Friday in Detroit

​Today was our final day of work with Rippling Hope. We’ve had such a great work partnering with this wonderful organization. I hope you’ll take a few moments to look at their website or to like their Facebook page and learn more about them. They are God’s hands and feet in Detroit and El Paso as they partner with neighbors to transform their communities. It was a honor to work with them.
 
Almost all of our crew worked on three streets in the neighborhood where Carl and Robyn, the founders of Rippling Hope, live. They have a few homes around them that are abandoned, boarded up or have fire damage beyond repair. We spent time cleaning up the yards and removing debris as well as painting a couple of porches. It is important to those neighbors who call that area home that other homes are taken care of – important for safety and important for morale. No one wants to live next to abandoned, neglected homes. One of our teams installed a fence at another home. They could not have ended the week any stronger.  I was so incredibly proud of them all week. I’ve received so many wonderful comments from various folks about how polite our group is and how hard they work. Even the hotel staff said that this was one of the best behaved groups of teens they've ever had! I know you all are proud of them too.
 
This afternoon we drove about 90 minutes northwest to Port Huron to the beach from on the Canadian border! It was a beautiful and fun afternoon as a Refuge family – swimming, playing sand volleyball, football, and just chilling. The water was pretty chilly and a cool breeze picked up at the end. It was a perfect end to a week of hard work!
 
Tomorrow we leave early for Chicago. The kids will have a fun day there from noon – 7 pm.  Pray for safety and protection as we travel and as we enjoy the city.
 
I probably won’t blog Saturday evening. We will arrive around 9:30 p.m. to our hotel and by the time we get settled in it will be late.  On Sunday morning we will sing in Bloomington so we can sleep in a little.  Then, we will head to Jefferson City after lunch.
 
Please join us for our Homecoming Concert and invite friends and family. We can’t wait to share with you about what God has allowed us to be a part of this week.