Chandler Assembly of God

After a long day of traveling, we arrived at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church. We were all exhausted. The area we are staying in is the most diverse square mile in the US. We are looking forward to serving the community through various ministries including putting on a VBS in Franklin Square Park.

This morning we get to worship alongside the wonderful people at St. Paul's ELC who have so graciously welcomed us into their home.  Thankful for all that God is doing and will continue to do this week.

Rev. Wells delivering the message this morning. 

1 Peter 4:12-14 NIV

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. [13] But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. [14] If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

Exploring the different cultures of Minneapolis through food & art at the Midtown Global Market.

Later in the afternoon we passed out flyers for the VBS that we will be hosting in Jackson Square Park alongside Living Hope Ministries.  Excited for this opportunity this week! 

This morning we were blessed by Brian from the church we are staying at.  He made us breakfast to order.  Thanks so much Brian!

This morning we are making cards for Our Savior's Housing.  They send out cards to people who have been involved in their ministry and we are helping to provide a personal touch to that outreach.  

Rachel's preparations coming to fruition! 

After lunch, we went on a walk around the community with Todd.  Todd grew up in the community and works with a ministry connected with the church.  He shared a lot about the diversity of the community and about good and bad changes that have happened over time.  At the end of our walk, Todd graciously shared his testimony with us under a bridge that at one point in his life he slept under while homeless.  Todd has an incredible passion for his home community and it was a great experience getting to spend time with him.

On Monday night we kicked off our VBS in Jackson Square Park.   We had a great turnout and a group of onlookers as well!  We are thankful to be partnering with Living Hope Ministries and looking forward to building on the relationships we started.  God is good!

Our nightly time of worship put on by the teens and devotions led by the adult chaperones. This has been a great time for all!

The teens made care bags full of hygiene products and hand written notes to hand out at a homeless shelter that our cook, Brian, helps serve at.

The teens made care bags full of hygiene products and hand written notes to hand out at a homeless shelter that our cook, Brian, helps serve at.

Our cook, Brian, sharing his testimony for us and telling us what to expect when we get to the shelter (Catholic Charities).

Catholic Charities, the soup kitchen/shelter that we brought our care bags to and where we spread the love of God with those who were around.

Exploring and hiking around Minnehaha Falls!

Ball launch at the game station of VBS! The kids had a blast!!

Ball launch at the game station of VBS! The kids had a blast!!

Craft Station!

The teens putting on a skit for the kids! They thought it was a hoot!!

Sorting shoes this morning at Good in the Hood for them to sell to the people throughout the neighborhoods for $5

Seth sharing about Good in the Hood, what we are accomplishing, and the importance of it all!

The Good in the Hood bus that they drive around the neighborhoods to sell the shoes. It was donated by Schuler Shoes.

Rachel checking out the Good in the Hood bus that they drive around the neighborhoods to sell the shoes. It was donated by Schuler Shoes.

Seth telling us about how many shoes we separated that were bus worthy - 896 pairs!! This was 3-4 days worth of work for a normal group!

The group waiting to get started to pack food bags with Feed My Starving Children (FMSC)! Don't they look good in those hair nets?!

The number of meals packed annually since FMSC has started! Man they've packed a lot of meals!!! Almost 300,000,000!

Packing meals! The ingredients go Vitamins, Veggies, Soy, Rice!

Weighing the bags! They have to be between 380-400 grams.

Sealing 'em up!! Youth Pastor Bryan sealing the packed meals

The girls are having fun! At least I think they are!!(:

Mama Lori putting labels on the bags!

Here are the statistics from the 2 hours of packing that we did!! There were around 100 people there packing meals when we were there so we got to work along side others to make things happen! Everyone had a great time packing the meals!! It turned into a real competition between the stations to see who could pack the most boxes!

Game Station! The kids had a great time climbing into the tub of ice water and picking up marbles with their toes, then racing down to the other end and putting it in the bucket!

Craft Station! Sidney showing us her beautiful door hanger! It says Christ lives here (with an arrow pointing down) fill in the blank's heart!

The kids are getting their grove on with Mama Lori and Emma!!! Even Pastor Bryan joined in on the action! Everyone loved the songs and dancing!

The final skit! They were all "crying" and sad because they forgot to create their skit!

Pastor Bryan giving tonight's lesson on the Good Samaritan - We're nice to others because God's nice to us

Good Byes are always hard...! Taking a picture with kids from VBS!!

Getting our Juicy Lucy's from the Blue Door for dinner tonight!!!! They are burgers stuffed with a thick layer of cheese in the patty! They were absolutely delicious!!

Rachel loves the little Mamba's, all the Mamba's in the tube, pink and yellow, orange and red, Mamba's are best before bed, Rachel loves all the Mamba's in the tube!

*Sing to the tune of Jesus Loves the Little Children*