Serving Group 1 -
Serving Group 1 got to experience a new part of Philadelphia this morning with a tour of China Town. Many of your children were amazed at all the unique things they could find at the Chinese market. One student commented, "This place looks and smells so much different from Williamsburg!" It is cool to see your children's eyes open up a bit and their perspectives broaden as they encounter all the diversity of a city like Philadelphia. After their time in China Town, Group 1 visited St. John's Hospice center and got the opportunity to not only serve a hot meal to the residents, but also to visit with them, too.
Just like yesterday, Serving Group 1 returned to the Neighborhood Center Summer Camp in Camden to continue to bond with the children there. The team played lots of different games with the kids including chess, Scrabble, and Connect Four. The group also ventured outside with the children to draw with chalk on the sidewalks and play knock-out on the basketball courts. Your children have really loved getting to return to the same sites for one part of the day because it's given everyone a great opportunity to really get to know the kids we are serving. It's incredible to see the kids' faces light up every time we return.
Serving Group 2 -
Serving Group 2 started their morning serving at a ministry called Bethesda, a group of smaller, neighborhood-based homeless shelters that offer true community for men who need help getting back on their feet. The group swept, mopped, and did some general cleaning at two of the sites to help give the residents a sense of pride in their homes. After cleaning, half of the group helped prepare and serve lunch to some of the men, while the other half of the group grabbed gloves and trash bags and walked around the neighborhood picking up garbage. Several community members stopped the group in their efforts to let them know how much their work was appreciated, which made the team grateful to know their work was improving neighborhood morale.
After lunch, Serving Group 2 returned to the Honickman Learning Center Summer Camp to work with the children again. Team members split into groups to read about endangered species with the kids and then deliver reports to the rest of the class. Your children loved getting to help the kids improve their reading comprehension skills and gain confidence in their public speaking abilities. Their teacher, Ms. Chris, was filled with pride after hearing the kids deliver their reports. The team can't wait to return tomorrow afternoon to spend one more day with the children.
Serving Group 3 -
Serving Group 3 again spent their morning at the Honickman Learning Center, continuing to develop relationship with the low-income children there. The group also got to branch out and meet children from another classroom as they spent time helping the younger kids learn how to read. Before the Group left for lunch, one of the children asked, "Why do you have to leave? Who else do you need to help?" These boys and girls have absolutely loved spending time with our Chapel team, and their comments show us that they understand and appreciate our desire to love them and serve them, too.
In the afternoon, Serving Group 3 headed to the Simpson Home, an incredible assisted loving facility in the city. The group began their time there by going to the residents' rooms and helping them all make their way down to the dining hall, where everyone was treated to an awesome concert put on by a 30 person orchestra! After the concert, your children brought the residents back to their rooms. Throughout the whole experience, the team was able to talk to the clients and ask them about their lives, which made the activity even better. After dropping all the residents off at their rooms, everyone got a tour of the expansive facility. The Simpson Home is an incredible facility with a church, a movie theater, a library, a barber shop, a thrift store, an ice cream parlor, and a bank. The area is almost like its own little city for the residents there. During the tour, the team was particularly amazed by the beautiful cross stitch artwork on the walls done by the residents. The team thoroughly enjoyed their time at the Simpson Home, and both the staff and the clients felt the same way.
Serving Group 4 -
Serving Group 4 again returned to the Harold Davis Summer Camp for the morning to love on the kids there. The team played games with the children, as well as enjoyed some craft time together. After a little while, an epic kickball game broke out, proving that friendly competition can create wonderful bonds despite differences in ages, races, and socio-economic status.
For their afternoon site, Serving Group 4 took a turn at MANNA, a site visited by Serving Group 2 earlier in the week. As you might recall, MANNA provides 3 meals a day, 7 days a week for people with terminal illnesses to help them with their nutritional needs. The team enjoyed preparing and packaging the food as they sang along to some fun music in the kitchen. Knowing that their hard work would make a huge difference in the lives of MANNA's clients, and knowing that MANNA could not do all they do without the help of volunteers like them, made the entire team proud of all they had accomplished in one afternoon.
For dinner tonight, all the groups met together to enjoy pizza by the riverfront. The team enjoyed enormous slices while relaxing in the beautiful weather. After filling our stomachs, everyone rode over to the Philadelphia Museum of Art (the steps of which were made famous in the movie "Rocky"). Instead of Porch Time tonight, the team split up into small groups in order to help process our experience. All small group leaders reported having great discussions with their kids, who have really been serving their hearts out the entire week. After small groups, the entire group got treated to a fun dessert of "water ice" (kind of like Philadelphia's version of Rita's or Sno-to-Go), which was the perfect way to end a full day of serving and processing.
It's hard to believe we only have two more serving days left in Philadelphia. We want to thank everyone for your prayers for this trip, and say a special "thank you" to everyone who was able to make it out to the prayer night. While we were in small groups, we truly felt God's hand guiding the conversations, and we know we have the prayers of our loved ones to thank for that provision.
Since our Friday schedule is a little different, tomorrow will be the last day some groups get to spend with the children at the camps/learning centers they've been working with. Please continue to pray for those relationships and for the children we are serving, that our efforts this week would make a lasting impact on their lives. Please also pray that God would continue to make Himself evident and allow His presence to be felt as we step out in faith to serve Him.
