Awaken New Life

Atlanta is such a diverse city; it only made sense that our first day of ministry was all about meeting its people. Our day began early Monday morning with us loaded into our vehicles heading toward the great and wonderful Walmart. Yes, we went to Walmart to do ministry.

 

This week is all about helping others who are in need. We gathered and prayed over our first opportunity to give back to this amazing city, but first we learned what it meant to live in poverty. We heard a story, similar to many in the United States, of a man and his son who were living paycheck to paycheck. With this information in hand our group went up and down the aisles looking for the best deals in order to purchase bags of clothes for an up coming cloths drive.

 

Later that day, we took on Centennial Park. A scavenger hunt was about to go down with four teams eager to talk and interact with the young, the old, and the in between. The scavenger hunt involved tasks such as “buy water for a family”, “give food to the homeless”, “invent a handshake with someone new”, “invite others to help with an act of kindness”, and “pray for a fear while tossing a coin in the fountain.”

 

It was amazing to see how such simple tasks awaken new life in each member of our group. One youth offered to take a photo of a couple in front of a statue and a 15-minute conversation came from it. Fears were prayed away as each person stepped up to the fountain to toss in their coin. People were hydrated and fed on a scorching hot summer day. And smiles radiated from us to the people of Centennial Park.

 

We ended our long day with group worship, a devotional, small group discussions, and prayer.