Hot Chocolate Evangelism -- pt. 2

Tonight, our last activity of the week was to do the Hot Chocolate Evangelism in the Tenderloin Neighborhood! It was obvious that the people in this area are used to the people of YWAM bringing out hot chocolate because there were literally people walking up to us asking if they could receive a cup. We had some great conversations with people. We prayed for many!

It's amazing how well the people in the Tenderloin respond to us because of YWAM. They truly appreciate what the people of YWAM are doing for their neighborhood. Many of them told us how much they appreciated us as well, and that what we were doing makes a difference. This was encouraging to our students. Many of our students are so burdened by the despair and hopelessness they see in the eyes of these people. To hear that we were truly making a difference really boosted our students spirits.

This trip has been amazing! God has worked in us and through us! Praise Him!

Tomorrow morning we get up early, pack, eat, clean and have one final debrief. We'll be heading out of the Tenderloin around 10 am to ride the BART (Subway) back out to the airport. Please pray that all will go smoothly (the clean-up, subway, security, etc.)

We'll be back tomorrow night around midnight! See you then!

Michael

Block Party

Today, we worked with three of the other youth groups here (along with some local ministries) to put on an incredible block party. The block party consisted of a clothing table, food table (hot dogs, fruit, candy bars, etc.), snow cone stand, cotton candy table, a bouncy house for kids, an art table (where people could paint on this HUGE piece of paper), entertainment stage (It just so happened that a youth choir/band from Seattle was in the city and they came and rocked the place out), a prayer station (where people could come and receive prayer and a preaching stage.

The event was truly amazing. There were hundreds of people who came to enjoy the food, clothing, entertainment, fellowship and more. Our students were divided into teams with the other church's, so it was the teens who were running each of these stations (of course with some adult help as well). They did such an incredible job of setting up the party, carrying out their jobs and cleaning up afterwards.

I'm so proud of these students! It is such a privilege to partner with them on this trip! They are amazing!

Michael

Commitment Service

Whoa, what a night! Tonight, all the groups (4 youths groups in all) participated in a Commitment Service. This service consisted of different stations -- stations like a commitment station (this station really challenged us to consider our commitment to Jesus), a station with a cross, nails and papers (this station was designed to allow us to write down sins, burdens, etc. and nail them to the cross), a station where we could wash others feet, a prayer station and more.

God truly moved in our lives in a special way! All week we have been pouring out our lives through the ministry of evangelism, prayer and service. Tonight, God poured into us. Some of our students were challenged, some were given clarity about God's call on their lives, some felt God leading them in certain directions, some worshipped, some just rested in God's presence. It was an incredible night!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Michael

Homeless Plunge -- pt. 2

After a night of sleeping in our clothes that we wore yesterday -- and NOT putting on any deodorant, make-up, new clothes, etc. -- we kicked off the day by watching all the other youth groups eat their breakfast. We then did our daily work duties (kitchen clean-up, sweeping, cleaning bathrooms, etc.). After that, we headed out for 8 hours of the Homeless Plunge on the streets of SF.

Each team had certain places to visit, places like The Social Security Office, Shelters, Soup Kitchens, Health Care Facilities and more. The point of visiting these places was to get a feel for the places homeless people visit on a regular basis to survive out on the streets.

This activity definitely opened our eyes to what it's like for people who live on the street. Even though we don't know what it's really like, we have a better idea! Our students hearts have been turned towards those that are less fortunate than us. In addition, all of us have been reminded of how blessed we truly are.

Michael

Homeless Plunge

When we returned to the YWAM base, we went in immediately to our orientation for the "Homeless Plunge" activity. Much to our students surprise, the Homeless Plunge began tonight. What does that mean? It means we are going to do our best to understand what it's like to live the life of a homeless person.

Therefore, we're sleeping in our clothes tonight (that's right, the clothes we've been wearing all day long) and we're wearing them again tomorrow! Not only that, there's no deodorant, make up, perfume/cologne, etc. We will get up at 7 am to watch everyone else eat! We will then do our base Work Duties and then we'll head out to the streets until 4 pm. While on the streets, we'll visit places homeless people visit to receive help. We'll eat at a soup kitchen. We'll do a lot of walking and more!

Please pray for us! Some of our students worlds were rocked when they heard that there would be no showers tonight, no deodorant, no pajamas, NO NOTHING!

We'll let you know how it went!

Michael

Fisherman's Wharf

After the Prayer walk, we took our evening off Fisherman's Wharf. We took the F Train down to the Wharf. While there, we ate great burgers at "In And Out Burger." The burgers rocked! We took pictures of Alcatraz and the Golden Great Bridge. We shopped! Boy, did we shop!

Definitely the best part of the night was going back down to the Market Street on the Cable Car. We had bunches of fun riding it! You'll see the great pictures!

Michael

Skyscrapper Safari

After lunch, we broke up into five groups for a prayer walk over the Financial District of SF. For many, this was the first time any of them had participated on a prayer walk of any kind.

Each team was given a map, with directions and information about each building we would be praying over. We had the opportunity to pray over the Bank of American Headquarters, The Trans America Pyramid, the U.S. Immigrations and Naturalization Building and seven more.

Each group seemed to enjoy the prayer walk (except when they got lost a couple of times) and felt like this was something we could definitely bring home to Rhode Island. We talked about how we could do a prayer walk in Providence, in our neighborhoods, around our schools, etc.

It was a real good experience!

Michael

The Hunt

This morning, our first activity was called "The Hunt." Basically, The Hunt is a Scavenger Hunt -- with a twist. We broke up into 4 groups and headed out to the streets of San Francisco. While out there, we had to meet security guards, we had to get coffee cups from two different coffee places, we had to come up with a creative way to bless a homeless person, we rode on elevators to the top of three different hotels, we encouraged a doorman, we had to pick up two publications in a different language and much more. It was a blast!

When we got back, we presented our "stuff" to our YWAM staff leaders and got graded on our effort. Because the results were so close, each team had to put on a show for the "Judges" (aka YWAM staff). Our skits consisted of raps, dancing, dramas and more. The Judges were truly blow away. You wouldn't believe the talent we have in this youth group. Mr. Bob is trying to get the videos up for you to view.

Speaking of things to view! Take a look at all the pictures we have from the trip. Click on the link on the right side of the page!

Michael

Hot Chocolate Evangelism

What a night? We hooked up with PCOM (Presbyterian Church of ? -- It's another youth group from SoCal -- That's Southern California -- Specifically, there from the O. C.) We went to the Market area of San Francisco (Cable Car Turn-Around) to pass out Hot Chocolate to those who needed a hot drink. It was only in the 60s today so tonight was pretty cold.

There were many receptive and thankful people who enjoyed our hot chocolate. We had some really great conversations! We had some really tough conversations! We met some incredible people! We met some people who are really hurting! It's quite an experience walking up to a homeless person, giving them some hot chocolate and having a conversation with them. There are so many interesting stories we have heard and many more to come. It's amazing, these people just want someone to talk to, to have a conversation with. We are showing the love of Jesus Christ to them by connecting with them -- by letting them know that they are still human, that they are still valued, that they are loved by God. It has truly been a wonderful night!

BTW, One of our groups met a man tonight who is from Providence.

Our students are really catching on to what's going on here in SF. They are really getting out of their comfort zones. They are beginning to catch God's heart for this lost city. They are growing in many ways. Oh, and us adults are as well!

We would love to hear from you guys! You can post a comment if you would like! Also, to you all of you who are praying for us -- THANK YOU!

Michael

Bucket Brigade

After a quick break, we headed out to do the "Bucket Brigade" activity. In this activity, we went out in groups of 4 or 5 to local business in the Tenderloin. We would walk in the business, introduce ourselves to them, and offer to serve them -- by sweeping, cleaning windows, etc. It was truly an amazing thing to see the reactions from these people when they found out that we didn't want anything in return, we just wanted to bless them. In our debrief time, we all talked about how a little can go a long way when it comes to serving people.
We just ate dinner! Some of us are about to go to Starbucks (yes, we need some caffeine), and then it will be off to do the "Hot Chocolate Evangelism."

Peace out!

Michael

Golden Gate Park...and other things

This morning we kicked off our day by making 2 sack lunches, we then ate some breakfast (cereal, bagels, etc.), had an evangelism teaching, a Church team time -- and all of this happened before 9:30.

After that, we headed over to First Baptist Church (http://www.fbcsf.org/) for worship. We heard a great teaching on surrendering our "ALL" to the Lord. The message was based off of the Rich Young Ruler.

From there, we rode the bus to Golden Gate Park for our "Sack Lunch with the Homeless." In this activity, we all took 2 sack lunches, one for our self and one for a homeless person. This activity was truly amazing because it stretched us like never before. We all had to get comfortable with walking up to a complete stranger, offering lunch to them, sitting down to eat with them, and then carry on a conversation with them. After lunch, we came back to the YWAM base to debrief the activity.

The end of the first day!

It's bed time! We are all going to bed after a wonderful day of travel, new experiences, new friends and much more.

Tonight's "Lost and Found" activity was a great success! The activity challenged us to approach people to ask them questions about the Tenderloin Area of San Francisco. This allowed us to get comfortable with the area and with talking to strangers out on the streets.

We are all exhausted! We're going to bed!

Michael

We made it!

Well, we finally made it to San Francisco! It's 6:40 pm (San Francisco Time), and we've been up already for 18 hours and bed time is not for another 4 hours. Talk about a long day.

We are having a great time! We are all experiencing new things. Many members of our team have never even been away from the east coast. We were all split up on our 4 hour flight from Chicago to San Francisco so we all met some new people. I had the privilege to sit next to a man from California who told me all kinds of cool stuff about the area. I was able to share with him why we were coming to San Fran and by the end of the flight, he gave me $50 to go towards the ministry of YWAM. Praise God!

Tonight, we are doing a scavenger hunt called "Lost and Found." This activity will give us the opportunity to get used to the area and to talking with people on the streets. We're really looking forward to all that God is going to do in and through us this week!

We're tired, but excited to see God show off His glory!

Michael Robinson

YWAM San Francisco Trip

Well, we are ready to go. For family and friends that are interested, our calendar itenary is avaiable at YWAM Calendar.
Also, here are links to check on the flight status:

June 21 - PVD to CHO
June 21 - CHO to SFO

June 26 - SFO to CHO
June 26 - CHO to SFO

If you want to see what the weather is like while we are out there, click below:

WEATHER.COM

As we have opportunity, we will update the photo album with pictures to allow you to see first hand what the CCF Ignite students are doing.

Photo Album