Our final day on Market Street started with breakfast in the community room with our team and members of The Hill Church community. It was nice to see the families that we had met and connected with the previous 48 hours.
The Sunday service was at 11:00 a.m. And while this might seem normal for most other churches - having a Sunday service in the morning - this was the first Sunday morning worship service in their sanctuary in two years. Pastor Ricardo was encouraged to see some new faces in the congregation. It was cool to be a part of a milestone for this ministry team. You could feel God's presence as two of our team members helped lead the worship songs with our new neighbors from Allison Hill.
As we prepared to return home after our three days in Harrisburg, we discussed since The Hill Church is so close staying involved with this community could easily continue on a regular basis. That was our challenge from God as we departed ... the relationships we developed are worth investing in further so our team is going to pray individually to find out what that next step is for each of them.
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Saturday, August 12, 2017
Loving, Painting, and Playing with our Neighbors: Day 2
Our Ladies Painting Party event was finally here! We have prayed, planned, and prepared for this event to bless and connect with the ladies in the Allison Hill Community for a long time. Our morning had arrived. It was such a blessing to see ladies we met at The Hill Church festival last week, residents from the neighboring Shalom House, as well as welcome new faces. We were encouraged by a good attendance of enthusiastic women and we also enjoyed babysitting some of their wonderful children.
The painting of a dandelion in the wind was accompanied by a devotional reminding the women that we are all loved by our creator (Genesis 1:26-27, 31). It was a tremendous opportunity for our team to learn more about our neighbors while serving and painting beside them! The joy and laughter in the room was contagious. You could see and feel the weight of their burdens being lifted with each paint stroke.
Meanwhile, in the babysitting room, we tapped into the children's energy playing Pictionary, dance parties, and good old Duck, Duck, Goose! The smiles, hugs, and laughter from these children will last far longer than this weekend.
In the evening, we donned our stylish black and white serving outfits for the dinner prepared by Pastor Ricardo's talented chef brother, Jude. We felt like we were sous chefs on a Food Network show! And we were able to practice some culinary skills like peeling and cutting 50 pounds of potatoes. Six of our team members were able to share their testimonies throughout the dinner. It was amazing to see and hear how God used their stories to make connections. We enjoyed a scrumptious meal and conversations with members of The Hill Church and families from the Allison Hill community.
And now we look forward to being with our neighbors on the last day at The Hill Church. As their motto goes, " Life is better together." We agree!
Our Ladies Painting Party event was finally here! We have prayed, planned, and prepared for this event to bless and connect with the ladies in the Allison Hill Community for a long time. Our morning had arrived. It was such a blessing to see ladies we met at The Hill Church festival last week, residents from the neighboring Shalom House, as well as welcome new faces. We were encouraged by a good attendance of enthusiastic women and we also enjoyed babysitting some of their wonderful children.
The painting of a dandelion in the wind was accompanied by a devotional reminding the women that we are all loved by our creator (Genesis 1:26-27, 31). It was a tremendous opportunity for our team to learn more about our neighbors while serving and painting beside them! The joy and laughter in the room was contagious. You could see and feel the weight of their burdens being lifted with each paint stroke.
Meanwhile, in the babysitting room, we tapped into the children's energy playing Pictionary, dance parties, and good old Duck, Duck, Goose! The smiles, hugs, and laughter from these children will last far longer than this weekend.
In the evening, we donned our stylish black and white serving outfits for the dinner prepared by Pastor Ricardo's talented chef brother, Jude. We felt like we were sous chefs on a Food Network show! And we were able to practice some culinary skills like peeling and cutting 50 pounds of potatoes. Six of our team members were able to share their testimonies throughout the dinner. It was amazing to see and hear how God used their stories to make connections. We enjoyed a scrumptious meal and conversations with members of The Hill Church and families from the Allison Hill community.
And now we look forward to being with our neighbors on the last day at The Hill Church. As their motto goes, " Life is better together." We agree!
Friday, August 11, 2017
Loving Our Neighbors: Day 1
After a welcoming introduction from Pastor Ricardo in the newly named "Community Room" at The Hill Church, our team hit the ground running by dividing and conquering our tasks for the morning. One group put their gardening skills to work and cleaned up a garden at The Shalom House after storm damage. They even had the chance to harvest some of the crops and make a delicious vegetable soup and salad. This was a farm to table experience at its best!
Another group took on the many tasks of cleaning and organizing rooms in this early 1800 church on Market Street. Walls and floors were scrubbed, offices were organized, and windows were washed . It was a floor to ceiling endeavor with many hands! Some ladies ventured on prayer walks and were able to interact with our neighbors in Allison Hill.
In the evening, we had the opportunity to babysit Pastor Ricardo's beautiful children and allow him to take his wife Christian on a dinner date. We also prepared food and painting stations for our Ladies' Painting Class tomorrow. Our team is encouraged from our experiences for our first day and we are excited to meet more of our neighbors tomorrow!
After a welcoming introduction from Pastor Ricardo in the newly named "Community Room" at The Hill Church, our team hit the ground running by dividing and conquering our tasks for the morning. One group put their gardening skills to work and cleaned up a garden at The Shalom House after storm damage. They even had the chance to harvest some of the crops and make a delicious vegetable soup and salad. This was a farm to table experience at its best!
Another group took on the many tasks of cleaning and organizing rooms in this early 1800 church on Market Street. Walls and floors were scrubbed, offices were organized, and windows were washed . It was a floor to ceiling endeavor with many hands! Some ladies ventured on prayer walks and were able to interact with our neighbors in Allison Hill.
In the evening, we had the opportunity to babysit Pastor Ricardo's beautiful children and allow him to take his wife Christian on a dinner date. We also prepared food and painting stations for our Ladies' Painting Class tomorrow. Our team is encouraged from our experiences for our first day and we are excited to meet more of our neighbors tomorrow!
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Preparing to partner with The Hill Church in Harrisburg
Our 2017 stateside team of 13 Daybreak women are excited to serve in the community of Allison Hill in Harrisburg coming up August 11-13.
Each individual has been called by God to serve, and together we are prepared to support The Hill Church Pastor Ricardo Volcy and his team.
We've been working hard during our spirited and in-depth team meetings to connect as a group and opening our hearts and minds so we are fully prepared to serve The Hill Church and the surrounding community.
The 2017 Daybreak Stateside team is comprised of: Kelly Argot, Lorrie Blaisdell, Karen Hartenstine, Amanda Johnson, Grace Kindt, Diane Langner, Christa Laubach, Beth Reiner, Bev Rider, Stacy Salter, Maureen Shay, Dani Talarowski and Laura Williams.
Please pray for our team as we each take another step forward in our journey of sharing God's word and love.
Each individual has been called by God to serve, and together we are prepared to support The Hill Church Pastor Ricardo Volcy and his team.
We've been working hard during our spirited and in-depth team meetings to connect as a group and opening our hearts and minds so we are fully prepared to serve The Hill Church and the surrounding community.
The 2017 Daybreak Stateside team is comprised of: Kelly Argot, Lorrie Blaisdell, Karen Hartenstine, Amanda Johnson, Grace Kindt, Diane Langner, Christa Laubach, Beth Reiner, Bev Rider, Stacy Salter, Maureen Shay, Dani Talarowski and Laura Williams.
Please pray for our team as we each take another step forward in our journey of sharing God's word and love.
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