edgewater High School, Easter Sunday 2011. Ginnely’s mother-in-law works at Edgewater, and she invited them to attend after hearing about Grace’s move to the school.

“Before coming to Grace Orlando, I was what Pastor Mike once referred to as a ‘twofer,’ attending church only on Easter and Christmas Eve. The last few years, I was even a ‘onefer’ and only attended on Easter. I believed in God and his existence, and I wanted to step into His home, but I hadn’t felt like I found the church that was for me or my family. We decided to attend service on Easter Sunday, and I am happy to say that we are no longer twofers, we have been attending ever since.”

Ginnely, who works as an outreach advocate for Harbor House, is overwhelmed by what God has done in her family’s life this year. “What hasn’t God done!?! Since coming to Grace my family has become so much closer. We have open discussions about God and the way Jesus lived and how we can apply it to our everyday lives. We spend every Sunday in church and then just enjoy each other’s company with family dinner. My family looks forward to going to church every Sunday!”

After a few months at Grace, Ginnely and her boys both chose to follow Christ, and she couldn’t wait to be a part of our fall baptism. “It was the right time in my life to accept Jesus Christ. I had been dedicated when I was younger but not baptized, and I am glad I was able to make such a profound decision.”

Ginnely was honored to be baptized alongside her sons. “Baptism was one of the most emotional and happiest moments that I’ve had in my life in a very long time. My children and I were all baptized together, and it was such an amazing feeling to know that they wanted to be baptized because they wanted Jesus in their hearts. I was so proud of my two boys for making that decision, and I have Grace Orlando to thank for helping them understand how Jesus wants us all to live.”

The videos below tell the stories of just a few of the kids and adults who were baptized at our Fall Baptism on Sunday, October 16th.

Grace Orlando invita cordialmente a la Comunidad Hispana.  A pesar de que nuestros servicios son en ingles, nos encantaría que formara parte de nuestro ambiente multicultural para dar el próximo paso hacia Cristo.