You all know how it is - after a great vacation - when you need another week to recuperate.
After that wonderful wedding, when you come home to mountains of laundry.
After that awesome outreach event, but now there are no clean dishes in the kitchen and no food in the refrigerator.
Yep - it's been that kind of summer.
I keep thinking I am almost caught up, so now I can sit down and write something in our blog.
But, alas, I am not caught up.
So, while the sink IS empty of dishes, and there IS laundry in the washer, the bed IS made, clean laundry IS NOT folded and put away, some - but not all - of the phone calls have been made - I will take a break and share a few photos and stories of the June and July outreach here in Lethbridge.
JUNE - We welcomed 5 interns to work alongside Amazing Grace Community Church and Amazing Kids and the AY program. Joe & Joy Williams, Nate Godleski, Sally Anne Russell, and Jeanie Stouffer made a huge impact on the kids, and were 10 extra hands helping to reach out to the community this summer.
Our Chattanooga home church, Covenant Presbyterian Church, sent a group of 20 youth and adults to minister alongside us here in Lethbridge. It was such an encouragement to have them here, and such fun to show them the joys and challenges of ministering in a 1st world city.
They joined us for a huge Food Drive held by the Lethbridge Food bank, through this we have made contacts with many more people in our city.
They were such a blessing at our Amazing Kids year end party - all those extra hands and excited youth to work alongside the kids and families made for a great year end finale dinner.
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They joined us in helping the Westminster Elementary School as it moves forward with a Library remodel. Westminster School is the home base for our Amazing Kids outreach program. Most of the children in our program attend that school.
They held a great Youth Rally on Tuesday night which was an encouragement to the Youth of several churches and programs in our city.
They served at the Streets Alive Mission which has a great impact in our city - you can learn more about them here:
Streets Alive Mission
The team was also "The Excuse" we used to reconnect with several Blackfoot friends we met while were attending the Lighthouse Church. Andrew Bull Calf and his wife Holly came and shared their testimony with our group the morning before they left Lethbridge.
We are Thankful to the Lord for how he worked in each of the lives of those who came and how we will use the connections made during their stay as we reach out to our neighbors.
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JULY - Three churches - from Mississippi, Georgia and North Carolina, joined the work in Lethbridge as they held Bible clubs in the park, prayer-walked through the neighborhoods we work in, and then helped us hold our Summer Sports Camp "Whose Side Are YOU On?", where we had 120 kids learning about Jesus. (I have a separate post about the Sports Camp coming)
Now, finishing the summer well continues:
On the calendar:
- A trip to Tennessee for our daughter Julie's wedding! We are excited to have a great time celebrating with family and friends.
- An afternoon in the park at a different School in our North Lethbridge neighborhood - Senator Buchanan School - where we will meet more families and kids and share about our Amazing Kids program.
- Whoop-Up Days Parade! - Once again we will decorate the Amazing Kids van and Trailer and invite as many of our Amazing Kids and families who wish to attend to join us on Tuesday, August 23 for this Lethbridge celebration. We will be decorating the van to look like an airplane - our theme will be "Take Off With Amazing Kids!"
