FBC Waldorf

After spending 8 hours in the car, we arrived in Rhode Island! We got settled at our lodging then went out for dinner. After eating delicious food we had a quick team meeting and got ice cream as a group. It's been fun to see some of the neighborhoods and get settled in the city. Tomorrow morning we will get to learn more about the history of Providence and begin our ministry. Thank you for praying for us this week as we learn about what makes Providence unique and look for how we can serve this community!

This morning was a full day of getting to know Providence and ministry. We visited Brown University and were given a tour of the campus and the history of the spiritual atmosphere by a alumnus who currently works with Cru. We were then able to prayer walk around campus, praying for a spiritual revival for the students and faculty. We then went to Providence Rescue Mission for the majority of the day. We walked around the surrounding neighborhood to tell the community about a free clothing drive put on by the Rescue Mission. We stayed around PRM for the afternoon to talk with people who came in, clean, do a few minor construction projects, and serve dinner. We then went to an amazing Italian restaurant for pizza and debriefed from the day before coming home for the night to rest. It was a great day!

A view of the city from Prospect Park.

One of a few ice cream stops throughout the week!

Inviting people to Providence Rescue Mission throughout the neighborhoods.

Chase and Ashley serving soup to the homeless at PRM.

On Saturday morning we got to see the FIRST First Baptist Church in the United States! It sits in an old Providence neighborhood. We then went to the state capitol where we met up with members from local churches and prayed over their city and specifically for a conference coming up in a few weeks. It was wonderful to see the passion they feel for their city and to hear about the anticipated spiritual revival occurring in Providence. We then made a quick stop for lunch before heading over to a new church plant called Sanctuary North. They are just beginning their services in a local elementary school, so we got to get to know some of the congregants and help prepare their space for their gatherings. After a lot of hard work we got to shower, eat dinner, get ice cream, and relax for the night.

Some of the group praying for the city in front of the state capital building.

The whole group who prayed in front of the capital building

The group worked hard to prepare the gym to hold weekly gatherings.

We had an awesome time of hearing about the non profits near The Feast this morning instead of a traditional worship service. Afterwards we called an audible and headed to Boston for a Red Sox game! We were able to surprise our PPM staff person Molly who absolutely loved baseball. It was cool to experience a piece of history and a typical Boston/Providence afternoon.

Because of rain in Providence we spontaneously got to go to a Red Sox game yesterday! We drove up to Boston and caught about 6 innings of the game. The rain held off until we got back to the car. Ryan has ordered and ranked lemonade at every meal so far, and he said that the lemonade at Fenway was by far the best of the whole trip!

After the trip to Boston we returned to Providence for a training with the other PPM team in town on sharing our stories in seven minutes. Our group got a chance to share and hear testimonies with the other team. Next we attended a worship service at a local church called Sanctuary. It was a space to pray, sing, and reflect on the week. We finished up the evening with a debrief meeting in which we discussed the most impactful moments of the week and how we can take home what we learned.

The team hit the road at 7:30 this morning with donuts in hand! We were sad to see them go and have been so grateful for their service this week!