Wilmington Mission Trip Journal July 2010

July 10-11 Folks from Peoples joined together to send-off the church's first mission team out of the state of Maine on Saturday, going to Wilmington Delaware. Travel was smooth, taking about 10 hours with stops, and was a great time for team bonding - we talked, played games and watched the video "Blindside" which inspired some great discussion. We have a house to ourselves right in the inner city neighborhood which is furnished except for beds. On Sunday we worshiped at Mount Joy United Methodist Church, an African American congregation near Urban Promise. They were incredibly welcoming and joyful as their name implies. Sunday evening we met with Urban Promise staff and the other church group - about 70 people total, for a barbecue, devotion, witness, worship and orientation. Day 1 of the mission begins tomorrow... Click here to view the Send Off and Sunday Worship Photo Album

July 12 The Peoples mission team spent our first day in mission at Urban Promise! In the morning we helped out at Camp Freedom, a Christian camp with about 60 kids, and in the afternoon we did yard clean up and office organization at another camp location. In the evening we attended a panel discussion with teen street leaders at Urban Promise which was very eye-opening for all of us. We begin and end each day with devotions - morning devotions are led by the mission teams, and we are rotating leadership each day; evening devotions are led by Urban Promise staff who come over to the house for some Bible study and discussion about our experiences of the day. Click here to view the Day 1 Mission Photo Album

July 13-14 The mission team has continued to be blessed in our interaction with the kids, street leaders and others at the camp. On day 3 we also got to serve at Sunday Breakfast Mission, an amazing ministry to homeless men, women and families, as well as those in need of a meal, clothing, litigation, education, resume and job training. We helped pack school backpacks there, and got a tour of the facility and the new family housing section under construction. Click here to view the Day 2 and 3 Mission Photo Album.

July 15 Today our group led the mid-day program with games, songs and a skit with the kids. In the afternoon we helped with several mailings which involved sorting, stuffing, labeling and stamping. This was our first air conditioned work project! In the evening we went up to South Street and Penn's Landing in Philadelphia and had cheese steaks! Since Pastor Gwyneth grew up near Philadelphia she was able to lead the team to the best places. Click here to view the Day 4 Mission Photo Album.

July 16 On Friday our team chaperoned a field trip to Long Wood Gardens. Most of these kids spend every day in the city and rarely have the opportunity to experience the beautiful sights, sounds and smells of gardens and fountains. Each group had about 15 kids and were given a guided tour, including a talk on Monet and a chance to sketch by the pond. We also saw catfish in the pond! After the field trip, our team from Peoples visited the Brandywine River Museum which features many Wyeth paintings. Ellen stayed back with Nathan for this portion of the trip due to his recovering from poison sumac; the two of them helped out in the office of Urban Promise with several huge mailings. After an evening debriefing with awesome reflection centers, we packed and cleaned up the house to leave Saturday morning. Click here to view the Day 5 Mission Photo Album.