Carolina Pelicans

We made it and are so excited to get started tomorrow!! 

This morning we got to worship at CityHeart Church. It was extra sweet because we got to worship alongside the men from the Care Center that we will be serving with throughout the week. It was a good reminder and theme for the week that it is Jesus Who does all the work, we are just here to be used by Him. 

After church we went shopping to get prepared for Thursday's Soul Snatchers. This is one of the activities we will get to be a part with CareCenter this week. Be praying for God ordained conversations and moments as we start ministry tomorrow. Feel free to leave your prayers (or anything) in the comments. We love to read them at our debriefs. 

We started our day by continuing to clean and finish painting Ms. Jenning's home. It has been so wonderful to see the transformation! It has been even MORE wonderful to be able to have conversations with the men from the Care Center as we work. Their stories are such a testament to the goodness and faithfulness of God. 

Once we were finished and about to leave Ms. Jenning's house, she sat down at the piano to play us something. She played Amazing Grace while our trip leader, Rudy, sang in French. Eventually, we all joined in English. Earlier in the day, individuals from our team and the Care Center were able to connect with some kids from the neighborhood. They came inside and joined us for this sweet moment. Sharing these experiences, worshipping alongside Ms. Jennings, is so much more valuable than anything we were able to do in her home. 

The CPR class was filled with a lot of practice for the participants. Including a lot of fun scenes acted out by us and then them. It added a lot of fun and involvement to the course today. 

Every one of these boxes was filled to the brim and given out to people from the community. We started our morning by organizing and filling these boxes to give to cars and individuals that arrived. The Care Center does this every week using the first fruits of the donations they get for themselves! 

This event serves the local community in this area. We were able to pray with people from all walks of life. The men at the Care Center have seen this event be a powerful catalyst to launch people into faith in Jesus. It was beautiful to be a part of it with them today. 

If you ask anyone on our team they would say Ms. Jennings and the men from the Care Center made the biggest impact on them this week. From encouragement to laughter to renewed hope in hard situations, we all walked out with a clearer picture of what Kingdom life is about.

It was hard to say goodbye to these guys we have gotten to know so well. But we are so thankful for our time with them, and so so excited to see how God will continue to move in and shape their lives.