So yesterday and today have been very busy. Tuesday morning we woke up, got ready, had our devotion time and went out to find the window of the Mazda had been broken, along with two other cars from another group, and we had some cash burgled. Luckily, the burglar didn’t take the cell phone or iPod locked in the glove box or our 2 way radio or our GPS. I stayed behind to get the Mazda window fixed while the rest of the team headed out to San Francisco to do a city search. They got to talk to a lot of different people and hear their stories.
When they got back and the window was finished getting fixed we headed out to our VBS site in South San Francisco to hang out and help out the kids. The drama team did an amazing job, and we all loved playing a good amount of tag.
This morning we woke up, had breakfast and did our group devotion and headed out to our first ministry site, St. Anthony’s, where we got to serve lunch and share a meal with the 2000 some odd people who came through the doors for lunch. It was amazing to see how positive the majority attitude was, especially for people in their situation. We stayed at St. Anthony’s from 9am until 2pm and were exhausted but were ready to move on to VBS.
After VBS today we had a few hours of free time where we went down and spent some time on Fisherman’s Wharf just hanging out and having fun! We are so tired and we miss everyone back home but we are having such good experiences. Keep praying for us as we finish out the week.
We got into Oakland safe and sound and on time last night. After a few short meetings we headed out into the city to dinner. For our first ethnic meal we were able to experience a fusion of Vietnamese and Chinese food. Everything was delicious and Christian had a crash course in using chopsticks.
After dinner was over we went back to our cars and were given a prayer tour of San Francisco. It was very enlightening and, at points, very saddening to hear the story of the different neighborhoods in the area. We were told about the homeless and those trapped in different exploitative industries. As we drove around we were asked to pray for those enslaved by the darkness within this city.
We got back late and had no internet to post this entry…sorry to those who were awaiting it being published.
This morning the girls woke up at 5 am in order to take showers during the times they signed up for. Christian and I were able to sleep in until 6:30 and breakfast was at 7. After breakfast we shared a short devotion before departing for our first ministry site at St. Vincent’s Day Home which is a high quality day care for families at or below the poverty line. It was awesome working with the staff there and the kids did a lot to brighten our days, especially as all of the facts from last nights prayer tour continued to sink in.
For lunch we were able to experience Ethiopian food. For most of us it was a first time experience and there were definitely some mixed emotions when it came to the taste, texture and substance of some of the food, but everyone tried pretty much everything and held their comments until we were able to debrief about the meal.
After lunch we headed out to a Salvation Army church where we are helping out with their VBS this week. Usually on CSM trips we would not spend more than one day at a particular ministry site, but our schedule is different and so we are able to help out at this particular church through Thursday. The church leadership was so excited to hear that we would be there the whole week and we are really looking forward to the opportunity to form relationships with the youth and the staff there.
We got back about an hour and a half ago, debriefed briefly, and are about to fall asleep. Please continue to pray for us as we continue on our adventure.
Angie, five of the youth from Oro Naz, and I have just embarked on an inner city mission trip. We are going to be stationed out of Oakland this week and will be providing compassionate services to sites all around the Bay Area.
We are partnering with Center for Student Missions (CSM) on this journey and are very excited to see what God has in store for us.
I will be posting updates here on my blog throughout the week to let everyone know what has happened from day to day. Please please please keep us in your prayers as we are asking God to protect us and to rock our world.
