Charity, children, and cheese steaks!

Our first day here was amazing! After beginning our day together in prayer over today's Gospal reading (Matthew 7:1-5), our hearts were prepared for our first day of mission work! We spent the morning at Whosoever Gospel Mission, and affiliate of Union Gospel Mission in Seattle, it turns out! This amazing program houses up to 40 men at a time and provides a comprehensive homelessness recovery program that includes job training, addiction counseling, resume writing, prayer and spirituality, and an amazing support network of employees, volunteers, and former residents. 1/3 of the annual 1.2 million dollar opertating expenses is raised through their two thrift stores, which process 6-8 tons of clothing donations every week! Our opportunity today was to help "power bale" this massive collection of donations for sale in the thrift store or donation overseas ( excess donations are sent to developing countries). We began our day outside in the mild summer weather, until a sudden downpour (for which everyone blamed the people from Seattle...) chased us inside to finish the task! The mountain of clothes to sort through was seriously staggering - at least 8 ft high and 15-20 ft wide and deep. We are proud to say that's we made a serious dent before getting to join the residents and graduates for a delicious lunch of Caribbean Rice. During lunch, we all sat with the men the Mission serves and got a chance to hear their stories of addiction, homelessness, and hope. Each of us heard different experiences, and each of us had our hearts touched in some special way. It was truly a blessing to be there. After lunch (and a few wrong turns) we made our way to our afternoon placement - the Harold O. Day Church summer camp, which serves low income families with low cost summer camp while parents are working. We got to play, talk with, make crafts, and generally have fun with the 20 or so kids, ages 3-14, that the camp serves...and Parker, Lauren and Sophia got to see first hand how hard it can be to lead a group activity as they lead the organized game time today! They did a great job of rolling with the punches and creating an afternoon that met all the kids needs! I was very impressed!! Needless to say, we all instantly fell in love with these beautiful children and are so excited to get to see them every day this week...even if one little girl DID say that she thought I was 52 years old because I have gray hair! Haha! Once camp wrapped up, we went to South Street, an eclectic part of the city that reminded me of College Ave in Berkeley, CA., and ate dinner at Jim's, a famous cheese steak shop! It was delicious!! So delicious that Josef ate TWO!! After spending a bit of time exploring that street, and discovering the amazingness that is frozen custard (ok, so maybe this was just Amanda...), our next destination was the waterfront to a pier with a beautiful view of the Camden, NJ, waterfront to debrief the day. The Trekkers all shared what had touched their hearts as they reflected on our first day, and spoke of the power of the conversations they had and hope they experienced at the Gospel Mission,as well as the mix of joy and heartbreak for the children we serve at the camp. All in all, we could not have asked for a better start to this week. God is present and moving among us, in our hearts, in our work, and in this city. Please continue to cover us in prayers as we continue this journey, ever anxious to be the instruments of God's love to the people we encounter. Specific prayer request: One of the men we met today, Tony, has a job interview tomorrow - he has been looking for work for quite some time now. Please lift him up as he prepares for that and ask God to make his heart ready to receive whatever plan He has for him. With so much love for the City of Brotherly Love! The 2012 Mission Trekkers