Joe,

Please thank all of those who came to work at Cornerstone.  You made a tremendous difference!  We came back from 4 weeks on the road speaking at camps (60 campers made professions of faith along the way) and then got back into the final rush.  We got final approval the Friday before camp.  Camp started at 4 PM last Sunday and the plumbers finished up their work at 3 PM.  The showers needed to be adjusted and everything was working right at 4.  Our stove wasn’t working until Sunday either.  It all came together and we only had a few minor building issues.  Praise the Lord.

We held teen camp last week, with 41 teens.  It was awesome.  This coming week is elementary week with an almost full camp.  The most campers we’ve ever had for both camps combined has been 94, we have passed that and hopefully we’ll hit the 100 mark.

We saw about 6 campers come to Christ and others said that they learned more about God and that they wanted to do better in their walk with Him.

I’ll attach a photo of the group the first night and a day time group photo.  Both parent’s and camper’s reaction was WOW when they walked in.  Thank you for being a big part of our preparations.

For His Glory,

Mark Redka

Here are some Pics of the Trip

Austin,
Well I woke up this morning and I was not in the mood to do anything, but once I got to the camp I started to hang out with the kids and interact with them. Then we went out to give food to the homeless and that was cool! Then we went to this place called the christ house and we served the homeless there and it really humbled me cause I never have served people before so it was a cool day.

Roberto,
To not ramble on, I’ll keep it brief. I was the first to wake up and the first to get sick. Illness loomed over me while the need to sleep struck me out of no where. Finally meeting the children was awkward due to this factor. A few of us later took the left-overs of breakfast to a park in efforts to give it to some needy people. While some were grateful and others were not, it was an interesting time.
Us guys had to help serve food to the home-less which made me eager to help. Afterward, we talked about the positives and negatives about our days. The only real negatives I found was my sickness and the lack of organization in the church (main leader wasn’t there, which caused problems). The best thing that happened was realizing that despite what goes on this week, it really is worth it.

More updates to come later

We got into DC a little bit late due to traffic and missing the first metro, but we are now here. The first thing we did was meet with Kristen from City Gate Ministries. She did an orientation with us and here are the notes.

Orientation-
1. We learned about the history of City Gate Ministry. People came to the city gate as the main place of meeting in the Old Testament. City Gate ministries is a place that is offering hospitality through ESL, Ministry to families and children, and giving back as people use the talents and abilities to serve God.
2. City Gate operates 3 summer day camps.
a. Work with families who have generational poverty. Mom, grandma, great grandma, great great grandma are all poor. These families are weighted down by various ties. City gate through their faith based programs are cutting the things that tie down these families.
b. Holistic ministry that helps develop a the whole child.
c. We have people give back to God. You will never out give God. We will learn from these kids.
3. We are working at Colombia Heights neighborhood. This is called a transitional neighborhood. Wealthy, thin middle class, and 23% of the population are poor. Average family income is $40,000. 45% African American, 45% are Hispanic. Most African Americans in this area are living in generational poverty. The Hispanic population is just moving into the area and have a lot to learn.

I asked the students to say hello and share a highlight. We shot this at at 8:15. Here are their responses.

This week is flying by and I apologize for not being able to update the website as I have done in the past.  With us changing locations we have had to be working on a lot of details as we go.  Things are going pretty good all things considered.  I believe that the ODSM team is having a great time.

So far we have been extremely busy training for our carnivals in classes on drama, motions, choreography/dance, instruments, and Spanish.   We have also had a lot of time being challenged from speakers and our own personal times with God.  We have had so many opportunities to pray for the city of Lebanon.  We have done prayer walks, prayer stations at YFC and last night due to rain we did a prayer drive.

Tonight we hope to have our first carnival.  The students are excited to get some more interaction with the kids and adults of the city.  Last night as we did our prayer drive we had a chance to get out of the bus, at the parks that we will be having our carnivals at, and interact with the kids and adults that came out.  Some played basketball with some little boys, a few girls swung on a swing with a little girl, others prayed, and the guys had the chance to pray for about 20 adult men at Lebanon Rescue Mission.

God is at work!  We thank you so much for your prayers.  Please pray that our carnivals will go well. All week we have been planning and preparing for these carnivals.  The gospel will be shared!  Students will be interacting 1 on 1 with kids and their families.

Kendra

So far this trip has been amazing! I have met a lot of really cool new people. We all have to take a class and I am in the choreography class. I know that it may be hard to believe that I would do something like that but God is helping me to get out of my shell and have fun with life. Last nights worship was amazing. God was working in a lot of hearts including mine. I am really looking forward to the rest of the week and seeing how God uses me and the rest of our team!

Sharon

Wow, being here so far in Lebanon for the second time has been amazingly awesome! All the laughs, the wonderful worship, and the chances to spend alone time with God. This week has gone by so fast, I just can’t believe how God can work in so many hearts all at once! I’m looking forward to see what He brings next!