Week Seven...Say what?!

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil 4:6-7

Friday morning we were suppose to work in the community garden, but as soon as we got there, met the other workers, and pounded about 3 nails in, it started to rain...and our plans once again changed. Surprising? Not at all. It's rained a lot here actually, and there's been some bad flooding. I'll try to attach pictures. Anyways, so we spent Friday cleaning for the Hoffman's again and trying clean up the water that's come through their roof. Talk about bad timing for their family since their van also just got stolen last week. I know they'd appreciate your prayers!

So this was suppose to be our second week at God's Kidz in the Hood, but since that's still not an option, we are helping out the sister church of Hopewell. Technically it's not a VBS-type program, like we typically have done. This program is more so just to provide a safe place with activities for kids to get them off the streets. Three of the kids (all siblings) we've worked with before at Hopewell, but just recently one of their close friends was shot and killed. I've been able to form a close relationship with one of the girls, Shemirah (9), and I really do believe that God has brought us back to these same kids for this reason. These kids live in a tough neighborhood, where tragedy like this strike often...They need to know that they are loved...by us, but more importantly by Christ. Today Shemirah told me she was scared...Children shouldn't have to live in fear...My desire is that she'll come to truly know Christ, and experience the security and comfort and the abundant Life He offers! The funeral is this week...please keep their family in your prayers.

Waking up to another dark morning
People are mourning
The weather in life outside is storming
But what would it take for the clouds to break
For us to realize each day
Is a gift somehow, someway
And get our heads up out of this darkness
And spark this new mindset and start on with life 'cause it ain't gone yet
And tragedy's a reminder to take off the blinders and wake up
Live the life we're supposed to take up
Moving forward with all our heads up
'Cause life is worth living
We live, we love, we forgive and never give up
'Cause the days we are given are gifts from above
Today we remember to live and to love

I am what I believe

This week at the last minute our ministry team had a change of plan. We were originally supposed to go to God's Kidz in the Hood, but the mom has a medical condition and the doctor's orders were that she had to temporary send all the kids away because they're technically 'homeless'. It's a really sad situation, but we're hopeful that the Lord will heal her and the children will be able to go back soon! So instead, we decided to work in a nearby neighborhood (Jeff and Sarah's place). On Monday, we picked up trash all afternoon with the intent to share our faith with people who were just hangin' out on their porches (which is a frequent occurrence here). My group didn't get to have any spiritual conversations, but we were able to serve the Lord and the community, so overall, it was worth it! Yesterday and today we attempted to have an informal Jesus Club with the kids of the neighborhood. The first day we only had two kids come. Today, only one. There's tons of kids who live in this area, so it was very unusual that none of them were outside. It's also been a little discouraging because we're available to reach out to this community and we desperately want to pour into these children but there's not much we can do when none come. But! I know the Lord is faithful and He'll use us in any way He chooses!

Tomorrow we're going over to the same neighborhood, but this time we're helping a group made up of mostly teenagers from the city put in a community garden. We're hoping to make connections and share the Gospel working beside them all morning. Afterward, we're going out with one of the jr/high school groups that are here at City on a Hill and doing initiative evangelism all afternoon. Back on campus I've done a lot of initiative evangelism but doing it in the inner city is definitely different...you never know what to expect. But God ALWAYS shows up, and I'm really looking forward to tomorrow!

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." - CS Lewis

I'll follow you into the world

Well, this last week has been so busy – and very draining! For the last two weeks my ministry team has been at a place called New Beginnings Are Possible. It’s a youth center that runs like a day camp during the summer. The first week was golf camp, so we went to the mini-golf course and driving range every morning. In the afternoon, our team put on a vacation bible school type program. The second week we did the same program but all day (8-3). It was exhausting, but so rewarding! We formed great relationships with the kids, and it’s always difficult to leave knowing you’ll probably never see them again. But, God definitely blessed the time we had there, and for that I’m grateful. Starting on Monday, we’ll be working at God’s Kidz in the Hood. I wasn’t there for the orientation at the beginning of summer, so I don’t really know much about it. I’ll be able to give more details after Monday.

Today we had our usual Saturday outreach. This week we volunteered to help City on a Hill’s huge community outreach called the Neighborhood BBQ. It was held outside of City on a Hill’s building in two large parking lots. There was so much going on! Music/dance performances, adult activities, youth/children activities, carnival games, face painting, a prayer booth, a prayer tent, lots of food, and tons more! It went on from 1:00-5:00. I spent a lot of time at the prayer booth. I was able to meet a variety of people and heard many sad stories…but it was so awesome to sit and pray for people I had never met before. At the end of the day, one of the directors told us they had around 800 people attend! The Kingdom was expanded today, and it was so awesome to play a small part in that!

I have three weeks left before the end of project and I return to Ohio. I can’t believe how fast it’s gone, but it’s been awesome to see how God has worked in me and through me!

This song represents my heart for the city...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJeW3HlDqPA&feature=related

It feels so real from the outside lookin' in

So many awesome things have happened this weekend, and I really want to share them with you! Every Saturday we do some type of outreach in the city. Yesterday, we split into five small groups. Each group went to a different park throughout the city. From there we split off into pairs and did evangelism. We (the outreach committee) decided it would be cool to let the pairs decide which method of sharing they wanted to use. Usually we have a specific tool we use each time, for instance, the Knowing God Personally booklet, Soularium, Backstory, etc. My group included Alesha, David, and Anna, and we went out to Dineen Park on the west side which is predominantly African-American. Alesha and I went out together, and during the first conversation I heard one of the coolest stories. One of the questions we asked Sherry (and her daughter) was if she had ever experienced God, and if so, how? She replied, “Ohhh yes”, and this is her story: In the recent past she was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. She said she couldn’t handle the medication they put her on. I think the side effects were pretty harsh. She was supposed to take the medication for a year before it could heal her. She prayed and asked the Lord to heal her in three months. Three months later from the day she prayed, the doctors told her they couldn’t find anything and had no explanation. She had no doubt in her mind that it was God’s doing. =) It was so awesome to hear her testimony and just spend time talking with her. Later on, we talked to another older woman named Cassandra. The first question we asked her was to give three words that describe her life right now, and her response was “not very good”…just the look on her face when she said that broke my heart. She said the only thing she wanted to accomplish in life was to take good care of her grandson, and her dream is to one day provide a house for them to live in. She said she wasn’t trying to live life to the fullest…she’s trying to live life for survival. The conversation we had hit me really hard. In the culture I grew up in, the goal seems to be to live life to fullest and it’s often done so by how high you can climb through society and in the workplace…how much money you make…what kind of house you live in…the car you drive…sending your children to college, etc. I’ve lived in a house my entire life and never once worried about ever losing it, unlike Cassandra and many other families… Our conversation really showed me the differences between our cultures, and something just isn’t right about that!

When we got back to City on a Hill, all of the teams got together and talked about the day’s events. Throughout the day, four people accepted Christ! and many seeds were planted! Which leads into another really cool story...Two girls on my team went to Cherry Park and shared the Gospel with an older lady in a wheelchair and two of her daughters. My teammates felt pretty discouraged with the conversation and felt like nothing had gotten through, but today we went to Broken Chains Ministry for church and the lady in the wheelchair showed up! Near the end of the service, the bishop’s daughter sang a song, and I noticed there were four people standing around the older lady, holding her up in a standing position. The bishop later told us that she has been in a wheelchair for so long and just wanted to be able to stand and praise Jesus! It was such a beautiful scene…she also told the bishop that she had no idea why she went to Broken Chains, but she felt like the Lord wanted her to go there this morning. It was just another awesome opportunity to see God working in the lives of the people here. Oh! And another quick story that I thought was really cool: the bishop’s son is an ex-gang member and two weeks ago he just got his license to become a minister. Isn’t that awesome?! God takes what seems like the impossible and makes it happen. Ahhhh so cool!

Phew, okay, I think that’s all I had to share! =) I would really appreciate continued prayers for our project and the people of this city. Pray that God would open doors and break down walls.

Always with love,
E

Quick update

"A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." Proverbs 16:9

It's been awhile since I've made a post and a lot has happened since then, but unfortunately I only have a few minutes to give an update. As I mentioned in my last post, we went out by the Lake and did outreach all day on Saturday. It was fantastic! aaand HOT!!! Talk about humidity! Phew! There were tens of thousands of people who came and celebrated the holiday. So, there were definitely ample opportunities to share the Gospel! We had a great day.

Our project is going through some pretty big changes right now. Last night we had a banquet and said goodbye to all of our staff. For the next four weeks, the students are running the project. We've all been given different leadership roles. Specifically I've been given the "Project Archivist" position with David. It includes two primary jobs: photographer and newsletter/evaluations coordinator. I'm pretty excited about it! I'm hoping David and I can come up with some pretty creative ideas to capture God's work on project!

I know this is super short, but we're leaving in 5 minutes to go to the Milwaukee Brewers' game. I'll be sure to wear my Cincinnati Red's gear =)

Always with love,
E