Starting Week Two

We have officially started week number 2 here in Seattle!! Sunday the group visited another church, this one predominately African American. Because I had been in the Gospel Choir I actually knew a lot of the hymns. That was fun! (the rest of the group was completely confused about me belting out these tunes).

Monday we started going to the "ministry sights". We Crusaders were divided up into four different groups to go into these different places to serve the community and minister to them. The group I am in is a Sports Camp for kindergarten to eighth grade youth. This camp didn't start until Tuesday, so my particular group instead went to parks in Seattle and gave away free lunches, hygiene packs, and socks to the homeless. Funnily, the thing the homeless really want are the SOCKS! Which I guess makes sense, but it surprised me. And after we've made that connection with those who want the items we asked if they wanted to hear the gospel and the four Spiritual Laws. My partner and I who went out together were able to share the gospel (or at least part of it) with about five people and were able to give out items to probably about 30 people. And that was just me and my partner! There were about seven other groups going out, so just that 4 hours of loving on the community really made an impact. We are on the front lines of the Lord's army!

Tuesday was the first day of the Sports Camp. I was able to teach some of the older Campers volleyball, which was familiar to me since my first job was a volleyball coach for fourth graders. In the afternoon I helped out on the tennis courts. In between these two events the Campers participate in a short Bible Study where they talk about their lives, sports, and how the Bible relates to them. Then they are supposed to memorize a short Bible verse.

Today, Wednesday, our bus stopped at an apartment to pick up 9 kids who didn't have rides to the camp and they really enjoyed their time. This morning I again helped with volleyball, and then in the afternoon I was asked to help out at a church campus of one of the participating day schools. I helped play and look after like 7 kids and played basically EVERY game imaginable. It was exhausting but it was apparent these kids needed adult interaction.

Some general updates:

• I am still really tired. I usually get 5-6 hours of sleep every single night and napping about 30 minutes when commuting on the bus
• My relationships with everyone here is strengthening. We are sharing our testimonies and really getting deep with our love for Jesus and each other
• I am just starting to get used to the schedule here (which is usually unpredictable). I am starting to get into the groove of things.
• It only rained here the first few days. It's been sunny skies here, which is super rare!

And that is all for now :)

homeLESS

The last two days of Summer Project have been a bit challenging for the group. Since we are going to be ministering and helping the homeless and impoverished community, part of this Project is dedicated to showing us Crusaders what it feels like to be in their positions for a day and a half.

The lovely staff here surprised us one afternoon with very loud whistles and told us that we were being "evicted" from the dorm. We could only bring 3 personal items, such as a toothbrush or pillow, and the clothes we put on our bodies. We then slept in a parking garage and were "harassed" by the police- who were really some student staff who would play loud music in the night and take some people from our group away. A lot of the Crusaders here got only 3 hours of sleep.

The next morning we got breakfast in the dining commons (as usual) but we were given a series of tasks to complete in the afternoon. The staff drove us in the bus (we have two buses for transportation) to downtown Seattle and basically waved good-bye. One of the tasks we had to complete was to find a free meal, which would be our only lunch. It actually was EASY to do! Which is probably not actually realistic. We also had to try and collect 100 cans and find the value for all of them. Our group only collected 40 after searching for three hours, but we estimated that 100 cans would only give you $1.50 or so. That's a LOT of hours for just a little money.

Many other events like these occurred that really pushed us to our limits as we tried to sleep that night. Then, at the end, the staff reminded of this Bible verse:

"Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28)

And it just put it all in perspective again. We are here in Seattle because we want to love on the groups who are the most needy. And, to do that, we have to "wash their feet" and serve them -not by being high and mighty above them in any way. While the homeless experience wasn't exactly like a five star hotel experience, it was a five star maturing experience for me and a lot of the Crusaders. It really strengthened our faith and our bonds with one another. Pretty cool :)

Seattle: Episode 1

It's like star wars or something :)

(I took this picture through a telescope! Cool, eh?)

So hello everyone!! This is Deanna, or "Dee Dee" or "Doozie" or whatever you call me, and thanks for stopping by my newly made blog! I have never done this before but I decided to start one because of the mission I am on this summer in Seattle, Washington. I am making one for the reasons of:

1-being able to update my supporters of this mission
2-being able to write long winded things and no one can tell me otherwise
3-to show you what God is doing in this city so you will know how to pray for it/me/the rest of the people on the mission here

I will make this first post short because I have SOOOO much to say already, even though I've only been here for 5 short days, I have learned and experienced so many things. Here is a general overview of what I have done each day so far:

Saturday: arrived here and got to know the rest of the Crusaders and the staff on this mission
Sunday: went to a church that is run/attended by past felons and drug addicts. also, we got a LITERAL underground tour of this city. very rainy day.
Monday: orientation with the Department of Corrections and got an overview of who is in the department, what they do, and how it affects the community. we also got a first-hand look at crack pipes!
Tuesday: this was our first day visiting a prison. McNeil Island prison is medium security and only has men. we also got to interview a panel of four prisoners which consisted of a murderer and a man who used to deal Meth.
Wednesday: ride-alongs, or "shadowing", members of the DOC in Seattle. I got to witness one arrest and several house visits (for those on warrents)
Thursday: ride-alongs again, this time in Tacoma, Washington. I talked with a social worker in a medium security prison and visited other important places that I have already forgotten.

I also learned that Washington is the least "churched" state -meaning it has the least amount of people who attend churches. God is definitely working in the United States.

So I will leave my update at that :) Please let me know how I can be praying for you!

God Bless

Dee Dee