Sunday, February 3, 2019

Shores Philadelphia Moving Ahead

Looking Ahead

2018 Gone in a Whirlwind!

We had quite a whirlwind in the last quarter of 2018. September and October were super busy with different local ministry events. Luke traveled most of November speaking and ministering with his brother Nic, we led a school of the streets in Maryland, and then were blessed to be able to go back down to Recife to participate in the staff retreat and see all the awesome people we ministered to and worked with before we moved. Have you ever been so busy you can’t wait until it’s over, so you can relax? Then when that time comes you don’t know what to do with yourself? Well, that was us in December! It took a little while of not having a completely full schedule for us to get back in our groove. Luke also learned a valuable lesson in looking at his calendar before he commits to things!

A New Year Begins

We had an awesome start for 2019! The kids had some friends over and one of our friends stayed the night. Around 11:55 pm there was a knock at the door. In all honesty, we didn’t want to answer. Staying up till midnight to welcome in the new year isn’t really our thing. We were mostly still awake for the kids’ sake. Luke went to see who it was. A couple was standing at the door and the woman said “Can you pray for us? We were walking down the street and Jesus said go knock on that door, they will pray for you.” Luke invited them in, and we prayed. Our friend gave this woman a word and said, “God is bringing you a new peace this year.” The woman began to cry and said “Did He really tell you that? Is He really going to give me peace? I’ve never had that peace.” It was a beautiful exchange. When we carry the presence of The Lord people are drawn to us. Even when we are tired, curled up on the couch, waiting for the clock to strike 12.

Moving Forward . . .

We are beginning new outreaches at Hope Park in North Philly with another local church we partner with. We are super excited for all the awesome things the Lord is going to do in them and through them as they step out in faith to declare freedom over the marginalized in our city.

The network of churches we are working with in the Philadelphia area is growing more and more. We are so happy to see what God does with our yes to Him. The excitement that’s being generated throughout the body of Christ in Philadelphia is amazing. People that didn’t think they could make a difference, stepping out and realizing big change comes from a small yes and a lot of love. I couldn’t ask for more.

Family Meal Time

We began “family meal time” with a group of kids in our neighborhood the other week. We had a make your own pizza night that was pretty incredible and included the craziest mixtures you could imagine. For some, the weight of the toppings caused the bottom to fall out when they picked it up to eat! It was hilarious to watch, and everybody had a great time. There was only one fight to break up, so that made for a good night as well. On top of all the fun, when Alisan came up with the idea to do these family meal nights she wanted to intentionally have a time of devotions with the kids. This will always look different and we hope to build on what was covered the week prior. For our first one, we simply asked the kids to tell the person to the right of them something they admired or looked up to them for. As you can imagine the responses were a little goofy in the beginning, but as we continued on (and with a little prompting) you could see the answers start to shift and become more personal and with more meaning behind them. At the end Luke pointed out to the kids how the atmosphere shifted when they started being real about what they admired in their friends. We took the time to use this as a teaching moment, that we always have an option in regard to what or whom we partner with. In that moment the children chose to partner with life and love. It was beautiful.

The Lord continues to amaze us. As we stay in sync with His heartbeat, no matter what we are doing, we can see Him move. Whether it’s on the streets in North Philly, working on helping to clear out a hoarder’s home, or laughing it up at dinner with a group of kids, He is always faithful and always engaging us.

Pray for Luke’s time management skills as he begins his MDiv part-time starting February 11th. He will be doing distance courses from United Theological Seminary so most everything is done online. He is very excited to begin the course work, enhance his knowledge of The Lord and grow closer to God in the process. But… (there’s always a but, isn’t there?) He wants to make sure he is continuing to run Shores Philly with the same level of excellence and honor the people we minister to the same way we do now. Pray that he’s able to find that balance early on and maintain a healthy schedule. Remember that valuable lesson he learned about over committing?... Pray that rings true in this new season. Also, pray over his searches for financial aid to be fruitful and that grants and scholarships are made available for his schooling.

We are so grateful for all of our supporters. Whether its financially or prayerfully, we love you all. You’re the reason we are able to pursue the dreams God has placed on our hearts. Both for the city of Philadelphia and the nation of Brasil. It’s incredible to see how God lines up the right partners, and intercessors at the right moments. When we went through heavy times in Brasil, it was our supporters that got us through. Praying for us, sending us encouraging words, pointing out strengths in us that we weren’t able to see in the moment, and let’s not forget sending us UTZ chips when all we needed was a little Pennsylvania in our lives to get through. You guys rock. We are eternally grateful and pray for you often.

Blessings