Saturday, March 24, 2012

The Beginning of a Beautiful Trip

Posted by: Erika

The second day of the Junior mission trip began with another early start (though later than the day before). We left the Dream Center around 6:15 PST for My Father’s House, a homeless outreach run by Church on the Street. We served many men and women breakfast while the worship team sang and Mr. Shiver preached a short message. We returned to the Dream Center for some free time, during which skits and music were practiced, some students and Mrs. Stemper made a trip to Costco, and we went on a short tour of the Dream Center. For meals, there are two shifts: men and women. The genders are separated to avoid any temptation the disciples may encounter. After lunch, we headed over to St. Mary’s Food Bank, internationally recognized as the first food bank in the world. There we sorted donated food for packages that the food bank gives to those in need. We sorted enough food for almost 4,000 meals! During our brief introduction to the food bank, we learned that one in four children in Arizona doesn’t know where their next meal is going to come from. We also learned that in Arizona, one in every five families and one in every seven senior citizens also is nutritionally unstable. These statistics only enforce our yearning to make a difference in this community. We returned to the Dream Center for some more free time before dinner, and some of us dashed to Walmart for a few things. After dinner, there was some more free time before “Friday Fun Night,” which consisted of the praise team leading the disciples in many worship songs, Mrs. Stemper sharing some things about BRCS, a couple of testimonies, and a skit put on by Jackie and Erika. We had devotions, then returned to our rooms, anxious for sleep. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers!