Sept-DeCemBer 2010

Stacey’s adventures *in* Minnesota…

Hello Everyone!

AWARENESS OUTREACH: 48 DAYS of Awareness…

It’s about time that I catch up and let you know w hat has been happening up here…We have been keeping busy here sponsoring a 48 Days of Awareness Campaign to benefit a new transitional home for women wanting to change their lives around out of the sex-trafficking/prostitution industry. We have been connecting with several organizations to be able partner together to provide housing/programs for women wanting to make a break from the past. We have been having awareness outreaches locally around the city of Minneapolis at the local colleges, Vikings football games. Many are unaware of what is happening locally involving homeless youth, teen prostitution, and sex-trafficking(especially in the city of Minneapolis). During the campaign we set up a website: www.sourceannex.org posting various live interviews with survivors, outreach workers, church leaders…hearing stories of lives being changed, etc….and there is exciting news—We have successfully raised the $42,000 goal that we have been praying for/working towards to be able to partner in starting a women’s transitional home!!!

Art Auctions/Creative Fundraising Benefits…

I have been excited to be part of this adventure and walking alongside Him as he has called us….and He has provided in so many ways. My role has been helping with coordinating creative music/art Benefits to raise money for this campaign, joining in creative outreach/awareness opportunities around the city of Minneapolis as we have been working with various college ministry groups/volunteer groups in raising awareness/answering God’s call to being a friend and a voice to the marginalized.

Some Facts…

*Minnesota is #1 per capita of homeless youth in the USA

*10% of teens arrested for prostitution in Las Vegas are from Minnesota

* Approximately 30,000 USA children involved in prostitution

*Average age of entry into prostitution: 13

*Currently 83 victims of sex-trafficking on a local waiting list

for a recovery program that have no place

Prayer Requests…

*Safety in Travel as I am visiting South Carolina & Florida in December/Early January

*Ocala, Florida Outreach trip in January-We set up a prayer tent/feed the homeless (Travelers and Homeless gather in Florida to escape the Northern, Cold winter months.) God will prepare my heart and the hearts of those that we will be meeting…

*Rest & Rejuvenation during the Holidays…

*I have now been working with Source for 1 ½ years! Continued encouragement/financial support as I continue working here

**My ministry with Source is funded entirely with gifts from supporters like you!

Will you consider financially partnering with me by making a tax-deductible, year-end gift? Or by joining my monthly support team? I still need to raise about $250 a month.

<<<<<<<<<(Scroll up and to the left for mailing address/e-mail address info. for mailing sending support)

Thank you so much for your continued Prayers & Support!

staciphilgreen@yahoo.com* www.sourcemn.org -Stacey.

Overwhelmed by God...

A few days ago I ran into "Sarah" on my walk over to my house from work (which is about 1 block away from where I live)...Sarah is a friend of mine that I've probably known for about 1 1/2 years...I see her every once in awhile and she doesn't come around often, but I will see her around the Minneapolis area and she will show up every once in awhile to one of our "Open Hour Food shelf" days...Sarah has been living on the streets of Minneapolis since about her teens, surviving the cold winters, staking out her spots to sleep at night, and offering to clean certain places that she knows will give her $10 for her work...she says its so great because it gives her enough to get by, and purchase some food...and the occasional nail polish :) Sarah professes to loving God, but can't seem to accept the fact that she doesn't have to work and "do good" to keep her salvation...she recognizes the evil around her and she won't "mess with any of the alcohol, drugs, and other stuff that some of the mean men on the street are sucked into ..." She lives in constant fear of being tricked, used, being taken advantage of or having her sleeping/working space found out by others (homeless/non-homeless alike) in fear that she might lose the few things that she has, including a "safe" place to sleep at night. I have prayed with Sarah several times poking and prodding to see where her faith lies, and assuring her that if she has a personal relationship with God, that she doesn't have to fear that God is going to leave her. It is a done deal. The terrible part is eventually having to walk away, knowing that Sarah is going to be sleeping outside tonight, once again, and being left with myself and God, wrestling with the fact that Sarah is in this terrible cycle of the life of a vagabond, constantly living in fear of the "evil people around her"...the hard thing is that she doesn't want to ask for help and she keeps viewing herself as not deserving more than what she already has. She even quotes scripture to me, leaving me more encouraged/challenging me in my relationship with God. I don't know whether to be encouraged/discouraged when I walk away.. This is a good/difficult thing for me to wrestle this out with God, and still I am left with so many questions...God has placed me here, right now, to love these people and also to learn to receive love from Him myself. Please pray for Sarah. Please pray for me as I meet people just like Sarah.

June-AuGust (Summer Stories)

This summer we had a weekly Kid's Club where we provided creative activities, snacks, and outdoor activities----we were able to get to know a lot of our Somali and Hispanic families that live in our immediate neighborhood and to establish closer relationships with them. One particular family now continuously invites us into their home to join them for tea and authentically cooked Somalian meals. We have also been able to connect more with their niece (in her mid-twenties), seeing that she may be more open to having a relationship with God because she is less committed to some of the Muslim practices.

We also we were able to get to know some of the residents at our local Ebenezer Center for the Elderly. We made creative art projects with the residents weekly. Some of the residents don't have any family and they looked forward to us taking them out to the garden to create! For many of them, we were the only visitors that they received--It was so fun to be welcomed with so many smiles :)

This summer we established closer relationships in the immediate neighborhood and got to know entire families through getting to know the kids first (through our kid's club). Many of the kids brought their families back to our Art Fest and we have been praying for these Muslim families to come to know God as their personal Savior.

We had a wonderful group of interns for the summer, and we were sad to see them leave after the Summer that flew by so fast. I was able to get to know these girls and to co-lead a Bible study with them throughout the summer.

The Art Fest was another success this year! We tried out a few new things this year, giving away a semi-truck full of groceries throughout the afternoon as well as setting up a prayer garden with trees, rocks, and hanging prayer flags over the entire thing. Everyone, from kids to adults were invited to paint and write prayer flags to add to the prayer teepee and garden throughout the day.

Earlier this summer was probably my favorite event, hosting an art show with our gallery full of painted/fabric wallhangings by a local artist in town who is working on her Masters in Fine Arts. On the same night, we hosted an open mic and free meal that was open to the neighborhood and some of the friends that we met at St. Stephen's shelter and our local neighbors. It was a full house and one of the most eclectic groups of people in one space that I've ever seen. And when someone came to the door, asking if he could still come in because he didn't think he would be welcome that night because of his poor dress and that he understood if we didn't want him to come in (He'd never been to an art show before) , but then being able to say, “yes, you are welcome here, even tonight.” This is what I love so much, sharing God's love for people in practical ways of hospitality. I love it.

God's LoVE.

So as a group, some people from our church and our interns took a short retreat up to Wisconsin for some team-building time...It ended up being a time of rejuvenation and encouragement to me...so I wanted to share--Here's a note from my JouRnaL:

"I've experienced God this week in a way that I haven't ever before. I've experienced a renewed freedom and joy in Christ in my worship and in my rest. Lying in the field of flowers I am content. No direct revelation from God, no divine messages of direction--just plain reveling in God's love."

maY-jUNe 2010

Stacey’s * Still in* Minneapolis… May 2010
So it’s the beginning of the summer, which is an important month for me—I’ve been living in Minneapolis for a Year! It’s kind of a strange feeling that it’s already been that long. I feel like so much has happened and I’ve grown and learned so much. I am getting ready to embark on my 2nd year with Source! I have been learning & working more with coordinating artists in our gallery and hosting art openings. We recently held a show based on Archiving with students from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. It was such a great connection to make with creative emerging artists and for them to witness part of our Christian community. The week the artists were installing the show we were also hosting our week of prayer where we corporately gathered for morning, midday, and evening prayer. I was able to get to know one of the girls a little more than the others, and she even decided to show up for one of our community meals! I am praying that we’ll be able to keep in touch and that her heart will be softened more towards God. I realized during this week one of the reasons why I love working with Source is that we provide a place where different worlds can collide (in a good way when in most situations they would probably be worlds apart , i.e.-Christian and non-Christian artists working together to put together a gallery opening). I’ve also had an awesome opportunity while I’ve been here to grow in my confidence of leading and honing in on basic skills of working in large group settings. This is something that I had always shied away from in the past but I believe God has wanted to stretch me in this area. Now I can continue to use these skills while I’m here and I’ll also be able to use them wherever I go in the future. With the summer approaching, I have been interviewing some of the girls that will be coming to live with us during their summer internships! This means that I’ll be getting 4 new roommates for the summer. We will also be working together organizing our annual Art Fest in the neighborhood and creatively participating in different artistic city-wide festivals where we will be coming into contact with lots of different kinds of people. Please pray for the preparation of the summer and everything that comes with the busier summer months. We probably will also be coming into contact with more homeless because more homeless travel through the cities here in the warmer months. I am also writing this letter to ask for continued prayer and financial support throughout the next year. When I arrived in Minnesota I made a 2-year commitment with Source and I am now beginning my 2nd year. I will prayerfully evaluate what will happen after that 2 year mark, but for now I know that God has me here with Source! Also, with the amount of time that has passed, some of the giving that I have received in the past has now grown less. I am looking for a few new financial supporters to join the continued support that I already receive. I thank God for all of you who have been faithfully and consistently supporting me since I’ve been here—you have contributed so much in allowing me to be able to continue doing ministry Minneapolis for this past year—Thank you, thank you so much! stacey. staciphilgreen@yahoo.com* www.falloutminneapolis.com* www.sourcemn.org* www.staciphilgreen.blogspot.com

DiSgrAcE. GooD fRiDaY sERviCe.

Source has hosted a unique Good Friday service since 2003. Unique, creative, experimental collaboration are all words that is has lived up to. We have had 20-30 artists and performers involved each year that have assisted the goal of presenting to the observer and audience a glimpse of Christ and his embracing the cross a different look than they have experienced before whether someone was raised in the church or have little connection.

General Format: is having a visual (which are displayed in our gallery) and a performance vignette connected with our Stations of the cross (we have modified them inspired by the traditional stations of the cross).

StrIppEd & moCKed w/a CrOwn of THoRNs.

I created a cloth-like mobile representing Christ accepting the Cross (one of the stations of the Cross of Good Friday) , when HE was stripped of his clothing and mocked with robe of scarlet by the Roman soldiers. Matthew 27:27-31