Good afternoon from Jackson!
These
few days so far in Mississippi have been filled with God and so much fun! So far,
we have worked on gutting a house for an InterVarsity Program, cleaning and
setting up classrooms at Common Grounds Church for a kindergarten readiness
program, scraping poles, window frames, and doors so that they can be painted,
packing boxes for a local food pantry, painting a mural for Voice of Calvary,
and yard work for a handicapped woman. In all of these tasks I have seen God at
work in our team. He has chosen a great team to do His work and impact the
lives of the people of West Jackson. On Monday during lunch, Phil Reed, the
president of Voice of Calvary, spoke to us about the history of their organization
and the various programs they have to benefit the people of West Jackson.
Through his presentation I could sense that their programs truly benefit not
just the Christian minority of Jackson, but the entire community of Jackson.
They have been put in a position where God has allowed them to impact and be a
vital part of the community. An example of a program they have is for homeless
people. They are building a Housing First community by partnering with other organizations
in Jackson, to provide the homeless population, that may be alcoholics or a
drug addicts, with a home. The only rules for this complex are that they aren’t
bothering their neighbors, and they are taking care of their things. Once they
are following these rules, most will end their addiction and seek help with it
out of their own desires. Today, we packed boxes of food at the Mississippi
Food Network for distribution all over Mississippi. We packed over fifty 30lb
boxes of canned goods and food. Also, Voice of Calvary asked us to paint a
mural to go over one of their windows. Sophie, Caitlin, Jessie, Kerry, and I painted
a dove with the Fruit of the Spirit inside of it, while the others helped the
handicapped lady maintain her yard. This trip has been so much fun and I have
seen God at work keeping us safe! Thank you all so much for your prayers and your
continued support. I am looking forward to all of the things God has planned
for us this week!
-Virginia Betts
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