Indy 2020 – Day 4 Update

Mission Trip week is always one of the highlights of my summer. It’s filled with so many amazing adventures. On top of that, we’re able to accomplish so much ministry work in a short time. The students form new friendships and deepen others, in ways that wouldn’t happen outside of serving together like this. But I think the main reason I love weeks like this is because of the spiritual growth spurts that I get to see first hand in each of our students.

 

Ministry Projects: Today we continued working around the grounds and the building here at KIDS Inc.:

The Grounds Crew finished spreading the last of the 20 cubic yards of much. This was a LOT of shoveling and wheelbarrowing and spreading. They’ve become experts. And they did it all while singing and laughing and deepening friendships. This team then moved to power washing some mud and moss stained areas. Some of this team worked the perimeter of the property and the parking lot, spraying weed killer on some crazy overgrown weeds. They also cleaned out a number of plugged drains and underground entryways that they affectionately nicknamed “the dungeons.” This will help stop some of the flooding they get regularly. This team has learned to use all kinds of yard tools and equipment with skill.
 
The Movers spent most of the day, you guessed it, moving large and heavy items. They continued to remove unwanted junk from the building and various storage areas into a huge dumpster. They’ve more than filled it. They continued to haul unsightly debris from corners of the property as well. While there’s not much to say about hauling garbage, they did it with great attitudes. I didn’t hear a complaint about the hard work in the heat all day. This team finished with their tasks a bit early, and dispersed to assist the other teams.
 
The Painters spent most of the day taping and painting. This hasn’t been the easy kind of painting where you quickly knock out a wall with a roller in a few minutes. This has been the painstaking detailed work of painting door frames and lots of trim and repair work. They’ve had to work in hard to get places from difficult angels. Again, without complaint. There’s still quite a bit of painting to do yet this week.
 
The Construction Crew started their day off building and installing multiple storage shelves in the work shed, so that they can better utilize their space. Then they worked on placing cold patch in the parking lot to repair some of the asphalt. Finally, they finished up by repairing some posts on the main entryway into the building that had rotted out. This team, with close adult supervision, has enjoyed learning to handle numerous hand and power tools.
 
The Kitchen Crew has been so good at feeding us great homemade meals each day, and treating us with snacks at just the right time. While much of the food prep is covered by several adults on the trip, each of our students take turns setting up, serving, and cleaning up. It’s a joy to see them joyfully serve one another. Tonight, as a special treat, we had a catered meal from City Barbecue – it was delicious.
 
By the way, all of the projects I just described were done by 3pm today! This is an efficient and hardworking team! We finished our work projects a little early today so that we could get out into the community. We divided up into 4 teams with maps, gloves, and garbage bags. We walked the surrounding neighborhoods picking up garbage, praying for the community, and praying with anyone we ran into. It was a very powerful experience and a practical way to show love to the people living in the area.
 
Our evening worship is one of my favorite parts of our day. We gather and celebrate Jesus by singing together. We take some time to review our daily Bible study. We reflect and share about what God is teaching us. Finally, we evaluate our day and plan for tomorrow. I wish you could hear our students share about how God is working in and through them – it’s amazing!

 

 

Please continue to pray for our safety and effectiveness here. We love and miss you.

 

Dan Adams – Associate Pastor
 
PS – you can find more pictures on our Instagram @phbc181


Washington DC Day 5

Today was a powerful day of commitments for our students. We spent significant time processing our experiences this week, with the goal of making several commitments for the coming school year. These commitments included:
  1. Making time in our daily schedules to connect with God in prayer and Bible reading
  2. Surround ourselves with Godly influences who will help us live for Christ and proclaim the Gospel
  3. Share the Gospel regularly, to a specific list of friends and family that we came up with.
Additionally, we spent time strategizing specific ways we can be more Gospel advancing as a youth ministry in the coming year. It was exciting to see our students set God-sized goals with practical steps and built in accountability. Please pray for them as they seek to share Christ boldly in the coming year.
 
Tomorrow we’re heading back home. But first, we’re going to visit Arlington National Cemetery and enjoy some free time walking around the National Mall. 
 
Just a reminder – pickup is at planned for around 10:30 pm on Saturday, July 28. (We’re targeting a 10:00 pm arrival, with time to unpack and clean the vehicles.) If we’re off from that target significantly (more than 15 minutes) we’ll do our best to notify families in advance.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Washington DC Day 4

Today’s focus was SHARE. While we’ve been sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in various ways throughout the week, today had a special SHARE focus. We spent significant time in the blocks surrounding our nation’s capital intentionally encountering people with the goal of sharing the gospel.


Washington DC Day 3

Let’s be honest – you came for he pictures… So here you go. You’ll have to stick around and read about our day to see the rest.
 
 
Yesterday (Tuesday) was our PRAYER day, with a focus on praying for the people of DC, praying for our unsaved family and friends, and looking for opportunities to pray for people we observe and encounter.
 
Today (Wednesday) was our CARE day, with a focus on identifying and meeting needs, showing Christ’s love and care in practical ways. In order to accomplish this, we partnered with a community center in a challenged community to help them put on a family outreach. This center is run by a partnership of Christian organizations and churches that want to impact their community for Christ. Our students were involved in running various aspects of this outreach including: soccer, basketball, various crafts and other games/activities. The end of our CARE experience was a community meal where hundreds were fed. It was so inspiring to see our youth serving, outside of their comfort zones in some case. I didn’t hear a single complaint, even during a torrential downpour where we all got soaked.
 
We appreciate your continued prayers. Please pray for:
  • Several students who are exhausted or struggling from the heat and activity
  • That we would look for an make opportunities to share Christ with others
  • That we would listen for what God wants to teach us through these experiences

 
 


Washington DC Day 2

Today stared early, with a short, but interesting drive to our ministry host site. Various parts of major roads were closed or coned off because of significant storms and rain throughout the the night. We were a bit concerned that these storms, predicted throughout the day, would impact our ability to be out in the city. Praise God that He held off most of the rain, aside from some sprinkles in the afternoon.


Washington DC Day 1

And we’re off. Thanks so much for your encouragement and strong support.Today we are traveling to DC, settling into our hotel, and having orientation.



2015 Indy Mission Trip – Day 7 (Lots of Pictures)

2015-08-01 09.46.15

Well, we made it home safe and sound. On our return trip we enjoyed a stop at the Creation Museum. It was a fun and relaxing way to close out our trip.

Thanks for the many ways you supported us – especially through prayer!

Here are a bunch of yet unposted pictures from the week. Enjoy!



2015 Indy Mission Trip – Day 6

What an amazing and fulfilling week. I’m excited to report that we finished up all of our projects this morning. This 48,000 square foot ministry facility hasn’t looked this good in a long time. It’s much more inviting for their daily and weekly outreach ministries as well as for their weekly church services.

One of the morning highlights was delivering thousands of hygiene and school supplies to the adjacent elementary school. They were overwhelmed and blessed. It’s exciting to see KIDS Inc’s growing partnership with this school.

During lunch we got to hear Rhonda’s faith story. She’s one of the ladies in the community who have trusted Christ out of some very painful circumstances. We had the opportunity to help her around her property earlier in the week.

After lunch our team had some much needed down time as we prepped for a long afternoon, evening, and night. We finished up our VBS. The teens did an excellent job presenting the gospel to the kids each day.

Immediately following VBS we hosted a hot food meal for the community. Many families from the community attended. They enjoyed dinner, worship music from our team, faith stories from our youth, and a gospel presentation.

Immediately following this meal we hosted a 2 hour teen hang time for community youth. We served them dinner and got to play tons of games and hang out. Two other youth shared their faith stories, and we presented the gospel with an opportunity to respond.

We’re just about done. We have some final packing and cleaning to do in the morning before we head out. Before we come home, we’re taking the team to the Creation Museum. I’m sure they’ll have an awesome time if they can stay awake.



2015 Indy Mission Trip – Day 5

It’s a real joy to watch God work in and through our youth. This week has been a spiritual growth spurt for many of us. It’s exciting to see them stretch ministry muscles that they never knew they had.

Highlights from today:
1. Blessing two widows connected to this ministry with property upkeep.
2. Watching our students run a VBS nearly on their own.
3. Hearing from Jake from KIDS Inc. about how our work this week is helping them with their long term and sustainable ministry goals.
4. Enjoying dinner out on the town at a local restaurant.
5. Laughing together – a great sign of unity.

God’s doing great things. As usual, please keep this team in your prayers.

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2015 Indy Mission Trip – Day 4

Tonight’s post will be brief for three reasons:

  1. We’ve been busy, and I simply haven’t had time to upload photos yet
  2. We’ve been busy, and I’m tired
  3. We’ve been busy, but our ministry today was nearly identical to yesterday’s

So here are a few highlights:

  • God held off the predicted rain so that we could have a very successful VBS and move our outdoor projects ahead significantly
  • The team’s morale and spirits are high
  • After dinner we enjoyed a walking tour of downtown. Similar to downtown Cleveland, they have a circle, not a square
  • We all had some very delicious ice cream
  • We closed our time downtown with a powerful impromptu time of worship right on public circle

Tomorrow we will divide and conquer again. Two of our teams will be offsite at homes in the community helping several widows with their homes.

Until then – we appreciate your prayers!