Park Valley Church

The team arrived safely and after a small orientation we went to eat worship downtown with some new friends! Was a wonderful time to gather in community even with strangers, now friends.

Church tomorrow!

Today started with us going to Sunday school with the senior high group at Elfinwild Church. We got to talk more in depth about the power of God in a story coming from the book of Matthew. After that, we attended a traditional Presbyterian service with our new friends from Sunday school and celebrated Holy Week, specifically the tradition of using palm leaves.

Then we headed over to Daily Bread, where we met Bob, who briefed us on how to help the homeless ministry coming in for dinner. We were able to distribute toiletries and clothing as we talked to some of the people who came in. We were trained on how to cook and serve the meals and then we got to sit with everyone and just talk about every day life. After the meal, we had a blast just singing and cleaning up. Bob wanted to take us to one of his top Pittsburgh tourist locations, Randyland!!

We took tons of funny pictures and then headed home to meet Eileen and Bob, the heads of the ministry we will be helping out with tomorrow. We mainly talked about how we will be able to help the children in families that need help.  We then debriefed about the day as a whole and prayed for our new adventures coming tomorrow.

Finally, we ended the night by doing some karaoke and face masks and winding down.  

This morning the pastor of the church we are staying out came and made us an amazing pancake breakfast and it was so cool to just talk to him and learn about his church. When he came in it showed me even more how welcomed we were.

 Then we went into a preschool and got to hang out with some really cool kids. Going into it I had no idea what to expect but every teacher I met was so sweet and welcomed us with open arms. In the morning session I was with fourteen five year olds and it was crazy how smart and well behaved they were. I could not, and still cannot get over how much they knew about the bible and jesus. These kids were telling parts of the Easter story that I forgot about. 

In the afternoon session I was also with five year olds and this class was a little bit more hectic and needed more patience but every kid was so sweet. The kids were also so welcoming which was suprising to me because I was a strange face.

This morning we went to Light of Life. This organization works with the homeless in housing them, feeding them, clothing them, and also giving them additional education and resources to beat their situation. 

Here you see us praying over Joe whom is actually in the recovery program LOL offers. He has back surgery coming up soon!

For the greater part of our morning we helped sort clothing that will be used for the homeless in Pittsburgh and also outsourced to nearby cities. Lydia, Jessie, and Tom showed us around but they are always so grateful when they get a Pelican team to volunteer so some of the weight is lifted off their shoulders.

Prayer Walking through Etna with our wonderful friends Bob and Eileen.

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My name is Hannah and today we worked with Northside Ministry and we did some yard work for a lady named Tori. Northside Ministry is a place where homeless people can get a warm meal and where men can stay there for up to 4 months to get back on their feet.

Today we split up into 3 groups. One group went to go cook food for lunch. Another group went in the garden to clean stuff up. And the last group went into the food pantry to help people get food and put it in their car. Today Me Bryce and Mia went into the kitchen to help cook. We made meatballs and burgers. Then we went to walk the community dog for the church and met up with the people in the garden. I ended up splitting up from them and worked in the garden and mowed the lawn. After everyone did their job we went and handed the food out and ate with the homeless. That was a very God filled morning being able to share our love of God and helping people get what they need and do what they can't. Then afterwards we went to Toris house and helped take leaves and pick up sticks. We were all exhausted but we stuck it out and finished the job. we all felt very accomplished afterwards. Today was also our last day of serving.

This whole week we all had God by our sides helping us have the strength to serve others and just grow as a group. The 8 kids in this group all came from other friend groups and we have bonded so much. We bonded because we all share one common denominator which is our God, our religion, and christianity in general. So I'm very happy I got to go and make all these new friends and help make an impact on people. 

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Dear Diary, 

Signing out!!!! Had literally the best time in the world!!!! I cant express how greatful I am for going on this amazing trip and I'm so happy that God put me here with all these wonderful people and I'm so grateful that I got to touch all these wonderful peoples lives!!!

Signing off, 

Love Bryce