Video of the RGC Playground Restoration at Camp Curtin School

Yes, it has been very busy the past few weeks however I wanted to make sure I posted this video of the Camp Curtin Playground Project in case you missed it on Facebook or the RGC website.

The write up and video are on the Redeeming Grace web page under the "Serve HBG" tab or click here.

We had a great time serving along side the group from Faith as well as friends and neighbors who joined us.  Here is the video that was put together after the event.

Camp Curtin Playground Project from Redeeming Grace Church on Vimeo.

You can certainly see a small glimpse of the fun we all had over the weekend. We have watched this video several times, and it cracks me up every time! 

Faith & RGC Camp Curtin Outtakes from Redeeming Grace Church on Vimeo.

¹ Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
² Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
³ Know that the LORD ^[b]Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and ^[c]not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

⁴ Enter His gates with ^[d]thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
⁵ For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 100

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Redeeming Grace Coat Distribution

We had the privilege of distributing coats to the homeless/poor Saturday.  It was more than distributing coats, blankets, bags, and bibles. It was pouring out the love of Jesus in every way possible. It was to listen to the life stories, to care, and to look in the eyes of hurting people and share the hope of Jesus Christ.  We were able to grip a hand and pray for that person by name for Almighty God to draw their hearts and to thank God for meeting needs today.   No matter the story, Jesus loves them and the Lord allowed our paths to cross with each person.  The Lord knows their pain, their past, their needs, He forgives, He redeems and He restores.

So as tears streamed down a few faces and welded up in our own eyes, the Lord was present in that dirty, breezy alleyway.  It was not neat and tidy, it was real.  My heart aches for the faces I flip through in my mind and the stories we heard.  I pray each person will feel the Lord's comfort every time they put on their coat or cover up with a new blanket. I pray it's not our faces they remember, but they remember words spoken about Jesus and perhaps even an encounter with the Lord in the alley. An alley that some call their home tucked under the stairwell that appeared so dark, scary, and dirty was bright with smiles, laughter & tears of happiness.

Thank you to Blanket America Ministries & Appalachian Outreach for your resources to love on the people of Harrisburg, PA. Thank you to all the wonderful folks that came to help serve and brought their time and resources to love on people in the name of Jesus. We are overwhelmed seeing pieces of the puzzle come together that God continues to assemble for the work in Harrisburg.  May God receive ALL the Glory for ALL He is doing in His church.

119  people served

Over 200 coats and blankets

Nearly 20 Bibles

80 gift bags

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5

In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matthew 5:16

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

Redeeming Grace and YMCA partner for a family fun night

Prayer team setting out to prayer walk in preparation for the Community Event at the YMCA

Sharing stories of the people we talked with, even familiar faces in the neighborhood that we were able to snag a hug and catch up on life.

As soon as chairs hit the floor during set up, we had people to hang out with around the tables.

Kids filled up the basketball court during set up

The kids "warmed up" the games during set up. Nothing like bashing people for Jesus!

preparing (lots of) popcorn

Playing street hockey with the kids

The art tables stayed very busy throughout the night.

We were so thankful to have Debbie and Tom (Billy's parents here)

By the end of the evening the tree was filled with handmade ornaments

Sack races were a hit! plenty of laughter, plenty of falls and thankfully everybody got up!

Do you hear the laughter? OH wait, my ears are still ringing! 

Shawn organized the kids with a few competitions.

Ready, set......GO!

hula hoop contest!

Family picture time! pictures were taken, printed and handed out

We had a great time talking to folks one on one, and seeing lots of smiling faces.

Two of our volunteer helpers for the night.  So glad to have some friends stop by to participate. 

What a fun family this is, so enjoyed getting to know them and looking forward in hanging out more soon!

Some of the kids are sporting their new stocking caps donated through Appalachain Regional Ministries.  Great friends and partners in the Gospel.

We made some new friends tonight and the cool thing is we don't have to say goodbyes....

We are thankful for the partnership with the Camp Curtin YMCA. We have enjoyed working together to have this community family outreach party. We are also thankful for the Baptist Resource Center where we rented the block party trailer for the event. All in all the night was great, the Lord provided enough hands (could always use more) for the people that came. At times it is overwhelming when you have a warm, talkative crowd and you just wish you had more people around to love on them. However even in the midst of it God has a way of reminding me this is His gig. God has been so faithful in placing us in the middle of the culture here, we learn more everyday.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^{[a] 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself Matthew 22:37-40

Video of Redeeming Grace Church - Serve HBG Backpack distribution

Camp Curtin School Backpack distribution with First Baptist Church Indian Trail, NC and folks from Colonial Heights Baptist, VA and Faith Baptist, NC

Thank you for continuing to hold tight the rope of support. 

 God is moving and He hears your faithful prayers.

More than backpacks

God continues to orchestrate and weave people into our lives that are part of HIS plan to spread the gospel throughout Harrisburg. A group came up from Indian Trail NC (also Tom from VA and Yogi from Youngsville)  to bring backpacks and to help distribute them on Saturday. The backpacks were donated by several churches in NC and one from VA .  We may never have the opportunity to personally thank the people who donated the backpacks but we are eternally grateful for their obedience.  It was so much more than backpacks stuffed with school supplies....... 

We were invited by Camp Curtin school in Harrisburg to set up a table at their back to school picnic.

  At the end of the evening we had 88 children signed up to receive backpacks.

We took some of the backpacks to Maddy and Logan's schools as well. Doors fly open (literally) as relationships continue to be built.

 Logan is in great hands this school year!  This is his principal, Mrs Grant-Spencer.

The work continues into the night making outreach cards to stuff in the backpacks.

Here is the sweet group from NC (and Tom from VA) . They were such an encouragement to our family, we enjoyed every moment with them and they certainly impacted Harrisburg with the gospel. 

We spent Saturday morning prayer walking. It was powerful to have the group in one accord, humbly interceding for the people in Harrisburg. The prayer walking aligned our hearts deepening the love and care for the people in this community.

Olivia and I prayed together for a few minutes and then she walked around twirling on the yellow columns while I continued to sit. I stood up and she sat down and started praying. The words murmuring out of her mouth were many she had heard a few minutes before....a sweet moment for sure.

A celebration took place as we heard stories of having 2 new brothers in Christ. On this morning two men had their lives changed for eternity. A void that has been filled not with money, jobs, circumstances,  housing, friends but a personal relationship with our Creator.

We gathered together to pray for the people coming. We had some new friends join us. 

   

The bounce house was popular. The activities allowed time for us to get to know the families and make connections with the parents, grandparents and friends.

God is moving.......among this crowd

God is moving.......

Yes, God is moving indeed.........His hand is all over this,  many people shared struggles and burdens that they are dealing with and many of them were prayed for.

Sharing the plan of salvation using homemade dolls. The dolls had a beaded necklace with colors representing the plan of salvation. I can't help to wonder how many children were tucked into bed holding a new doll thinking about the meaning of beads, while they drifted away to sleep.  

As these ladies painted on the kids  faces they spent time talking with the children, pouring into them as they peered into their sweet faces.

Breanna and Lori working so hard, they made a great team.

Waiting in line to pick out thier new backpack

New backpacks everywhere you turned. The atmosphere was pleasant, comfortable and  relaxed.

All packed up and done but the work here is not.............

 It was so much more than passing out backpacks, more than getting a snow cone, a doll, bouncing in a blow up or getting a bag of popcorn. Before our eyes we witnessed walls crumble down in peoples hearts. It was a humbling, overwhelming and indiscribable experience to watch the Holy Spirit melting the outer hard shell during a conversation and for people to begin share deep hurts, needs, disappointments and desires. 

  

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

NOT stopped movin!!!

Our feet have not stopped moving since we pulled in with the moving truck four weeks ago. We have had steady company with us since the move. We had a team come up from Faith the week after we moved and they served us and the community. We were encouraged as the team was able to see the vision first hand and witnessed God's movement in this area. Billy was invited to give a gospel presentation at a sports camp in Enola one evening, and we will have a team coming at the end of Aug. from Appalachian Outreach Ministries who will work with us to distribute book bags and school supplies to families in our school district.
Recently, our living room served as a counseling area for a family in our neighborhood going through a tough situation. We had the opportunity to open our home and love on the family.  Yesterday Billy went to the DMV office and started a conversation with a lady who was very excited to meet someone starting a Baptist Church in the area and to come to find out she lives on our street and said she could walk to our house to join us for Bible Study. We have also had 3 emails inquiring about where our church was located because people want to be a part.  Everyday we seem to have a story about how the Lord is moving in this area and where he has planted our family

We have been diligent in trying to learn the culture and The Lord continues to teach me that despite the culture HE is bigger and HE has put us in a specific place for HIS specific plan.  We pray that we will be Holy Spirit driven as we become part of the Susquehanna Township community. We pray for friendships to be built quickly but ultimately they will become friends of Jesus.
Here are a few pics of recent events, enjoy!

This is the team from Faith Baptist, our home church in Youngsville NC. We had a great week and we were so encouraged by their visit. This is a  picture with the principal at Logan's school. We cleaned and planted flowers around the school. (there is a video of this group on Facebook under Reedmening Grace Group and also on my page)

Here is our house. We enjoy the front swing and spend a lot of time meeting neighbors as they pass by on the sidewalk walking dogs or exercising.

We have spent a little time exploring our new community. This was taken at "city island" a few miles from our house.

The Shay's came to visit one weekend. They are all gathered around to watch their favorite music artist,  Lecrae on the computer.

Billy was invited to give a gospel presentation at a sports camp across the river from us. This area doesn't have a local church to follow up with families that attend the outreach sports camp. We met a few families and connected with one in particular whose daughter played softball and was a pitcher. Most of you know that I was a pitcher and this was a treat to go watch her play in a tournament the next day.

 

We went to watch the Harrisburg Senators our local minor league team one evening.

Evelyn, the kids' cousin came up to visit from York and spent time playing together.

Billy's mom came to visit from VA for a few days. "Nana" was glad to see all her grandchildren spending time together.  It was good to hang out with Kelly and Evy for the evening.

This is Maddy's new friend, she has spent some time playing at our this week while she visits her grandmother, our neighbor.

Here are Ines and her mom Tanya. We all laughed at the kids dancing in the living room while storms rolled through the area.

It's football time in PA!!! Logan is so excited to be on the field again. The cool thing about this area is all these boys you see in this picture will all go to the same school. Logan is meeting lots of new kids and it will be nice for him to know a handful of boys before school starts in a few weeks.  Meanwhile, I am lovin meeting new moms and watching the boys practice.

He just can't get enough! This was the first day of wearing pads. Logan had his helment on at 7am that morning ready to play football.

Some of the High School players have been at practice this week watching and they nicknamed Logan

"Hulk" because he is a hard hitter and runner.

Logan is giving Billy all he has in a defensive drill.

Group huddle, boys are learning more than just football on the field.

Go Indians!

Grandma & Granddaddy also came to visit for a few days. We went non-stop sight seeing in Lancaster, Hershey and outlet shopping.

We now have a couple week break before any more visitors arrive.  We are looking forward to relaxing and exploring some more while we continue to connect with our friends and neighbors.  It has been great having so many people come to visit and everyone who has left has said how it is evident The Lord is doing great things here already.  We are all excited to see how that will continue and so thankful to be a part of it.