Happy 15th Birthday Kathryn Weflen!
Hey friends and fam!
So today we painted the floor of the bathrooms at Nelson Park. In the morning, we played four square with some of the kids before they left for the day to an amusement park. We made sandwiches for lunch, then some of us went to Home depot for more paint. When we finished the floor, we met a kid named Manny and his friend Elian who came with a day camp. We played some more four square and got to know the kids. For dinner we had macaroni and cheese and chicken, which was delicious. We returned to our hotel right after dinner and had a group session, where we learned the importance of being a "light" in a dark, sinful world.
~lydia and caixia<3
Hey friends and fam!
So today we painted the floor of the bathrooms at Nelson Park. In the morning, we played four square with some of the kids before they left for the day to an amusement park. We made sandwiches for lunch, then some of us went to Home depot for more paint. When we finished the floor, we met a kid named Manny and his friend Elian who came with a day camp. We played some more four square and got to know the kids. For dinner we had macaroni and cheese and chicken, which was delicious. We returned to our hotel right after dinner and had a group session, where we learned the importance of being a "light" in a dark, sinful world.
~lydia and caixia<3
Hey everyone,
Tuesday was more of a "divide and conquer" kind of day. Some stayed at Nelson Park, the "home base" during the trip, some crossed the border into Delaware and others spent time building relationships with people throughout the city.
The group that stayed at Nelson focused on maintenance work--painting the floor and bathroom floor of the main building. By tomorrow, it should be dry and ready for the kids to walk on!
The Delaware group visited the home of Carmen Vega, now a widow after the very-recent death of her husband Francisco, a pastor in Philadelphia who worked with Vision For Youth to organize mission trips. Carmen recently bought a house in Delaware, so the group did yard work and helped fix up the inside.
Others, including myself, spent our day interacting with a variety of people. In the early afternoon, we walked to a soup kitchen about 15 minutes away. Our goal was to encourage, pray for and share Christ with the people as they ate. I was able to pray with a man named Raul, who shared with me parts of his story. He claims to be a Christian, yet struggles to escape his drug addictions. He lives on the streets, dealing and taking drugs. He says he is trying to get clean, yet every time he earns some money, he spends it on his habit. I and one of the members from the other church we are working with talked about how Jesus can bring total freedom from sin, and we promised to pray for him.
At the end of every day we hold a group session, where we discuss the day's events and learn biblical principles applicable to the week's ministry. Tuesday night, Tim Ahlgrim with Vision for Youth spoke to us about the importance of being "light" in a dark world. He explained how lights are only useful in the dark, and in the same way, Christians need to experience the "darker" parts of the world if they are to truly let their lights shine.
-Reagan
Tuesday was more of a "divide and conquer" kind of day. Some stayed at Nelson Park, the "home base" during the trip, some crossed the border into Delaware and others spent time building relationships with people throughout the city.
The group that stayed at Nelson focused on maintenance work--painting the floor and bathroom floor of the main building. By tomorrow, it should be dry and ready for the kids to walk on!
The Delaware group visited the home of Carmen Vega, now a widow after the very-recent death of her husband Francisco, a pastor in Philadelphia who worked with Vision For Youth to organize mission trips. Carmen recently bought a house in Delaware, so the group did yard work and helped fix up the inside.
Others, including myself, spent our day interacting with a variety of people. In the early afternoon, we walked to a soup kitchen about 15 minutes away. Our goal was to encourage, pray for and share Christ with the people as they ate. I was able to pray with a man named Raul, who shared with me parts of his story. He claims to be a Christian, yet struggles to escape his drug addictions. He lives on the streets, dealing and taking drugs. He says he is trying to get clean, yet every time he earns some money, he spends it on his habit. I and one of the members from the other church we are working with talked about how Jesus can bring total freedom from sin, and we promised to pray for him.
At the end of every day we hold a group session, where we discuss the day's events and learn biblical principles applicable to the week's ministry. Tuesday night, Tim Ahlgrim with Vision for Youth spoke to us about the importance of being "light" in a dark world. He explained how lights are only useful in the dark, and in the same way, Christians need to experience the "darker" parts of the world if they are to truly let their lights shine.
-Reagan