6/11 Our Arrivalby Andrew Janicki | June 13, 2016 10:19 PM
Today we arrived at the Allen Place, which will be our lodging location for the week. We set up our air mattresses and hung out for the evening. We also had cupcakes to celebrate Brad's Birthday. We are excited to begin our week and are looking forward to all God has in store for us!
6/12 Church of Our Savior by Andrew Janicki | June 13, 2016 10:25 PM
Today we visited Church of Our Savior for morning service. It was a joy to be a part of it all. We really appreciated all of the passion in the music & congregation. We also enjoyed talking with many of the people.
6/12 Strip District by Andrew Janicki | June 13, 2016 10:30 PM
This afternoon we visited a cultural area of the city known as The Strip District. It is packed full of lively individuals, vendors, crafts, street food and restaurants. We enjoyed exploring and trying new things. The gyros & pepperoni bread were some particular favorites. We were even able to purchase some of our food for our early evening ministry for the homeless at the Daily Bread.
6/12 Daily Breadby Andrew Janicki | June 13, 2016 10:35 PM
This evening we helped to prepare & serve a meal to the poor & homeless at the Daily Bread ministry. We all pulled together and made our meal of spaghetti & tossed salad. We had great conversation with many of the people & we enjoyed sharing God's love with them. It was interesting to hear many of the people's stories & where they came from.
Prayer Walking & Flyersby Andrew Janicki | June 13, 2016 10:43 PM
This morning & early afternoon we walked through the community of North View Heights and prayed over the people. We were amazed by the people's willingness to accept prayer & converse with us. We literally went through the entire community and covered them in prayer. Afterwards, we passed out flyers for the Kids Meal Network which is the free lunch program for youth 17 and under that we will be working with this week. Again, flyers made it to the whole community!
Passing Out Flyers by Andrew Janicki | June 13, 2016 10:47 PM
Walking through the community passing out flyers.
People of the Neighborhood by Andrew Janicki | June 13, 2016 10:50 PM
Here are some cool people we ran into during our prayer walk.
Pick Up Sports by Andrew Janicki | June 13, 2016 10:53 PM
This afternoon we spent time playing sports & building relationships with some of the youth from the area.
Primanti's by Andrew Janicki | June 13, 2016 10:57 PM
This evening for dinner, we visited Primanti's to eat their enormous classic Pittsburgh sandwich. It's your meat of choice with cheese, slaw, french fries & tomato pilled high between two thick slices of Italian bread. They were delicious & we enjoyed a great evening out together!
Morning Work Projects by Andrew Janicki | June 14, 2016 9:07 AM
This morning we are busy on work projects at the Allen Place. Beforehand, Jerry Ann Allen the executive director, shared with us about the history & vision of the Allen Place. We're landscaping, scraping, painting, & cleaning classrooms.
Landscapingby Andrew Janicki | June 14, 2016 9:10 AM
Hard at work in front of the Allen Place!
Scrapingby Andrew Janicki | June 14, 2016 9:23 AM
Scraping the ceiling clean before applying paint.
Cleaning by Andrew Janicki | June 14, 2016 9:32 AM
Cleaning up the classrooms!
Kids Meal Network by Andrew Janicki | June 14, 2016 10:35 PM
This afternoon we got to serve the Kids Meal Network in North View Heights. We served over 100 meals to the children and spent time afterwards playing sports, giving piggy-back rides to all, and sharing Christ's love as we talked and built relationships with the kids. We had an amazing time!
Evening Meal & Surprise Visitby Andrew Janicki | June 14, 2016 10:42 PM
This evening we got to eat a traditional Polish Pittsburgh meal. We had pierogies & kielbasa with sauerkraut. After dinner, we received a surprise visit from some of the neighborhood kids. We played basketball & games with them for a short while before closing out the night with an evening meeting. We are exhausted, but in the best way possible. God is good!
Work Projects Continue by Andrew Janicki | June 15, 2016 10:49 PM
This morning we continued to work on our projects. With cleaning wrapped, we focused our efforts on scraping/painting and also laying the mulch that we got in front of the building. We worked hard and should be able to complete our projects tomorrow.
Kids Meal Network Day 2by Andrew Janicki | June 15, 2016 10:52 PM
Today we again served meals to the kids in Northview. We grew closer with many of the kids throughout the afternoon and we are finding it hard to think about leaving them. We are really enjoying loving on these kids!
Praying for Pittsburghby Andrew Janicki | June 15, 2016 10:59 PM
This evening, after dinner, we traveled into the city and rode the incline to the top of Mt. Washington for a breathtaking view of Pittsburgh. When we got to the top, an amazing thunderstorm swept over the city and we explored the mechanics of the incline while we waited it out. Once the storm finished, we walked to Point of View park and while there spent time in prayer and worship. Each of us spent some time in prayer on our own. It was a beautiful, joy filled evening. We are looking forward to our last day of ministry tomorrow, but it's hard to believe that we are there already.