Cornerstone Community Church

After a long day of travel, the 2 separate teams from Colorado and Wisconsin arrived safely at Hope City Church in Tucson. We gathered for a time of prayer, getting to know one another, and goal setting for the week of service ahead! 

A few of our team members helped cook and serve the Sunday morning breakfast meal that helps feed so many people in the community every week at the church. There was so much French toast! 

The team attended worship service in the morning, followed by a barbecue with members of both the church and the local community. The team set up, served, and interacted with the community during this time of fellowship. 

During our nightly worship and meeting time, the teams learned more about each other through sharing their stories and encouraging each other to see how God is involved in their lives. We look forward to continuing the journey as we step into a full week of serving. 

The teams worked hard this morning to prepare sandwiches, snacks, and water to share with community in Tucson. We worked with an outreach program at the church that provides supplies to those experiencing homelessness in the community. 

The teams spent the afternoon at a nearby park to distribute the bags they worked on and to connect in conversation and prayer with some of the local community there. God is moving in so many ways here in Tucson! 

This morning, the teams gathered at Gospel Rescue Mission in Tucson to help remove old furniture, trash, and other items from the rooms in preparation for the next tenants. They also worked to cut the grass, remove weeds, and clear out excess leaves with leaf-blowers. The ministry helps people with housing and other needs. Everyone worked so hard, and God was moving mightily! 

During the afternoon, the group drove over to the refugee ministry to play games and do fun crafts with the refugee children (not pictured) who are being served there. They were so excited to have us, and much fun was had by all. Though our time there was short, the impact will last for much longer. God works in many ways and in his own timing, so we were all thankful for the opportunity to have this small amount of time with them. We prayed over the ministry and families later. 

This evening, during our team time, we took time to pray over the city and some of the many people and ministries God has allowed us to interact and work with so far this week. The group first wrote down prayers for the different places and people listed on large papers at each table, and then each was prayed over roundtable style.

We believe that God listens to our prayers and will continue to do great things at Hope City Church and in the city of Tucson.

The group loaded the finished rocks onto the vehicles and prayed over the police department and the community before driving the rocks over to the station. The rocks were placed outside the station in different areas of the lot for the officers to observe. The team worked very hard and was very creative in their messages, and the officers we met were very appreciative. We pray that this ministry can continue to bless all those who are involved. 

We were able to chat with one officer for a longer amount of time while at the station. He allowed the group to pray for and with him as they gathered around some of the rocks. 

The last day of our trip was devoted to some much needed recovery and fun time. We spent the first half of the day at Sabino Canyon Park, where we hung out by a dam for a while before hiking up a hillside to get a beautiful view of the surroundings. Later, we enjoyed fresh gelato from Frost Gelato. After that, the group split into 3 teams to challenge each other in a photo scavenger hunt contest. The photos were taken at different famous murals around the city. In the evening, we spent time with the youth from Hope City Church and got delicious specialty hotdogs from a local favorite, El Güero Canelo. 

Our final team meeting was spent viewing the scavenger hunt results as well as doing an affirmation circle. Each person received positive feedback about how God has moved in them and how they've served and grown this week. A much bigger trip journal would be needed to document all the details and interesting things that were discussed... We closed in prayer and signed off for the night.