Text is from Mr. Edmondson’s recent prayer letter… photos are from my teens who were blessed to be part of the adventure in Boston!
This summer two youth ministry teams served with us in Boston: Faith Baptist Church youth group from Cambridge, Iowa, and First Baptist Church from Niles, Ohio. Over the course of two weeks, 37 adults and teenagers descended upon our home. Although it was an extremely busy and exhausting time for all, I think it is safe to say that we all profited from it.
The two teams did many ministry home maintenance projects like cleaning the sump pump pit, cleaning and reorganizing the overflowing basement, weeding and rerocking the sidewalk and porch area, refinishing the deck, building a sidewalk and planter, and deep cleaning the kitchen among many other projects. The teams also deep cleaned the community building where we have our Sunday meetings, and picked up trash throughout the neighborhood.
After meeting with the mayor and his staff, we cleaned and groomed an area close to the main government buildings in our community of Malden. We also met with neighbors and shop owners in our city. By serving our community in this way, we hope to establish our credentials as ambassadors for Christ. Both groups went a long way in helping us do this.
We also tried to minister to each individual in each group by building lasting relationships with them. Together we traveled up Malden Mountain to view our city and pray for her needs. We had several on-line meetings with disciples of the International Baptist Fellowship. This gave our group an opportunity to learn about city ministry from those impacted by city ministry. On July fourth we spent the day on the Charles River in preparation for watching the Boston fireworks. While doing so, we interacted with many international friends. It was wonderful to observe the ministry teams engage international visitors.In addition to these activities, we gave both teams extensive tours of Boston. My hope is to replace fear of the city with a love and burden for the city.
This is only part of what was done and accomplished in Boston by ministering with the two ministry teams. Many hours of work was accomplished on the ministry house, relationships with city officials and neighborhood friends and shop owners were deepened, international friends were introduced to Christ-loving teens, the teams were challenged with the need for city workers. Ministry happened on the local, regional, continental, and international levels. It was a good two weeks.
The following pics arrived via my phone as the kids journeyed, thus the lower quality imagery :-)
They walked or road the subway everywhere! On Friday they followed the Freedom Trail ~ Bunker Hill Monument, North Church, USS Constitution, Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere’s home, statues of Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and Ben Franklin…
the old State House, {another view of the Old South Meeting House}, King’s Chapel, Tremont Temple, Massachusetts State House
And the boys still had energy left for pillow fights after spending the evening out in a park.
fyi, remember this is what Daniel’s pillow case looked like when he came home… before I threw it away.
Saturday they joined a friend of the Edmondsons for a hike in Malden Fells.
And worked around the house as Mr. E. mentioned – Daniel worked with re-sanding the tile sidewalk. Abby helped with staining the deck {there’s a funny story with that one!} And the sump pump crew of course have their own stories of victory in the depths…
Tuesday ~ They saw a Jewish Holocaust memorial and the site of store where D.L. Moody trusted in Jesus Christ
They ate pizza for lunch from Regina’s – the oldest pizzaria in Boston {these young boys look just a little tired?}
That evening they played Ultimate Frisbee in a park, and then bought large quantities of water :-)
Thursday ~ “Camping out” on the Charles River on the Fourth ~ Abby reported it was about 90F, so they were thankful for the shade.
And the fireworks? “Wow. 25 minutes… But….. Wowowowowowowowowow!” was Daniel’s meaningful description. :-)
Friday they were back on the road and headed west. They opted for a ‘quick’ detour to see Niagra Falls.
Saturday ~ Welcome {home} to Iowa!
