Summer, summer, SUMMER (did I mention SUMMER!)
This summer has been one of the busiest ever for the ministry, and definitely has been one where I have needed to surrender and allow God to give me peace in the midst of everything! Here are some highlights of what's been happening, and keeping me busy:
-The Elmhurst Street Park Grand Opening. What an incredible day! After 10 years of hard work, we finally cut the ribbon to open the Elmhurst Street Park alongside neighbors, friends and City of Boston Mayor Menino. We celebrated with a block party and barbeque, with over 50 people participating in the cha-cha slide!
-Youth Interns. This summer, we hired 25 young people from our community to participate in our Park Patrol program. For many, this is a first time job experience. They learned a lot about the importance of having parks and green space in our communities, and worked to beautify
-Community Development. One of the best parts of my summer has been working with two young women from our neighborhood on various community development and administrative projects. We've been able to plan Family Fun Night where neighbors gather for a fun activity in our new park, and get to know lots of new faces!
-Summer Missions Program. While I don't do much day to day with helping host over 260 youth in service throughout the course of the summer, the SMP program keeps everyone busy! It's been awesome to hear about how youth are being challenged and transformed, and to invest in our summer staff who help run this program.
Personally, this summer has been one of the busiest I can remember in a long time. In between weddings (I think I've been to eight this year alone), traveling, friends and family visiting, and ministry, I'm pretty exhausted! As a staff, we all seem to feel the need to 'slow down', yet feel the urgency of the realities of running a ministry. Please pray for us all as we head into the fall and re-think some of how we do our programming, and that our vision would be focused entirely on God!
Prayer requests:
1) Praise - I have a car! God provided a free car for me through Glenna's dad, which will be a huge blessing.
2) Pray for God's provision in the ministry. Historically, the fall has been the toughest time financially for The Boston Project. Pray that our financial needs would be met.
3) Pray for me that I find a healthy balance with the many demands on me.
4) Pray for rest for all of our full time staff, and for good heatlh.
