charlie conway, minneapolis, mn

ah, how i love the mighty ducks!

but this post has nothing to do with the mighty ducks, only with minneapolis. wow, God is working in great ways there! here's a quick recap:

• we worked with STEM International, Inc. that stands for short-term evangelical missions. i was really impressed with this ministry. it was definitely the most effective and fruitful 2 1/2 day mission trip i could imagine.
• thursday, we arrived in the city at around noon, ate lunch and headed over to the Hope Academy. this school was an amazing story of "loving your neighbors as yourself."
  
  • this school is located in the poorest neighborhood in minneapolis.
    
  • russ gregg, the founder and principle moved into this neighborhood for missional purposes
    
  • he started the school based on the biblical idea of loving your neighbor as yourself. he wanted a great school for his kids, so he founded a great school for his neighbors kids.
    
  • this school is reminiscent of a school russ previously worked at in edina, the richest community in minneapolis. that gives you an idea of the quality of education these kids get.
    
  • yes, it's expensive, it costs about $6,000 a year to send each kid to school. how much do the parents have to pay? as low as $60 per month. each kid has a sponsor and a scholarship for up to $5,400.00 each year. amazing? yes.
    
• friday, we worked with Source Ministries. this ministry was one with about 60 arms of service. from transitional housing, to homeless outreach, to prayer, to youth outreach, to outreach through the arts and beyond, this place is a hotbox of ministry. it was a true blessing to work with them.
  
• saturday, we listened. we went to a place called the marie sandvik center and there really wasn't anything for us to do. this is another ministry with their hands in a bunch of different outreach opportunities. we sat and listened to an amazing lady, marybeth, we passed out sandwiches to homeless men and women and prayed for them and we went to a church picnic. i met this amazing woman named kay at the picnic. i was so moved by her story that i almost started crying. i got to pray over her and ask God to do through her, everything she had planned. i will remember her for a long time and i'm committed to "pray for kay" for the next few years at least. it was a bittersweet parting for me, and i could simply say, "i'll see you in heaven." but it would be a sweet gift from God to see her in a few years and see the great things i know God plans to do with her life.
  
• the first two evenings, we went to phillips park and did some outreach to the children and youth there.
  
  • the phillips neighborhood is the most culterally diverse neighborhood in the entire us, possibly in the world.
    
  • within 1 1/2 miles, over 150 languages are spoken.
    
  needless to say, it was a great place to set up camp for two evenings. a 9-year-old girl named sophia with a strict muslim father accepted Christ. please pray for her safety and for her relationship with Christ to powerfully flourish despite her living situation. also, an ethopian man accepted Christ and took a Bible with him. we mostly played with the kids and loved on them, it was an awesome time.
  
• the last evening, we went to the downtown area of minneapolis and shared Christ with whoever was willing to hear from us. i had never done this before and i was amazed at how the Holy Spirit just totally took my body and my words and did with them what He wanted. i didn't experience any fear. only Power.

overall, my trip was amazing, and i have more to share with you if you would like. i'm excited for God to continue to do big things in and around me.