It was a day of unexpected surprises on April 18, when people in Suffolk were showered with love from the youth group at First Baptist Church.

The youth group’s high school students went to a local Wash Land armed with quarters to feed the washers and dryers.

“We paid for people’s laundry to show love in a very practical way,” said youth leader Michael Anderson. “We brought some coolers with water and peanut butter crackers and handed them out to people that were doing their laundry.”

Middle-school girls packed about 100 gift bags with sodas and other treats for teachers at Elephant’s Fork Elementary School and John F. Kennedy Middle School. And middle-school boys visited Forest Glen Middle School and planted flowers.

“It’s just a small token of appreciation we have for those teachers,” Anderson said.

About 32 students in all participated, along with several adult leaders.

“The goal, really, is to share the love of Jesus in a very practical way,” Anderson said. “We didn’t go out there with the explicit intent to bash people with Bibles and be abrasive, but we wanted to let people know we love them regardless of who they are.”

Turning their attention to national and international missions rather than local, the young people of the church also are fundraising for summer trips to Charleston, Baltimore and Thailand.

“Our students are raising money to sacrifice the majority of their summer to serve others,” Anderson said.

To that end, a yard sale will take place May 16 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the church, 237 N. Main St. Food concessions also will be for sale.