The Gathering Place

The Gathering Place and Holy Spirit Lutheran teams have arrived in Key West! We are so excited to see how God is going to work through this team and host church, Glad Tidings Tabernacle! 

The team learned about cultural awareness and godly communication for sharing the gospel through fun games during orientation!  It is such a joy to see church partners come together and have a wonderful time. 

We are using our creative gifts to make journals to put our thoughts on paper throughout the week. There are so many talented students here! 

We fellowshipped with Glad Tidings Tabernacle’s wonderful congregation during the service today. After lunch, we also participated in a prayer walk connecting with God. Lots of appreciation goes towards this beautiful community of people. 

After our team’s prayer walk and before team-building activities, we were able to enjoy a moment to visit the Southernmost Point and take a break at a local pier. 

Today we have been working hard serving with our wonderful host church working on the grounds, moving pallets of donations, and the parking lot. We are doing so well under the Key West sun and grateful to God that He is guiding us in this way! 

We had a moment to visit the ocean and spend some swim time together. Afterwards, we ate nachos and spent time reflecting on what Scripture says love is!

Today we have split up into groups in order to tackle projects in partnership with Glad Tidings Tabernacle and serving one another. We so appreciate our host church’s selfless hospitality towards each one of us!

A portion of our team spent time at a barbecue and getting to know the locals of that neighborhood. They had the best time conversing in multiple languages and having fun in sharing the love of Christ! 

Whether beating the rain and getting projects done or participating in a women’s prayer meeting, the team has been doing well and learning so much about the local culture!

We were invited by other believers with Mission of Hope that we have been partnering with this week to eat lunch on their Disaster Relief boat! It was a wonderful surprise, and we were so appreciative for the meal after godly fellowship together. 

A portion of the team spent a great time with the local kids at Royal Rangers while another portion of the team participated in an impactful church service. The entire team experienced God’s goodness during these activities! 

God orchestrated an amazing and very full recreation day! This morning after devotions, the team competed in a fun photo scavenger hunt. Not only did they come up with creative and joyful pictures, but they also got to interact and include the locals as well! 

The team packed up after a wonderful evening of watching the sunset in Mallory Square and shopping in the tourist shops. We closed out with prayers and goodbyes before hitting the road.

God has been truly so good to each and every one of us. We are so grateful for the communication and partnership between The Gathering Place, Holy Spirit Lutheran, and our host church, Glad Tidings Tabernacle. It has all worked together for God’s glory!