What an incredible way to start our week-long adventure in Philadelphia! God has already been showing up in tremendous ways, and we are excited to share with you all that has happened so far.
Our team is divided up into 4 separate serving groups. Each day the serving groups all head to different locations before meeting up at night for Porch Time (our daily gathering where we debrief the day and open God's Word together). On the blog, we will provide you with highlights from each serving group's activities.
Serving Group 1 -
Serving Group 1 started their day at Inglis House, a home for over 300 people who are wheelchair-bound for life. The team gave manicures to the residents, then played games with their new friends, who really enjoyed the friendly competitions of chess and shuffleboard. Before leaving, your children gave a short art lesson to the residents and then painted alongside them as they practiced some new skills. It was incredible to see God already teaching this group some incredible lessons about the value of looking at a person's heart and not his/her physical appearance. Our kids were reminded that a person's real value does not come from his/his physical abilities but from an identity in Christ.
After their time at Inglis House, Group 1 headed over to the community garden in Camden. Some students did yard work while others helped out at the Neighborhood Center Summer Camp, sorting and stocking donations, cleaning the facility, and playing with some of the local children. It was exciting to see the group serve in so many different ways all in the same day, giving us a taste of what it really looks like to be God's hands and feet on this earth.
Part of the experience on these urban mission trips is getting to try different ethnic restaurants for dinner. Serving Group 1 got to enjoy Malian food tonight at a local restaurant, and many of your children were pleasantly surprised by the new cuisine!
Serving Group 2 -
Serving Group 2 began their morning at MANNA, an organization that prepares meals 7 days a week for people with terminal illnesses. Your children chopped vegetables, packages meals, and labeled nutritious dinners that will soon be delivered to hundreds of people in great need. It was really cool for the kids to realize they truly were living out God's command to help feed people whom many would consider to be the "least" in our society.
After lunch at the site, Group 2 spent the afternoon at the Honickman Learning Center Summer Camp (the same location that Group 3 visited in the morning). At the Honickman Learning Center, children from the local area come to receive tutoring and to work on their basic skills, such as reading and speaking, in the hopes that they can get up to grade level by the end of the summer. Many of the kids who come to the Center start out severely behind educationally but, with the help of dedicated teachers and volunteers like your children, lots of them are able to make great progress. Group 2 got to connect with a group of rising 3rd graders for some one-on-one reading time. It was awesome to see your children sitting side-by-side with the younger kids, helping them sound out words and read together. As the group prepared to leave in the afternoon, all the children were thrilled to hear that we would be returning the next day to share more fun times together.
Group 2 combined with group 3 to enjoy some delicious Philly Cheese Steaks for dinner!
Serving Group 3 -
As mentioned above, Serving Group 3 began their day at the Honickman Learning Center. Since this was the first day of summer camp, the classroom teacher (Ms. Chris) needed a lot of help getting things prepped for the kids. The team helped Ms. Chris make schedules for the week, decorate the room, and set everything up for the incoming children. It was fun to see our students dive right in and get to know the kids right away. After spending some time going over the rules and orienting the kids to the program, the group got to take them out to recess, where they played games together and bonded even more. Group 3 will also be returning to the Learning Center this week to continue to build relationships with the children. God has already started growing the bonds between your children and the kids at the Center, and we can't wait to see all that He is going to do through these relationships. Ms. Chris said that groups like ours give these kids from the projects hope, and the team felt honored to be conduits of the incredible hope that we all have in Jesus Christ.
In the afternoon, Group 3 headed over to Whosoever Gospel Mission, an organization that helps homeless men transition off the streets and into full-time employment. Whosoever Gospel Mission owns several thrift shops to help fund its programs, so the team spent the afternoon folding clothing and sorting donations at one of the those locations. It has been fun to see each serving group bond doing tasks such as these, reminding us that a desire to serve can transcend all kinds of differences.
As mentioned before, Group 3 joined Group 2 to enjoy Philly's most famous food: delicious cheesesteaks!
After dinner, Group 3 went on a Prayer Tour of the city. Led by a CSM host, the prayer tour gives the group a chance to drive around the city of Philadelphia and pray for different areas, different challenges, and different people. It's also a great way to find out more about the area and the opportunities and challenges that exist within a city. Many of your kids boldly stepped up to pray out loud for Philadelphia, its people, and for God's love to move in big ways.
Serving Group 4 -
Serving Group 4 started their morning at the Harold O Davis Summer Camp, an organization designed to reach and impact inner-city children. The group had the privilege of taking the campers on a field trip to see a performance by a dance/acrobatic group. Both our team and all the children loved the performance. The camp director told the group that, unless they have volunteers like our team, the kids can't go on trips like this because they don't have adequate chaperones. What a privilege and responsibility it is to realize that so many people are really depending on us to show up and be "Jesus with skin on" in this broken world.
After the fun field trip, Group 4 spend the afternoon at City Team Ministries, a large organization just outside of Philly that serves as a soup kitchen, a homeless shelter, a food pantry, and a recovery center for former addicts. Half of the team got to help sort donations for women and children, while the other half of the group spent some time in the kitchen preparing a healthy dinner to serve to the clients. City Team Ministries is located in Chester, one of the poorest areas in the entire state of Pennsylvania. Group 4 really enjoyed the opportunity to shed some of God's light and hope into an otherwise dark and hopeless area.
After their time at City Team Ministries, Group 4 also took a prayer tour of the city.
To end the day, all four serving groups met up at a local park to connect and have some fun. After a little hang out time, we returned to the housing site for Porch Time, our nightly debrief opportunity. The first aspect of Porch Time is called "Remember that time..." where people share funny stories from the day's activities. After swapping stories, we move into a time called "I saw Jesus..." where leaders and students tell each other how they saw Jesus in each other and in the people we encountered throughout the day. After a time of worship, we finish Porch Time with a talk. Lex gave the message tonight on God's call on our lives. Lex looked at the story of the Israelites scouting out the Promised Land in Numbers 13, and she challenged us all to follow Caleb's example of trusting God as we step out in faith to "face the giants" we might encounter on this trip and in our lives back home.
Tomorrow is another full day of serving, and we are excited to see God continue to show up in new ways. Please continue to pray for us as we follow God's call to love by serving others. Pray for boldness, for relationships to grow, and for God to be glorified in all we do!
