First Day!

We had an awesome first day. Mr. Holmquist brought up the fact that we sat for 12 hours yesterday, and we walked for 12 hours today. It wasn't quite that bad, but it was a lot of walking, but in a way that is a good thing because it gives us the opportunity to be like the locals. So many people in this city walk as their main form of travel. We started the day with touring the Gloversville area with Donn and Cyndie after visiting the trendy Change of One Ministry building! The building is obviously made into a cool place for not only youth to hang out but also adults. The facility has been remodeled completely  and through gracious donations from the community Donn and Cyndie have a really great place to do outreach through. Also right nearby is the Solutions center for pregnant women who are going through tough times in the city who need help, the ages range from teens to one woman who is 60 years old. That is just one example of the ministry of Gloversville trying to help this city.

We had a prayer walk planned for the night, so to get ready for that we split into two groups. One group got to use spray paint and paint all of the brown, rusty chairs into a sleek black. Another group used wire brushes to clean off the brick walls in the Change of One building. The room quickly became dusty and kinda hard to breathe, the same with outside, but thats kinda like God with Gloversville; when we were stuck in the room, we couldn't see perfectly through the room, and breathing in the dust was just as bad. And when we tried to go outside, the same problem persisted. For Gloversville, it requires them to walk away from the security of the room and the close proximity, they have to go down the street or the next couple of blocks, but they have the opportunity to find God. And thats what the prayer walk was for me.

We split into four groups and took on different parts of the city. Touching stories ranged from a girl from Solutions who had never prayed before to walking by a locked car that had a crying baby inside with no parents in sight. The walk had so many people there, all there to walk around the city and pray on different corners and ends of streets. We got the chance to see all of the city, talk with its members, hear their stories, and realize how blessed we are to live the lives that we live.

This prayer walk taught me that so many people go through valleys. Psalm 23 tells us that we are God's sheep and He is our Shepherd, that he will guide us through all of the valleys and dark places in our lives. The walk reminded me of the troubles that so many people go through in their lives and its because of those troubles that many people don't believe. So many people talked about how the city of Gloversville used to be thriving, but now it isn't, that it is at a new low. It's obvious that Satan is trying to make roots in Gloversville, but our God is greater, and stronger, and He is for us. God is in this city, and He isn't going anywhere. Steven Denny took a picture of a sign that said "Tough times don't last, tough people last." what a great testimony to faith too. Like I said earlier, there will be valleys in our lives, because we aren't any different than the people here, but God is going to be here for us through everything, and even though this city is having a hard time, they can't pay attention to the disasters in this city, they need to listen to the whisper after the storm. The song for tonight is "God of this City," God is and forever will be in this city.