Santa Fe Christian Schools

After a successful day of travel we have arrived in Tucson! We are ready and excited for a great week of ministry!

We had the opportunity to serve alongside Pilgrim’s Rest Baptist Church! Dr. Holt does a lot for his community, and even in the state of Arizona, and doesn’t always have time to get to yard maintenance. We were able to come alongside and help them get some landscaping done!

Group 3’s first task of the week was serving at Gospel Rescue Mission helping them prepare decorations for Easter. Learn about GRM here: https://grmtucson.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp.

Group 5 loves serving up love, dignity and respect with our friends at Gospel Rescue Mission.

Team 6 had the pleasure of serving at Casa Alitas. Casa Alitas is a new ministry partner to PPM. We are so thankful to them for allowing us to come into their facility and help them organize their hygiene kits. Casa Alitas helps people who have recently crossed the border and are claiming asylum and need help getting to their sponsor. Casa Alitas provides a shower, clean clothing, a meal, and a place to sleep while these people wait to travel. Casa Alitas means House of Little Angels. Thank God for partners like Casa Atilas who love on people during a chaotic season of life. 

We got to spend the afternoon helping clean and sort items at Blessingdale Thrift Store. After we were done, we got to learn about the many ways they help support programs like Teen Challenge. We heard some testimonies from the employees about how their lives were changed by meeting Jesus!

This afternoon group 3 worked at Friendship Church. The first tasks were some road repair and spring trash cleanup.  After that the team spent the rest of the afternoon putting on a soccer clinic for grade schoolers who are on spring break.

Team 4 spent the afternoon prepping in both the kitchen and packing facilities at the GAP warehouse for foster care.  We built lunches for children and families who needed a little extra help, and packaged diapers and other amenities needed. 

We had the privilege of harvesting kale and swiss chard today at Tucson Village Farm. They provide a place for those facing food insecurity to participate in planting and harvesting healthy food. 

Team 4 is excited to serve the Lion of Judah at Zion City Church!

Here is team 4 at Tucson Village Farm learning all about the awesome things they do there. We spent the next several hours harvesting and planting for their summer season! 

"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive their wage according to their labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. 

1 Cor 3:6-9

Today group 8 had the opportunity to serve at Desert Skies UMC! We did some landscaping around their pickle ball courts, so that people in their community could come and play. Their goal is create a welcoming space for all people to come!

This morning group 3 went to Goshen to do painting, road leveling, painting, floor & carpet cleaning, and yes weeding.

We spent the afternoon at Casa Alitas sorting and organizing hygiene kits to bless those seeking asylum from dangerous situations. 

Yesterday group 8 had the opportunity to serve in the kitchen at Gospel Rescue Mission!

We chopped and prepared veggies and fruit for meals going out this week!

We are working outside doing yardwork trimming trees and cleaning the yard, as well as inside making kits and preparing for Easter at the Tucson Refugee Mission Center. We also got to hear all about the amazing work they do in the community to help those in need. 

Group 3 spent the morning at Gospel Rescue Mission prepping food, packaging food, deep frying nachos for lunch, unloading incoming inventory and here we are hearing an impactful testimony from Mara. 

We ended our morning praying over her as a group.  

Group 2. We are separating the already wrapped tooth brushes into sandwich bags. These tooth brushes go in  care packages for asylum refugees. 

We are separating men's underwear for the immigrants. It's rewarding to know we can help global. A lot of clothing has been donated by the United Nations.

Mountains of underwear all for the glory of God! The students enjoyed this the most.

Many of our groups got the privilege to participate in outreach to the local community through park ministry.  We first spent time packing care kits, and then headed out to a few local parks in the area that are home to/a place to rest for many unhoused individuals in the community. Local church & community leaders who have relationships already with many of the individuals we met led us during this ministry, which was such a blessing as well, helping us to be able to bridge the gap into deeper conversation with the people we met. People were very eager to share their stories, experiences, challenges, and joys with us. Many were receptive to prayer and a few even took time to pray over us as we serve here in Tucson!  

We spent the afternoon at GAP Ministries helping to pack supplies. Some of us worked in the kitchen making hundreds of snacks and lunches for children in need! 

We LOVED hiking up Gates Pass, enjoying the beauty of the Saguaro Cacti on the rocky mountains. It's a backdrop to remember, as was this week of ministry. 

Moving sand at Hope City Church to create a safer environment in the playground for the Kid's Ministry. Mark & Kristi's team worked soo hard!

SFC helps to move the remaining prayer stones (every Precinct across Tucson has received these stones of encouragement) in order to prepare for the future home of 5 free standing showers for our future PPM teams!

Our SFC Staff's got game! These teams worked SO hard, they were ahead of schedule and took advantage of the opportunity to shoot some hoops! Guess who won? 

Group 4 and 5 teamed up at Goshen Monday to love on a Church founded by and run Refugees, painting weeding road repare hauling dirt carpet cleaning. 

We had a rare treat our groups got to work with , founding Pastor Bigemba Mr Rick and Mr Bart and hear the miracle story as well as Bimbas story of refuge. 

Of how God gave his refugee ministry team the current church

Who raised a small fraction of down payment the owner a retired pastor gave them the property with out interest and banked the loan him self.

Through renting the 4 apartments and church the y are now completely payed off in 8 years. Go God!! We loved praying for Pastor Bigemba his m8nistry he serves Ugandan orphans where he once took refuge. 

Wensday Group 5 Discovered a beautiful spot to take Respid in after a long week pouring out the love of God  on the churches, ministry's of and community. Sweet Lands Wetlands a Water Recycling Project.  We had special time to Debrief our time together and affirm each other in God's quiet Creation.  

Another rare oppratunity with Tucson PPM  partners Tucson Refugee Ministries to learn about Refugee community and play/ connect with the precious kids in their community., while eating Egees. 

The youth director led us through a powerful visualization of being a Refugee child from life before terror struck their community their home, to flight , to fredom,  refuge in an nother country,  and finealy to their new life here in US. 

Group 5 continued to build unity and new PPM  partnership with Interfaith Community Services at home program, as we cared for a older couple going through a health crisis., tby aking care of their yard work, so they no longer had to stress about it and could focus on healing.  The home owner was touched by the love she received.