Well, yes, I do blog. Some of you might have read this blog and wondered, what happened to Paul's consistency....sorry, I've been riding the wave of an incredible 10 days of mission (which hasn't stopped). So the anticipation and dreams have come true....
From June 26-July 5, a huge team from Fresno California arrived and called our church, Gateway Community Church to be on a passionate mission to serve and love the city of Port Alberni. What happened? Here's a few glimpses of what happened in that week:
- 8000 homes (and the people who live inside of them) were prayed for, and received a Gateway fridge magnet and invitation to the Kids Sports Camp
- service projects (free) were done throughout the city to show the city that God loves them (we painted the lettering to the welcome sign to Port Alberni - see this great article from a local online news source; pulled broom around another welcome sign, cleaned up yards, painted block walls)
- Walked with the Gateway float in the Canada Day parade and just loved being part of an exciting church
- ran a 2 day Sports Camp in Blair Park where we saw 175 kids come on the first day and 155 the next. It was such a blast to hang out with these kids and build relationships with many new families.
- Had an awesome outdoor church service on July 5....which has led to having outdoor services all summer!
God continues to amaze us as many new people are showing up each week wanting to be part of a growing and welcoming church that has a place for everyone!
