Day 4 is over

Thank you for all your prayers. This has been a life changing week for all of us! This is the most cohesive team I have ever had on a mission trip. Every person is going above and beyond, keeping Jesus first, keeping others above themselves, stepping out of their comfort zones, and seeing God move! 

Here are some pictures from today:

Loading the food truck to deliver into the community. 

Church in the evening! 

Thank you for your prayers. Tomorrow is another big day! 

Pastor Mark

Day 3 Finished

Day 3 turned out to be one of the most Holy Spirit filled days of the trip and probably many of our lives. 

In the last post- I updated you on Jesus healing Eric! That was just the start of a fantastic day. 

In the morning the group split up. As 3 (Chris, Markovits, and Taylor) helped in the kitchen for breakfast and lunch. They willingly got up around 5am to make this happen! 

The rest journeyed to Skid Row to invite people to the afternoon meal. The group seemed a little shocked or overwhelmed or hesitant at first. However, that shook off quick as the Holy Spirit began to pull us in. It actually flipped so much so, that the Dream Center guide was starting to get frustrated with us because we wanted to stop and pray with everyone! He needed to get us back at a certain time but we were so overcome with the needs of the people down there, spiritually and otherwise. 

However- the guide reminded us that we were coming back out that afternoon to serve the hot meal. Which turned out to be an amazing experience. Prayed with tons of people, shared Jesus with people. Jenny and Taylor were able to lead a woman to Jesus! But each person has a story about how God used them there. Here are some of the pictures (we only took a few because they are leery about being in pictures down there): 

Then after dinner we decided to all rest and hang around the dream center. Many did their daily devotionals or caught up on their sleep. 

At 7:30- we began our family time(our group time). We started with just a few worship songs with just our group. The Holy Spirit had other plans. Within just a few songs, the entire floor of short term missionaries were in the "lounge". Packed wall to wall singing and praising Jesus. So we didn't stop- we kept playing. Played about 15 songs for over an hour. And then it broke out into prayer. The groups inter-mixed and began to pray with each other. 

Slowly each group went their own way. And our group began our family time. The Holy Spirit was still moving, the group was crying and sharing what God was doing. Then one by one, each person was laid hands on and prayed for by the entire group. 

Our "short family time" before bed turned into almost a 6 hour Holy Spirit time. It was amazing. Here are a few pictures of that: 

Thank you for all your prayers! Means the world to us! Tomorrow we go back out! 

-Pastor Mark

Eric Update

Quick update as we head to skid row. I asked you all for prayer on the cut or sting Eric got from a sting ray. 

Forgot to mention, immediately after getting out of the water- the team huddled around him and prayed for him. Then again last night. With your prayers included. 

Eric woke up this morning with no wound on his foot and the pain almost completely gone. It went from looking and feeling like he stepped on a nail to only feeling it barely and you don't see the wound anymore on his foot at all. He is walking completely normal. Small discomfort that he said he doesn't even notice. 

Thanks for all your prayers! God is a God who heals. 

-Pastor Mark

Day 2 in the Books

Day 2 was the start to the real meat of the serving on the trip. It was jammed packed with serving like Jesus, loving the community, and prayer in it all. 

We started the day with Adopt-A-Block which was explained in the previous post. 

Followed by lunch. Followed by Kids Zone. Which is an intentional ministry to children in the inner city. Particularly in the gang infested projects. 

In fact, we had the first kid service in the park where last week a 17 year old was killed in gang related activity. Not a safe neighborhood. But the Dream Center is well received and valued. Here's some pictures from that ministry:

As you can see, it was a blast sharing Jesus to these kids! 

After dinner, we had free-time so we decided to make it to the beach. Laguna Beach.

It was a lot of fun to unwind and play in the surf! God's creation is beautiful both in nature and people. 

The one thing you can pray for from today is Eric got cut by a sting ray at the beach. It's minor but it's on the bottom of his foot, so it hurts to walk. Pray he is healed of the discomfort.

Tomorrow, we will be sending 3 into the kitchen to help them prepare breakfast and lunch. The other 12 will begin praying and talking with the homeless on Skid Row. The afternoon will be serving food to the homeless. Pray for boldness and God's providence. 

Thanks! 

Pastor Mark

Adopt a Block

Out on the streets of LA doing "Adopt a Block" which is cleaning the streets, picking up trash, sweeping and raking. If we see people out we share Jesus or offer to help in their yards. 

Day 1 in the Books

Finished Day 1 of being in Los Angeles. And what a great day it was! We finished our long trek about 2:45 in the afternoon. Checked in and got situated in the dream center. 

After we had orientation, where we learned all about the Dream Center, learned about what we will be doing this week, and received a tour of the building. Here is a picture of us from on top of the rooftop. 

Since it was already evening- the ministry work doesn't officially start till tomorrow (Tuesday). We decided to grab dinner at BJ's. 

Followed by a trip to Hollywood at night. 

Ken saw a homeless man here and decided to pray for him. It was a great start and reminder of why we are here. 

We finished the night with some quality family time. Encouraging each other, looking at God's word, and praying for our week. 

Thanks for joining us on this journey. Continue to pray. Tomorrow we begin ministry specifics at the Dream Center. In the morning we will be serving the community and the afternoon we will be part of the "Kids Jam" (Summer Kids Program). 

Join us in prayer! 

-Pastor Mark

Fam time