St. Mary's Trip Blog

Today was a great day! The team started out by working with a local ministry called House of His Creation - A ministry to pregnant teens and teens that have young children. During the time here, the team was able to pave/coat a blacktop area that will be used for the children to play on, painted the trim on the playhouse, spent time helping sort out very gracious donantions, helping the girls with scrapbooking, and even just having some "girl time." From here, the team went to Nickel Mines, the site of the 2006 Amish school shooting. This was a time where the team was able to consider what forgiveness really means and how it is visibly shared and demonstrated everyday. It is amazing how God has forgiven everyone for their sins and here at Nickel Mines it is a visible way to see the renewal and refreshing that takes place in your own life when forgiveness is given and accepted. The team spent a great deal of time talking about how they have started to see God work more and more in their lives, ending the day with an opportunity to share words of encouragement with each other. The team were the hands of God today, working together for His greater purpose!

Today the team had a great opportunity to begin to see how faithful God is in providing for His servants. The team began the day with some awesome time in the Word and then took the time to worship at a local church. This was a refreshing time for the team. They also were able to go an visit downtown Philadelphia and see some of the historical areas, while understanding that our liberty and freedom comes through Jesus. Because of this time, the team was able to understand that God wants us to be whole in Him, knowing that the fears of yesterday will begin to be replaced with new freedom from God alone. This day of refreshment was beneficial for the team as there are a number of ministries and experiences for this team in the coming days. Please keep praying for the team!

The Team arrived safely by car and by plane. Once here everyone was able to get settled and meet our hosts from YWAM here in Coatesville. After some brief introductions and orientation, the team talked about the meal that would be served at City Gate Mission. After the shopping, the team arrived at City Gate and prepared a wonderful spaghetti dinner for the 50 residents, staff, and guests. Once back at the base, the team was able to discuss some of the excitement from the experience. Many were amazed at how much they already saw God working - They felt like they were being served when they were serving. Some from the team really felt like they could connect with the folks because they were able to meet them and learn more about them. On top of all of this, the team began to understand that God will work through their fears this week - Some of the fears included failure, loneliness, environment, and safety. Through all of this the team is expecting God to meet them here and is waiting to see what He has in store for them the rest of the week.