SMI Philly 2012 has really begun! 18 intrepid volunteers along with members of the community and volunteer faculty hit the streets of Kensington and Hunting Park this Tuesday (7/10) afternoon after a two-day training. Although the training sessions were undoubtedly intense, a sense of mission and excitement continued to fill the air in the basement of our host church and community center, Urban Hope. In addition, numerous brothers and sisters in Christ, including SMI alumni, came to encourage and serve the team through their gifts of cooking, cleaning, counseling, and praying.

Prior to today’s outreach kickoff, team members shared their fears and reservations during an indispensable evangelism training from Pastor Andres from Spirit and Truth Fellowship, who also serves as a chaplain at Esperanza Health Center. However, during the debriefing session after the first outreach, everyone was excited and remained in awe of how we were privileged to witness God’s work in people’s hearts even prior to our encounters with them.

In addition to many prayer requests, three individuals accepted Christ, a concrete reminder of Matthew 18:12-14: “If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.”

God is at work – throughout the next three weeks, we hope to share with you snapshots of life in the community. We are so appreciative for all your prayers, as we know that we cannot do this alone.

Brian and Eric

SMI Philly 2012 Blog Editors