5/6 Missions Trip

I know it has been forever since I last posted.  The truth is I've written so many posts, but I never got them up.  Actually, this one has been written for a week and a half and I am just now getting it up :)

God has been doing incredible things in my life.  This past week I was able to spend time in downtown Grand Rapids with our 5th and 6th grade students from our church.  We spent our time helping some local ministries.  I thought I would share a little of what we did.

1.  Alpha Women's Center
The first stop (for the girls)was to the Alpha Women's Center
1.  Alpha Women's Center

The first stop (for the girls) was to Alpha Women's Center  This ministry definitely struck a chord with me.  I really pray that God will allow me many more opportunities to serve with them.  This is an incredible ministry that reaches out to young mothers.  One thing that I really liked about their ministry was that they allow women to earn credits through counciling and certain activites to "buy" donated items in their "store".



2.  Urban Family Ministries
The next ministry (that we spent a majority of our time with) was Urban Family Ministries.  UFM ministers to youth in the inner city.  On Tuesday night we were able to have a barbeque for the neighborhood.  We were able to provide a physical need (many in this community are lucky to receive one meal a day), and have the opportunity to pray with them and inform them of UFM.  This is one of my favorite pictures of my daughter, Ashley, and her friend Jenna.

On Wednesday, we were able to help UFM with things that their resources don't allow time or money to get done. It was a rewarding day to get so much accomplished.  We then assisted them with their Wild Wednesday program.  They bus approximately 100 kids every Wednesday night.  They teach tem about Jesus, feed them a meal and build relationships. 

3.  Take Hold Church

The last place we spent our time with was Take Hold Church.  They are a new church plant of our church, ministering in the heartland of Grand Rapids.  They have an unique ministry reaching out to those most of us woudl run from (they look a little scary) -  Rough guys with multiple peircings/tatoos, prositutes, and the homeless.  We spent the morning worshipping we them.  We then held a car wash in order to raise money for their ministry.  (I can't imagine they receive much in the offering plate each week).  We were able to raise $650 in just 2 hours!  Then we had an incredible afternoon doing a clothing drive at the church.

Overall, it was a very exciting and rewarding week.  our students walked away with a new purpose in life!  You can view more pictures at www.grmissionstrip.blogspot.com.

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Oh, by the way - The weigt has been coming off - slowly - but I am averaging about a pound a week - I passed losing 5% of my body weight a couple weeks ago, and I think I should hit 15 lbs lost this week!