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2009 Mission Trip...Click here for Mission Trip Pictures

2009 Youth Mission Trip
Day 1

Greetings from Philadelphia! Wow, we can’t believe this is where God has called us to go this year. It is so close, but so far. We had an amazing and powerful 1st day. We departed from the church parking lot this morning. We headed to Plymouth Meeting Mall to the food court for some lunch and yes, some shopping. This was mainly due to the rain, but talk about complete opposites going from the mall to some of the areas that we have seen today. We drove to the Simple Way (Potter St) to find that no one was home, but did get to see the area. We then left there and arrived at CSM (our mission host for the week and the address is 920 42nd St, Philadelphia). After we unpacked we were off to dinner at New Delhi, which is an Indian Restaurant. Prior to getting in the vans we were greeted by some neighborhood kids who wanted to play. After a few minutes of playing we were off to dinner. After dinner we went on a 2 hour powerful prayer tour of the city. It started off at Love Park/City Hall. We had various stops along the way, prayed throughout the trip, heard a lot of stats about the various areas, and saw a lot of different sites. The final stop during our tour was at a site overlooking the view of the city. It was an amazing experience had by all. We then arrived back at CSM, had some debriefing and closed the day with our evening prayers. We all are very excited to begin this, what is scheduled to be, a powerful week. Stay tuned for more details...
Please feel free to send us emails and we can share them with the Mission Team!

 

Day 2

The morning started off with a crazy game of "go-fish" with the guys. After breakfast we headed to the 39th block on 13th Street. We were met there by Ray Grant, who is the founder/president of "Ray's Hope". Ray's Hope offers assistance to elderly individuals in the city who can't afford to pay for the upkeep of their homes. Ray, before becoming a Christian, spent years incarcerated. While incarcerated he became a Christian, and felt after all the pain/suffering he caused the city, he would help the community. We spent the morning cleaning up a yard that was once a horse stable, but the stable is no longer there. Mrs. Walker owns the property and her home is located right across the street. The former horse stable is now a park for the Senior Citizens of the neighborhood. We spent time cleaning and weeding the area. I n words it seems like "not a big job". But after 45 bags of collected weeds/tree branches (and this does not include the collected trash) we spent time talking to Mrs. Walker and Ray. What a difference we made.

We then headed to a part of Fairmont Park where we had lunch. In the afternoon we spent time at the Honickman Learning Center. Ms. Chris really showed us the way. We also met with Heather Hillas (daughter of Roger and Dee Hillas from Messiah) and she informed us about the center. We spent time helping the center get ready for their summer camp.

For dinner we ate at Saad, which is a Middle Eastern restaurant. After dinner we had our debriefing in a park on the outskirts of Drexel. The park overlooked the city. After this we traveled back to CSM for our evening prayer. After the prayer some relaxed and some played outside with some neighborhood children.
An exciting 1st day and a big difference was made!

Thank-you all for your comments and for your continued prayers.

Please feel free to send us emails and we can share them with the Mission Team!

Day 3

Mission Trip Day 3

This morning we drove to Wayne Hall, which is located @ Hansberry St and Wayne Ave. Wayne Hall is a woman's shelter who can house up to 10 women. Right now there are 6 women and 3 children living in the house. The residents stay for 9 months to a year. They are not at full capacity due to not enough staffing. Wayne Hall is associated with Sunday Breakfast, and we were told is the oldest Gospel Mission in Philadelphia. The grounds at Wayne Hall were overgrown (this is an understatement). The YOM's weeded, mowed, trimmed the landscaping, and tried their hardest to get the overgrown landscaping back in order. After 3 hours the yard had a makeover.

We then drove to ... to have a group lunch. After lunch we had some time to relax after a hardworking morning.

After our re-charge we headed back to the Honickman Center for more prep work as they are getting ready for summer camp. Today we fixed up part of the outside and placed tiles along part of the driveway. The tile were hand-painted by the school students. We finished up sorting through a lot to get the place ready.

This evening we had dinner at the Caribbean Delight, which is located on South St, and had Jamaican. We finished with ice-cream at Haagen-Das. We ended our evening with debriefing and evening prayer at Penns Landing.

We are making a big difference in the city!

Day 4

This morning started off with us helping prepare meals at Manna, which is located on Ranstead St in Center City. Manna started years ago by a church preparing meals for patients with HIV. Over the years they have added patients with other illnesses, including cancer. When it 1st started they would give a client a good meal, which would give them comfort. Over the years a nutritionist is on staff who works with the doctors to give the patients the best nutrition. Manna delivers to 750-800 individuals. These individuals are supplied 3 meals a day and 7 days a week. The meals will be delivered to the homes by volunteers who will transport them. Today we packaged 1,100 breakfast
750 fajitas, and 750 turkey burgers. Their slogan is “Improving health. Delivering meals.”

This afternoon marked the 1/2 point in the trip. After a 1st half, with a lot of hard work, we went to the zoo and enjoyed our time together as a group.

We had dinner at Jim's Steaks, located on South St. After dinner we spent some time on South St before getting water ice at Rita’s. We ended the evening with our debriefing and evening prayers at Memorial Park in Penns Landing.

 

Day 5

This morning we headed to The Simpson House, which is a senior home located on Edgely Ave, which is off of Belmont Ave. We split in to small groups and spent time with the residents. Not only did some of us talk to the residents, but we participated in morning exercise and trivia, and some in morning devotions.

We had lunch along Boat House Row before heading off to the Mary Jane Enrichment Center.

This afternoon we spent time at the Mary Jane Enrichment Center, which is located on Ridge Ave @ Francis St. We were met there by Ms. Edna Williams and her son Jon. They both run the ministry. Their ministry helps the homeless community. They are located in an old restaurant/tavern/hotel. Today they are housing 28 homeless individuals. They also serve food and clothe the homeless community. This afternoon our youth prepared the lunches, stood outside the ministry and handed out "Our Daily Bread", handed out clothed, and invited them in for lunch.

This evening we all went to the Camden Riversharks game. Several of our youth caught foul balls. A great time was had by all as we were relaxing as a group.

 

Day 6

This morning started off with us driving in to Center City and parking on Market St by the Delaware River. The youth were placed in to 3 small groups and sent on a City Search. They had to answer questions regarding history, tourism, and homelessness.

We then had lunch at the Art Museum before heading off to Philabundance Food Bank. Philabundance is the largest Food Bank in the area. While there we bagged frozen pasta in to 2 pound bags from 2 1,100 pound boxes. Others collected cardboard and placed it in a compactor. We were told that the compacted boxes are sold to companies to make the center of toilet paper/paper towel rolls.

Tonight we are having dinner at Freddy & Tony’s, which is Puerto Rican. After we will have our final debriefing.

The youth are scheduled to return to the church on Saturday morning at 10am. However, we invite everyone to join us this Sunday at church to welcome back the 2009 Youth Mission Team.

Thank-you all for your comments and for your continued prayers. It has meant a lot to the team.

 

Updated Summer Schedule now available! Visit the Calendar here!

Picture of the week:

 

"Do not let anyone treat you as if you are unimportant because you are young.

Instead, be an example to the believers with your words, your actions, your love,

your faith, and your pure life"

1 Timothy 4:12