It’s been a busy week at the Power House in Baltimore, Maryland.
It started out with a small group gathered for Morning Worship. By the time we got half way through the service the size of the group had more than doubled. We had several kids who had attended camp come and a coworker of Tamara’s joined the group as well.
Staples had started its $.01 school supply sale. Before the service Vonceil had run over there and got a whole bag of supplies for $1.19. I encouraged people from the congregation to go to the store, buy the items, and bring them to the church to add to our supplies to give to kids at the start of school. When I went to Staples after the service, the cashier noted that a couple of women from the congregation had just come through her checkout buying the same things I did. By the end of the week we had several bags of full of folders, binders, and pencils to start our collection.
During Kids’ Church we started out by singing camp songs requested by kids who were back from camp. We then reviewed the Fruit of the Spirit and made a corresponding craft.
After Kids’ Church I visited with Mykell’s mom about baptism. Mykell started talking about getting baptized while at camp. Her mom gave approval and we scheduled her baptism for next Sunday at Kids’ Church.
We weren’t sure of the security requirements for teens getting on airplanes. With two kids scheduled to fly to Spectacular in a couple of weeks, we needed to make sure they wouldn’t get turned back at the airport. We learned that a high school photo ID is sufficient for a 16 year old but that an 18 year old needs an ID issued by the state.
We had a good group of people gather for Evening Worship. A few kids shared camp testimonies. In all the years I’ve been doing this, I have never heard such high quality and deep testimonies from kids about their experiences with God at camp.
On Monday morning Tamara and I took Scott out to the MVA to help him get his state ID. We made it through the process, but the ID will come in the mail. As of Friday he had not yet received it.
When I knocked on Tamara’s door later that day her neighbors were sitting outside on their steps with their little baby. The father said, “You know, we haven’t had him blessed yet.” I started to talk about setting up a time and he said, “You don’t look like you’re doing too much right now.” We had the blessing right then and there.
That afternoon Tamara and I took a kid who is interested in attending Graceland University to meet with his GED teacher to see what he has left to do to get his diploma. She reviewed the procedures he needed to follow and set up times for him to take some of his classes.
I got a call early in the week from Gary. He told me that the man he’s rented a room from for several years had just died and that he needed to find a place to live quickly. We’re coming up with some plans to help him do so.
We had a full docked of activities on Tuesday evening. We had 4 kids who had earned a dinner at the Golden Corral for coming to church over 90 times in the past year. Tamara, Jenn, Vonceil, and I joined them in this feast.
While we were there, Danny opened up the church for the monthly Citizens of Pigtown meeting. After that meeting ended we had our monthly priesthood meeting.
We had a small group at Adult Disciples. Many of us seemed worn out so we decided to skip the lesson and go straight into our prayer time.
Throughout the week we worked on our new web site. This involved people in California, North Carolina, and here in Maryland. There are just some minor details left so it should launch any day now.
On Friday I made it up to the hospital to visit with a member who is suffering from lung cancer. With all the tubes, he was unable to talk but the notes he jotted on the pad let me know that he was in excellent spirits and was sensing God powerfully in his life.
Throughout the week I chatted with several parents who sent their kids to camp with us last week. A couple of them are so impressed with what happened with their kids that they want be on staff next year just so they can go and be a part of what’s happening.
Friday night started our new year at Pizza Church. Some kids who changed grades and, therefore, changed assigned pizza church sessions ended up at the wrong group for the night. It will take a few weeks to get everyone meeting with the right group.
After the first group I went to visit Courtney’s mom. Courtney started talking about baptism at camp and told me she wanted to get baptized on Sunday with Mykell. When I visited with her mom, she said that it was all Courtney had been talking about since she got home and she would like her baptized ASAP so that she could hear about another topic.
The senior high group came in with Graceland on the brain. Two were talking about their upcoming trip to Spectacular at Graceland. Three others were talking about wanting to go next year. All five were making plans in their lives to do what it takes to go to college there once they finish high school.
When I mentioned that there was a baptism scheduled for Kids’ Church on Sunday, Carlo said, “I want to do that, too.” He said he’d been talking with his mom about it and that he’d like to get baptized on Sunday night. I went to his house afterward and got approval from his mom. She then turned to Fred and asked him if he was getting baptized, too. He said that he wanted to do so (this was the first we’d heard of it) and that he wanted to as soon as possible. I told him to talk with his mom and I’d visit with her on Saturday.
Jenn and I traveled to Springfield, Virginia, on Saturday morning to participate in a few of the Mission Center Reunion activities. As soon as I arrived, Sally found me and showed me two large bags and two large boxes full of school supplies she’d gotten for us. I loaded them in the car and she indicated that there would be more to come in the upcoming weeks.
That evening Danny and I filled the font while Bryce and Jenn set up for Solid Rock Café. One of the first kids to arrive was Fred. Since he lives right across the street from the church we ducked over to talk with his mom. She was very pleased with is decision and indicated that she’d be at the service to support him.
Our new Solid Rock Café year got off to a great start with 21 kids. They all seemed to get along fairly well.
Looking ahead to next week we’ll have our regular schedule of activities. In addition, we have two baptisms at Kids’ Church. Patty Ballinger, who is from the Dundalk Congregation and who served as camp pastor last week for the two candidates, is coming to be a part of the service. During Evening Worship we have two more baptisms. The guest ministers from Reunion, Lackings Banda (from Malawi) and Richard James (from Wales) will be joining us for the afternoon and evening. After Evening Worship we’ll have a potluck dinner. We’ll also be continuing our school supplies drive. Next weekend Tamara, Scott, and Damon will join the others from the Mission Center and travel to Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa.
Along with the individuals and activities mentioned, please keep the following families in the forefront of your prayers:
The Taylor Family
The Stallings Family
The Howe Family
The Hardy Family
The Stinchcomb Family
The Ghaffar Family
The Poykko Family
The Lucas Family
The Braxton Family
The Boozer Family
Thank you for your continued prayer support.
Jeff and everyone at
The Power House
“Building the Kingdom of God Here and Now”
PowerHouseMD@Juno.com
www.pigtownchurch.org
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