Big news! I made the decision to switch from the workplace ministry to vocational ministry. The vocational ministry is split up into two groups. I am with team one that has five other members: Jacob, David, Anna, Gloria, and Emily. This week is going to be a little different than others. Our group is splitting up and three of us are going back the Hopewell ministry site and the other three are going to Eastbrook church. Hopewell is ministry with kids from the city, kind of like a vocation bible school but the church is putting it on for five weeks. Eastbrook has developed a really neat learning center where adults who don’t have a high school diploma from the community can come and be tutored so they can get their GED or be trained on basic computer skills. It’s a really awesome place, and the directors are wonderful! Today we went out to a nearby neighborhood and went door-to-door talking with people about the learning center and getting the door out. While we were out I was reminded that I am no longer in my secure bubble of West Liberty. Many of the women who lived there looked at us sternly and said, “you girls be careful around here!”. One person even said, “You guys know you’re in the hood now, right?”. Well, yes obviously we were aware but I think some of us have become almost too comfortable. If that makes sense…I also had an uncomfortable encounter with a man walking on the sidewalk. He was talking to me in what I would say ‘an inappropriate manner’ and looking me up and down. Blehck. It’s great to be in communities like this who are in desperate need of hearing the Gospel and I’ve come to love being around it…but safety and protection has become a huge prayer request.
So! Tomorrow half of the group will start mentoring and tutoring and the other three (myself included) will be going back to Hopewell for the week! Next week we will start a new ministry site.
I’m on the outreach team on project. Last night we had a meeting and decided to do ministry out by the lake this weekend (the 3rd). This is a huge day for Milwaukee, I guess. Every 3rd of July the city celebrates the 4th. Hundreds of thousands of people come out to the beaches and parks near the lake and set up camp for the day. At night, there’s a huge fireworks show. We plan on setting up a booth and having large tri-folds with Solarium on them. If you’re unfamiliar with Solarium, it’s a tool used for sharing the Gospel. It’s basically like a picture survey that gets them thinking about their life and beliefs which opens a good opportunity to share the Gospel. Some of us will be at the booth, and everyone else will be walking around doing the same thing. Afterwards, we’re going to cookout and watch the fireworks show. So, it’s going to be a big day and I’m really looking forward to it!
I wrote all of the previous this afternoon, but tonight, when I was talking on the phone, I was looking outside my window and right then I saw a group of five or six men beating a man on the ground…punching and kicking him…I just sat there…frozen…they left him lying in the street. I didn’t know what to do but cry…I saw a car stop and then pull away…a few minutes later an ambulance showed up. The ambulance didn’t rush off…I don’t even know if he’s still alive… I’m still in shock about it…I’ve seen crap like that on TV but never right in front of me…This is real life...This is the world we live in...My heart just breaks for them…the victim AND the offenders. God is so needed in this city!
"Do not be afraid, nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go".
Joshua 1:9
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