Day 2 & 3
On Tuesday we did our first VBS at each site. We have three
sites; Metro Alliance Church, The Family Ministry Center where we’re staying
and the Westfall’s – a family from Metro who is letting us use their home. We
have had about 50 neighborhood kids between the sites – give or take a few.
Everything at each site has been going well and our kids have been doing a
great job in leading at each site.
On Tuesday evening we got to hear testimonies from pastor
Juri (Metro’s senior pastor) and his wife, Ed and Peggy who have been helping
us all week, and Aaron Ruffin. Aaron is the most captivating of all because of
his unique background. But as always, hearing stories of all the Metro Alliance
Church members is rich and powerful.
Every single one of these people has the ability to live in the suburbs
in higher paying jobs and nicer houses, but they choose to see the Ohio City
(west Cleveland) area as their mission field, and this is why it is so
important for our kids to meet and get to know these people and their stories.
Mission work isn’t just in Cambodia, or Sisseton, or Cleveland, but when we get
back to Rochester the mission field is all around us.
On a different note, something amazing happened while one of
our groups was prayer walking. Kent Milligan was leading his group and a man
and a woman were arguing in the street and it turned violent right in front of
their eyes. The man grabbed the woman’s neck and her arms and was trying to get
her back in their house. But it was clear that this woman was in danger. Kent
stepped in between the two of them, non-violently, and broke them up and the
group proceeded to call the police. Kent wasn’t harmed in the situation, God
watched out for him, but his intervention helped this woman escape without
injury as well. Talk about God’s provision for this woman…there just happened
to be a group prayer walking at that spot at that exact time. God is good!
Tonight we will be hearing more testimonies around supper
time. Tomorrow we will be partnering with the Bridge Ave. School to get some
work done in their building, and Friday is Cedar Point day. Oh, I should
mention this too… At Christmas time I had given each one of our LifeGroups $50
for their Christmas party. Our 8th graders decided they wanted to
save that money and put it towards a good cause in Cleveland. That good cause
is that we will be buying a bunch of books from a “1/2 Price Bookstore” and
giving them to the Bridge Ave. School tomorrow. If I were you, parents and
church members, I would be extremely proud of these kids and their amazing
heart to be generous and share Christ with everyone they meet! As their pastor
I couldn’t be more thankful for each one of them.
We do continue to appreciate your prayers. God is doing
amazing things here in Cleveland that you are part of if you’re praying for us.
Have a wonderful afternoon/evening!
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