Today we worked in the Vine Neighborhood in the morning. Before we started at our park, we had a chance to meet with the director of the neighborhood association. Steve is incredibly passionate about helping residents make things happen in the community. He believes in making connections and helping his neighborhood be a welcoming home for all people. It was inspiring to meet someone with such a rich vision for community building.
We cleaned up at a park in the neighborhood. The kids weeded a flowerbed, cut branches and hauled it all to the curb for pickup. I’m so sorry we don’t have a picture of the towering brush pile they made.
After lunch we were set to clean up at another park but were interrupted by rain. Instead, we spent time praying in our vans for the residents of the neighborhood.
Then we traveled over to the Kalamazoo House of Prayer. The director met us there and led us through Isaiah 61:1-4. We broke into small groups and she led us verse by verse to pray for cities of our choosing. We prayed that God would bind up the wounds of the broken-hearted, that he would bring freedom to captives, that he would heal and bring joy to those in distress. The kids then prayed for more personal needs in partners. We closed the time by singing a few worship songs together. KHOP is in the midst of a 40-day prayer session leading up to their annual week of community outreach in mid-July.
After we got back to camp it was time for naps and waterfront and showers and dinner. After a delicious dinner of shredded beef tacos, we had our evening activity – tubing! The kids had a blast.
Tomorrow we will head to a new ministry area. Please be praying for the kids to continue working hard. Pray as well that they would be unified in Christ as one body – recognizing the unique gifts that each has and building one another up. Our prayer all along has been to love like Jesus loves. Pray that they would persevere in love.
Tensions and disagreements can increase as we spend more time together and get tired – pray that the our students would sleep well tonight. And pray that they would be quick to forgive and not take things too seriously. Thank you!