I didn't lose ANYONE! It was a great trip! There's so much to tell. And i think I will think of it as I go...
One thing I learned for sure is that even if I sleep on the floor, I should have my own room, girls who talk in the middle of the night and wake me up, make me furious... especially when they are tired the next day... but I love them SOOO much!!
I'll tell you, God is in the details, He cares about everything!! When I had stopped at the Aldi's in Highland Park prior to the Mission Trip (because I had to check it out again, its the first Aldi's I fell in love with!) milk was $1.99 which is more expensive than around here... it was only $1 this week, we went through about 10 gallons, and that's a $10 savings!!
My original plan was to make pancakes every day but after the first day of breakfast we had cereal, I bought more cereal this week, than I've ever bought in my lifetime! You know how I picked it? If I didn't like it, I bought it... lol... I hate sugar cereal. One of the kids learned that generic brands taste the same as name brands... lol... they never had them before (someone give me their parents number, I can same them on their grocery bill).
I don't think I stopped for a week. I logged onto the computer once, and after that... never had a moment. One day, I only ate lunch because I got so busy.
I had to deal with a bunch of emotional stuff because Katie wasn't there, it wasn't that easy, but thankfully God was there.
We went to Hart Plaza for worship one night, gave water to the thirsty, prayed with them, gave one guy bus fare and a contact to go to Grace Centers of Hope.
The outreach concert was amazing!!! so many people! Instead of fliers, we put 3 songs on a CD, labeled it, and that was our flier! SUCH A GOOD IDEA!! We had free hot dogs, kool-aid (literally gave away 10 gallons!!), watermelon, brownies, and I walked around with suckers, we gave away peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fruit after it was done, AND WE PRAYED, it was great! The kids from the dance team did their dances, the sticky drama was performed, they did they cupid shuffle and people who came did it with them.
My two favorites from the outreach were 3 boys who came with chips on their shoulders the size of the rock of gibralter and the next day showed up for VBS and both times heard about Jesus!! They were small boys trying to be so grown, and at VBS, when no one was looking in their neighborhood, they got to be kids, finding m&ms in whipped cream and playing water games, and putting their guard down long enough to hear about Jesus. And the other was a girl, in a house right by the alley, when I walked over to invite all the kids (there were about 15 of them) one said he couldn't come because he was a muslim, I told him to come anyway, we love him. He said he hated church people, my reply "ME TOO!!!!" they laughed, one girl came, I prayed for her, she was probably 15. But when I looked over, most of the kids were standing by the edge of the street listening.
Because we saved so much money on paint, we were able to redo the office of the food director at Grace Centers of Hope with a cool color, get him a new desk and little storage thing and bless him because he is such a blessing to others. He unselfishly works and blesses those around him, he is an encourager to those who need to be encouraged.
The thing that I guess I would want people to know... is that this isn't the kind of trip that brings 1000s to Christ in two weeks, it won't be on TV, we painted and served food, weeded an urban garden so those in the neighborhood could eat, and people in the center where we stayed worshipped with us. We made places were people detox a little prettier, a little home-ier, hopefully the color a little more soothing than stark white walls and an entertainment room in a men's facility changed from pink to cream. We did small things for the forgotten, for those who don't have anything. In small ways, we loved those that people have decided are unloveable, and I just don't think that its up to us to decide who is unloveable, we should just love.
Matthew 25:31-46
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
One thing I learned for sure is that even if I sleep on the floor, I should have my own room, girls who talk in the middle of the night and wake me up, make me furious... especially when they are tired the next day... but I love them SOOO much!!
I'll tell you, God is in the details, He cares about everything!! When I had stopped at the Aldi's in Highland Park prior to the Mission Trip (because I had to check it out again, its the first Aldi's I fell in love with!) milk was $1.99 which is more expensive than around here... it was only $1 this week, we went through about 10 gallons, and that's a $10 savings!!
My original plan was to make pancakes every day but after the first day of breakfast we had cereal, I bought more cereal this week, than I've ever bought in my lifetime! You know how I picked it? If I didn't like it, I bought it... lol... I hate sugar cereal. One of the kids learned that generic brands taste the same as name brands... lol... they never had them before (someone give me their parents number, I can same them on their grocery bill).
I don't think I stopped for a week. I logged onto the computer once, and after that... never had a moment. One day, I only ate lunch because I got so busy.
I had to deal with a bunch of emotional stuff because Katie wasn't there, it wasn't that easy, but thankfully God was there.
We went to Hart Plaza for worship one night, gave water to the thirsty, prayed with them, gave one guy bus fare and a contact to go to Grace Centers of Hope.
The outreach concert was amazing!!! so many people! Instead of fliers, we put 3 songs on a CD, labeled it, and that was our flier! SUCH A GOOD IDEA!! We had free hot dogs, kool-aid (literally gave away 10 gallons!!), watermelon, brownies, and I walked around with suckers, we gave away peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fruit after it was done, AND WE PRAYED, it was great! The kids from the dance team did their dances, the sticky drama was performed, they did they cupid shuffle and people who came did it with them.
My two favorites from the outreach were 3 boys who came with chips on their shoulders the size of the rock of gibralter and the next day showed up for VBS and both times heard about Jesus!! They were small boys trying to be so grown, and at VBS, when no one was looking in their neighborhood, they got to be kids, finding m&ms in whipped cream and playing water games, and putting their guard down long enough to hear about Jesus. And the other was a girl, in a house right by the alley, when I walked over to invite all the kids (there were about 15 of them) one said he couldn't come because he was a muslim, I told him to come anyway, we love him. He said he hated church people, my reply "ME TOO!!!!" they laughed, one girl came, I prayed for her, she was probably 15. But when I looked over, most of the kids were standing by the edge of the street listening.
Because we saved so much money on paint, we were able to redo the office of the food director at Grace Centers of Hope with a cool color, get him a new desk and little storage thing and bless him because he is such a blessing to others. He unselfishly works and blesses those around him, he is an encourager to those who need to be encouraged.
The thing that I guess I would want people to know... is that this isn't the kind of trip that brings 1000s to Christ in two weeks, it won't be on TV, we painted and served food, weeded an urban garden so those in the neighborhood could eat, and people in the center where we stayed worshipped with us. We made places were people detox a little prettier, a little home-ier, hopefully the color a little more soothing than stark white walls and an entertainment room in a men's facility changed from pink to cream. We did small things for the forgotten, for those who don't have anything. In small ways, we loved those that people have decided are unloveable, and I just don't think that its up to us to decide who is unloveable, we should just love.
Matthew 25:31-46
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
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p.s. haven't forgotten: tables!