This past week was INTENSE. It was our first full week of ministry…and it was AMAZING. We had so many things going on–the Eden Bus (a double decker red bus that has all sorts of games and activities for kids to do) that comes into Broughton once a week for kids that live nearby to come and hang out on, Boys & Girls Club at Albert Park–which was awesome, working alongside the vicars and other church leaders at local churches in our area…not to mention some great team times! On our day off on Friday we went to York…and although it was fun, it wasn’t exactly a day of relaxing…so, needless to say, by Saturday I was pretty drained of any ounce of energy I had left!
I think I would have to say that this is one of the most intense mission trips I’ve ever been on–this area is dark and there are only a handful of Christians trying to bring light here. At many of our outreaches/ministries, kids will laugh, be disrespectful, yell obscenities, etc…so it’s a real challenge to build relationships with them and love them anyway despite their attitudes. But it is so awesome because although it’s hard, God is giving our team the strength to be able to do it. My heart breaks for these kids because I can tell that they don’t know what it’s like to be unconditionally loved, cherished, and genuinely cared for.
This morning a group of us went into the Albion–the high school in the area–to do an assembly. The planning on the school’s part was poor, so we had to drastically cut down what we had planned to do into about a 5 minute presentation. Something along the same lines happened yesterday too…so if you could be praying for the rest of our assemblies this week (we have one every day) it would be greatly appreciated!!
I still love it here though, and I feel totally at peace being here–I know it’s where I’m supposed to be. Thank you all for your support. Keep the prayers coming!!!
For Him,
Hilary
