One group spent the day at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, working with The SoulFisher Ministries. The group spent the day working with elementary aged students, focusing the majority of their attention on tutoring the students in a variety of subjects including math and reading. They even got to spend part of their day at the library!
The other group spent the day working with Ralph Walker and his crew from the St. Louis County Problem Properties Unit. This group worked at a variety of abandoned homes, clearing out trash, debris, and overgrown brush in an effort to help beautify the local neighborhoods.
Once we returned from our work day, we took some time to relax (and shower!) and enjoy some time for fun and fellowship.
Tonight's dinner - prepared by the wonderful chef Alicia Andrews - was a staple among mission trip dinners, chicken nuggets and mac 'n cheese!
Following dinner, we met as a group to reflect a bit about our day together. Each group took time to share about their experiences. Overall, both groups were deeply moved by their experiences. We all left feeling transformed by the opportunity to work with the people of Ferguson.
We then broke up into our small groups for an activity that centered around the Tower of Babel story (Genesis 11:1-9). Each group had to attempt to build the tallest "tower" using a variety of objects. However, each group member was limited by the way in which they could communicate, making the building of the tower far more difficult.
Our evening closed with devotions in the chapel where we took some time to reflect further on the story of the Tower of Babel, thinking about the ways in which God sees us a uniquely created individuals sent forth to operate in God's kingdom in harmonious ways.
Devotions ended with each of us lighting a candle and offering the following prayer, "I am a beloved child of God, made in God's image - blessed and very good."
Devotions ended with each of us lighting a candle and offering the following prayer, "I am a beloved child of God, made in God's image - blessed and very good."
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