Well... thank you all so much for your added prayer this past week while Journey hosted it's first out of town group. We had a group of 17 from Colorado and South Dakota come for a five day adventure and service trip. The group was from Impact edVentures, which seeks to teach youth to serve in different places around the world.

God truly blessed us with amazing weather, and a safe and adventurous time together. Here is a rundown of some of the things we did.
- 3 surf sessions (the surf was perfect each day!)
- 7 Fall adventure hike (team building exercise)
- Red Rock (10 mile bike ride, cliff jumping, and swimming)
- Night hike at Lizard's Mouth
- Night hike to Knapp's Castle
- Paintball at San Marcos Christian Camp
- Bike ride along the Santa Barbara boardwalk
- Serving lunch at Casa Esperanza
- Serving the homeless dinner at Alameda Park with Westmont students
- Serving dinner at the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission
- Leading the chapel service at the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission

Needless to say, there wasn't much downtime. The night at the Rescue Mission had to be one of the main highlights for me. It was amazing to hear students share their testimonies and watch them truly love each person that was there. A student named Alex especially blessed those that came by sharing his powerful testimony of how God has walked with him through many trials in his short life. Shortly after he and his dad were baptized as followers of Jesus, his father passed away from cancer. Soon after, Alex had one of his eyes removed because of cancer. In the following years he has battled many serious medical issues. However, he continues to exhibit real and deep joy from God. The following is an excerpt from an email I received from his mom.

“I wanted to let you know that Alex had an amazing trip! We had dinner last night and he recapped moment by moment everything that he experienced. It was fun hearing about all the adventures and how God worked in him. I believe he grew a lot in faith and also in confidence.

He told me about the night that the group led the church service at the homeless shelter, and his ability to participate. Here is what I got from him "I read a verse then shared my story". As you know Alex has a long story! I'm so thrilled that he shared, it's really the first time, and I know as his confidence and faith grow he can make an impact for so many. He sort of chuckled when he told me that one of the homeless men came up to him afterwards to tell him how sorry he was for Alex and what he had gone through. He also told me how cool it was that he was able to pray for that man.”

I praise God for the good things He is doing!

 

Praises and Prayer Needs:

- Praise that Lang Riley and Michael Ishimaru were able to help lead the Impact group. I couldn't have done it without them.
- Praise that everyone stayed healthy and safe on the trip.
- Praise God that all the details came together beautifully.
- Praise God for His continued provision for the ministry.
- Prayer that God would continue to develop and grow this ministry into
what He wants it to be.
- Prayer for a female Journey leader (both for weekly discipleship
groups, and for periodic out of town groups).
- Prayer for continued financial provision for the family and ministry.