?The angel said to the women, ?Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.? (Matthew 28:5-6). How great is it to serve a living God who loves us so much? He humbled himself to the point of death on a cross for us. Praise the Lord for his grace he pours out upon us daily!
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| Downtown Boston from the Prudential Tower |
This past week was Serve Medford and we ended the week with Community Fun Night. We had about eighty people come up to serve Medford alongside us. We served the community by doing work in the parks, giving out granola bars and gum at T stops, volunteering at Willis Avenue, serving at the Boys and Girls Club, and serving the local businesses. We closed the week with Community Fun Night. Nearly a thousand people showed up on Friday night and hung out with us. The night included; food, sno-cones, popcorn, carnival games, inflatables, face painting, arts and crafts, a bike stunt show (he also shared the gospel as he did his tricks), and nearly 25 raffle giveaways. The raffle giveaways included Red Sox tickets, two bikes, and gift cards to local businesses. We were able to connect with many different people during the event. I spoke with one young man for about forty five minutes and was able to answer some questions he had about Christianity and was able to share the gospel with him. Our outreach team did a great job of engaging people and telling them more about Redemption Hill. They also gave out multiple Bibles throughout the night. Community Fun Night was a great opportunity to display our love for Christ and for Medford.
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| The kids enjoyed the bouncy houses |
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| Setting up the obstacle course |
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| What a combo; sharing the gospel while doing bike tricks |
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| Owen helping us clean up afterwards |
Throughout the week many people asked us ?Why are you doing this?? Our response was ?because Jesus first served and loved us so now we want to serve and love others.? Many people were surprised by this answer and at times confused. But, it was an easy way for us to share the gospel with them. I?m so thankful for the many opportunities God was able to work through us and allow us to display and declare the gospel.
God is so amazing in the ways in which He works. On the second day we were up here in Boston we met a lady who houses international students. She invited us over for a barbeque on the fourth of July. We were able to make connections with many of the students and were then able to hang out with them throughout the summer. Liz and I were able to make a good connection with two of the international students. We both had opportunities to meet up with them and to share the gospel with them. The guy I have been spending time with actually came to church this past Sunday (our last Sunday here). Our God works in powerful ways and it is awesome to see fruit from His work through us. We formed a relationship on the second day we were here and five weeks later we have one of the students coming to church with us. Of course this is just the beginning and a lot more work needs to be done, but I can?t wait to see how God will work in his life. This is one of my favorite stories from our trip because we see the cumulative effect of God?s work.
It is crazy to think we are leaving here on Thursday. It seems like yesterday we were pulling up into the city witnessing a policemen chasing a guy on a motorcycle (Yes, that is the first thing we saw when we got in late on June 29th). Our group has been blessed to serve under such a great leader and assistant leader in Chad and Christy Ferrell. I also want to give a shout out to the Redemption Hill staff and thank them for everything they have done for us. Last, but not least I want to thank my teammates; JC, Aaron, Kerrin, Liz, Farris, Meredith, and Kelsey. I couldn?t ask for a better group of people to serve with. We worked extremely well together and made so many memories together. I love all of my bruddahs and sistahs in Christ.
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| Our last Sunday at Redemption Hill |
In mine and Chad’s one on one time we went through a lot of the Old Testament. I am thankful that we can look back and see all the promises made after the fall, to Abraham, during the passover, to David, and in Isaiah 53 are fulfilled by Jesus. Being discipled by Chad was one of my highlights this summer. I learned so much from him over these six weeks. It is awesome to look back through the scriptures and see that we find our yes in Christ.
As I reflect back on this experience it is evident how faithful, loving, and full of grace our God is. He provided each of us the support in order to do summer link, the knowledge, the boldness, the faith, opportunities to display and declare the gospel, team unity, and the list goes on and on. I am so glad to serve a loving and faithful God.
How you can pray for us:
- For our group to take what we have learned during our six weeks here and apply it to our daily lives.
- For Chad and Christy as they prepare to move back up here in a year to plant a church
- For Redemption Hill to continue to lead their church well and to continue to grow
- Safe travels back home as we drive 17 hours tomorrow
In Christ,
Jonathan Mitchell
