Over Spring Break I went on a mission trip to Jacksonville FL with a team from my youth group at my church. I wanted to share some pictures and stories with you guys of what happened there and what I did!
The first thing my team and I did when we arrived in Jacksonville was prepare for a block party that we were going to host in the middle of an apartment area. We loaded a trailer with a popcorn machine, crafts, food, etc. We also brought along a trailer with a bouncy house inside it. We set up the block party in a really poor apartment area. Most adults there were either drunk or abused their kids. I helped manage the craft table where kids would color on crosses, make flowers for their Mom's, color in an Easter coloring book, etc. Most of the crafts were Christian and mentioned Jesus' resurrection. That gave my friends and I at the craft table a great opportunity to tell them about Jesus and what the cross that they were coloring meant.
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| Making crafts with the kids. |
A lot of the kids were so happy because they usually don't get attention like we were giving them. Some of the kids had bumps, bruises, cuts and sores that their parents gave them. One little girl that I came across was really quit. She was around the age of 7 and she wouldn't talk at all and didn't have the slightest grin on her face. My friend and I wondered what was wrong with her. We walked her over to the bouncy house hopping that a trip down the slide would make her happy when a man began yelling at her telling her that her Mom doesn't love her, that her Mom left her and doesn't want her. The little girl hid behind my friend Chloe's legs and began to cry. Almost the hole rest of the day she was crying. Chloe and I gave her some snacks and a coloring book to take home. We told her of the story that the coloring book represented (Jesus' love for her and His resurrection). By the end of the day she had smiled and knew who Jesus was and repeated that he loves her. There are many more story's of children that we came across at the block party... many of
them are heartbreaking.
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| The little girl who cried all day... Nia |
One of the other things we did was prayer walking. Prayer walking is when you walk around praying for people and for buildings/businesses. My team and met a man at the bus stop who was very nice. He insisted on praying for each of us by name and prayer request. As we were all holding hands praying at the bus stop, a woman from the streets came running up to us wanting to join in our prayer. It was great seeing how when we acted like Jesus, people noticed and wanted to be a part of it. We also fed the homeless at a warehouse. My friends and I cooked some brand and cornbread and served the homeless a meal. We also socialized with the homeless and talked to them about Jesus. Another thing we did was organize donated clothes at a homeless shelter. There are too many stories and things to share! I'll post again of my adventures at BLITZ, till then, I hope you enjoyed!
My trip in Jacksonville was a success, I must say! I think we touched a lot of peoples hearts. Here's a couple bonus pictures for you!...
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| My prayer team and I praying at the bus stop. |
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| Our hole BLITZ team. |
-Izzy XOXO
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