Well, I am happy to report to you all that
the icy mounds of sNoW that have piled up since November have finally melted away this week! It's finally beginning to feel warm and I figured it was about time to update everyone with what has been happening and to share with you what God has been doing in my life since we last talked!Prayer Week We hosted a pRayER wEeK at our prayer room in January open to the church and community and it was a great time to slow down and pray together for the new year and for the new people that will be coming alongside the ministry and the church. This also happened to be my biRthDaY month that I turned 24 (my friends actually gave me 2 separate surprise birthdays—God has blessed me with some great friends and family here:) The prayer week also inspired me to begin a new artistic project-creating wire-form mobiles, incorporating various found objects and themes-you can see the beginnings of one of them in the photos. I also walked on my first frozen lake in January! (snow picture)
Also to start off the new year, we celebrated my parents' re-marriage as a family! It was the first time since their re-marriage that we were all able to be together in the same place-- It was their official wedding celebration-reception and it was so nice to all be together to celebrate!
We most recently finished hosting a spRing bReaK missions trip for a couple of the Christian colleges in the area. Some of the schools typically offer spring break mission trips, and we were one of them this year! We hosted the students for the week and we also connected with other local shelters, food shelves, and other ministries. Not only did the students have opportunities to serve with us at Source, but they were also able to see what other ministries in the area were doing as well. We also had teaching times about reaching out to the lost and the poor and were able to process and pray through some of the stuff that God was stirring in their hearts while they were with us.
To finish off the week, we hosted a bEneFiT for Haiti—it was a creative night that involved a silent aRT aUCtiOn, live MuSiC, and serving authentic Haitian food—It was such a great night to watch come together and the greatest part was co-hosting the night with one of the artists (Matt) from the Fallout who does not know God, but it was great to walk alongside him and support him in sponsoring the idea he had to host this Haiti Benefit. The part I love about working with Source is seeing non-Christians, Christians and all kinds of different people come together in a welcoming environment where God is presented in a non-condemning way—basically just seeing all kinds of people coming into contact with God that would never otherwise step foot inside of a church. It also blessed me to be able to visit one of the shelters, bringing warm food, conversation, and art, but in the process was able to pRaY with a woman named JeNniFeR who is mending her relationship with her son. The same week I also met a young artist at a local free meal and just heard her story about moving to a new city with no money and trying to make it as an artist and trying to make it on her own. It is people like this that I've been praying for God to introduce me to, to pray for and get to know.
Disgrace...Last but not least, you can be praying for our annual Good Friday service that we host—It's a creative/interactive night where we represent the different stations of the cross that lead into the celebration of Easter and Jesus raising from the dead. We have been asking for creative pieces to be filmed, performed, or donated to be included in the night. This usually brings in people from all over-churches, students, and different people we have met on the streets.
Prayer Requests:
Summer Activities & Interns that God is bringing to Source
Disgrace (Our creative/interactive Good Friday Service)
Leadership/speaking-that I will continue to grow in this
Women (artists, roommates, homeless) I can encourage in their walk w/God.
Continued direction while in Minnesota (1 year mark in May/finances are a little low)- I'm here for another year!
***Feel free to check out what's happening @ www.sourcemn.org***
