We ran into a number of new houseless people this weekend. There was a man named

Ed[pictured to the left], and it was only

his second day on the streets. He came from Baltimore hoping to get involved in the art/mural scene in Philly. The night before had been extremely cold, and he had nothing with him and no place to stay, so he went up to this woman named Janet, who had been sleeping on the subway grates for the heat. He asked her if he could get warm there for a minute, but her and her husband told him to stay the whole night, then she went on to even give him her coat. It was amazing to see just how genuine and loving these people can be to each other.

"I met Dan and he showed me what it means to be content in what ever situation you may be in. Praise God!!" -Ray H

"...I met someone named James. I asked how he was doing and he told me 'Everyday I wake up well. Life is worth living, some people don't even wake up in the morning.' That totally changed my perspective of things." -Heather M

"I didn't think that those without a home and on the streets would be so willing to have people talk and pray with them. Houseless people are usually looked down on and it was eye opening to just be able to talk and interact with them." -Paul G

"...I had never gone into Center City before with the intent of feeding the hungry- It was really neat because we were able to literally feed them with lunches we made and also with Christ's love for them. I am grateful I was able to be apart of encouraging people like Michael, Dora, and Alvan in Christ!" -Kate T

The 11.6 Team [minus 2]

A Long Awaited Return

Today was the first trip back to Philadelphia since the summer.

Its been well over 2 months, but many of the houseless people still recognized us and it was amazing to fellowship with old friends [in photo to the right, Yeehaa and Will], and even meet some new ones too.

"It was just so awesome to see what it was like. My eyes were opened when I saw why you put me on this earth. Serving you gives me the best feeling ever." -Heather A

"You know that God is working. His love and compassion has been taught to me from meeting some of these people. They really love Jesus, and its rad." -Stef K

"I felt that God was moving throughout Love Park, you could just tell from what the men and women had to say. I noticed that everyone I talked to was 'Alright' or 'Good', all good attitudes... Its so encouraging and awesome to see how God works and exists in those environments." Joe T [in photo to the left]

The 10.23 Team

New Faces

It was amazing to have new faces and new hearts apart of the team this week. It was complete confirmation that the right people were in Philadelphia today because of the way that He moved and worked in the lives of various people.

The 7.17 Team

Last Minute Lunching

Plans for this morning's outreach were back and forth all week... go, don't go, go, ok, we're going. A small team of four of us headed down a bit later than usual, with less food, less time, and yet another birthday to celebrate.

Testimony from Kyle C about William [man in yellow shirt to the left] to come soon.

"Yeehaa, as he calls himself, or Giddeeup, [pictured to the bottom right] had his birthday this week. This is one of the first men that we met down in Philly, so we know him pretty well. So of course we brought him a cake to surprise him, but when we got there he had a surprise for us!

He announced that he was going back home to be with his family, especially his son because they were going through some hard times. We were overjoyed, and I was able to have a great conversation about where God was leading him, and he gave me some great words of wisdom in my future endeavors, and even though I have only known his for a bit, it was still so rad to see him moving on to better things." -Kristy F

The 7.3 Team

Best Birthday Ever?

Today, we were informed, is a man named Rudy's birthday. He mentioned it in past weeks, and we told him that we would bring a cake down to celebrate, but he clearly didn't think we were serious. Because when we arrived, singing, with a beautiful chocolate cake and candles, a suprised Rudy claimed, "I think this is the best birthday ever." People from all over Love Park were coming over to get cake and give their "Happy Birthday" wishes to him. We were also blessed by the Goshen Baptist youth group, as they provided us with over 150 hoagies to give out for lunch today. This is incredibly awesome because there wasn't enough money to actually buy food for the lunches this week. Oh how God provides.

"It was so beautiful to see someone who I have come to know as more than an acquaintance over the past few weeks, and to just see Rudy [man in picture to the top right with cake] so genuinely happy... You could just see it on his face, that he felt special, he felt loved. He didn't have any plans on his birthday, and nobody would have even said Happy Birthday to him. But this day, so many eyes were on him, and he just sat there and soaked it in. Its amazing what baking and bringing a cake to someone on their birthday can do for them." -Kristy F

The 6.26 Team

On A Search

Entering into the city, with hopes of encounters with old friends, we quickly hurried to Love Park on a search for them all. We unfortunately did not get to see many of them, but what we found was much greater. Different faces. New relationships. Changed lives.

"Saturday, I had the opportunity to speak with Mike. Mike lost his job and made a lot of bad decisions. He has only been homeless for 3 days and feels alone. He doesn't know any of the

other homeless there. I asked him if I could pray for him. He said yes, but lets pray for everyone here in this situation.

Later, another homeless man, Michael, went to Mike and told him to come hang with them anytime. Michael told Mike to not ever feel alone, 'especially since God is with you.'

The last man I met was Anwar. [in photo to the bottom right] Anwar came to me and asked if we could talk. He said that he screwed up his life and lost his wife because of alcohol. He also has 3 kids that he is separated from. He said, 'I'm scared, I can't do this no more.' He was screaming and crying. He was afraid that the others would make fun of him for crying, but he couldn't stop. He missed his kids sooo much. We told

him that this isn't about the others. This is about Anwar and changing his life. We told him that he needs to stop the alcohol immediately. We said, 'You can't do it alone, but God will be with you.' We talked about Jesus and Anwar prayed to accept Jesus as his Savior. Anwar was so mad at himself for letting alcohol ruin his life. He said he is ready to go home. He said that he is changing immediately. I told him that I am excited to see the new Anwar. I was crying with Anwar and he said, 'I can't believe that a grown man is crying -because of me.' When we said that we would come back to see him, he said, 'I won't be here. I'm going home -to my family.' " Mike C

Testimony from Benisha S to come.

The 6.19 Team

"...There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account: 'We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large..." Numbers 13.26-28

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A Simple Cup

Seven and a half gallons of donated Starbucks coffee, 13 eager people, and the beautiful city of Philadelphia. It started with orders to take our coffee and leave Love Park, early Thursday morning. But "the man" couldn't hold us back. Our small table and containers of coffee were respectfully set up next to the street at the intersection of JFK Boulevard and 15th Street, conveniently located directly outside the park.

"In Philly, we met a woman named Ms. Garrison. I asked her if she wanted some free coffee and noticed that she had stitches along her left elbow. This started a discussion about how she obtained her injury. I soon discovered that she was a pleasant woman and a believer in Christ. I ended up being able to pray for her, and her elbow, and she was greatly appreciative. At that time there was an event taking place in Love Park. A woman working with the event asked us if we wanted to join a free raffle for an ipod shuffle. So we thought, "Why not?" and grabbed a ticket. Suprisingly enough, Ms. Garrison won the ipod shuffle. This was definitely a testimony of God's goodness. This displayed how God cares for even the small things in our lives. It was a blessing to see this woman give praise to God. It was exciting to build a relationship with this woman who I will be able to continue to see every Saturday." -Mario M

The 6.10 Team [minus 3]

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling." 1 Peter 4.8-9

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