Welcome

Welcome Friends!

Thanks for your interest in Philadelphia and your commitment to pray for the city. I'd like to give you a little background on my journey and about what prompted this blog.

If you know me, you probably know that I've always had a strong heart connection with this city. My parents were both born and raised just outside of the city, so most of my family still lives nearby. I've been visiting the city regularly since birth and something about it captured my heart from a very young age. When I was young, I would get really upset and cry and tell my mom, "I just want to go home!" When she asked me what I was talking about (being that we were in my actual home) I would always respond, "I mean Philadelphia!"

Fast forward to post-college. Upon graduating from Penn State it was clear to me that I was called to live in and love the city. I took my teaching degree into a job in North Philadelphia in the Hispanic district. I was surrounded by some wonderful people and the Lord was doing some great things, but unfortunately things didn't work out for me. After two years filled with lots of struggle, the Lord called me back to State College.

In State College, the Lord worked hard on my heart. He did some incredible things in my time there, but at the end of two more years, I was definitely called back to the city. I am currently pursuing my Master's degree in Philly and living near my school. Even though my primary occupation is "student," I have been very convicted that I've been called here to live missionally.

If you have done any type of mission work or ministry, I'm sure some things come to mind when I talk about living "missionally." From my perspective, when you are doing missions or ministry, your perspective is very different. You are very aware of your role. You are constantly sensitive to the needs around you, you are aware that you are constantly representing Christ and are very intentional about the way that you interact with all people. You are constantly on the lookout for the needs around you and for the role that you can play in filling those needs. Most of all, you are always acting as a servant. The field is not about you and your needs but instead about the people that you came to serve. Think Jesus. I certainly don't have this down and am wrestling with embracing this life each day, but hopefully I'll get it right every once in a while.

There are a few things that have my attention while I am here:
1) Prayer: I'm currently reading Genesis and one of the first things that the Lord asks Abraham to do after establishing his covenant with Abraham is ask him to prayer walk that land that he has promised Abraham and his descendants. I am really new here so I want to be listening first before I act. I want to learn about the Lords heart for the city and be sensitive to the Lord's move here. Part of that is prayer walking my streets, learning about my neighborhood, and allowing myself to know the Lord's heart for this city.

2) Short-term service projects: In November a number of friends from State College came to do the first of hopefully many more service weekends here. We worked to pack boxes of Thanksgiving dinners for families in need in South Philly. After that we spent time in a domestic violence shelter for women and children. We decorated Thanksgiving boxes with them and then stuffed the boxes with goodies for the holiday. Hopefully this becomes a long term relationship.

3) Connecting with other believers: Thanks to my time in Philly before and connections I made in State College and elsewhere, I've been able to connect with a number of Christians in leadership who are committed to serving throughout the city. It is my hope that some day there will be opportunities for Christians all over the city to come together and pray and serve regardless of their church affiliation. I hope that Christians will become unified here and work together to fight the great need and poverty throughout the city.

My plan (which I hope is not too ambitious) is to update the blog weekly with the needs that I see here and the things that the Lord is putting on my heart to pray for. I hope that you can commit to pray for my time in Philadelphia, for the city, and for the needs that I share with you. As a start, here are a few requests that I have to start:

1. Pray that I continue to pursue the Lord and that which he has called me to. Pray that I seek the Lord in humility to become a woman after his heart.

2. Pray for the families in the domestic violence shelter whom we have started a relationship with.

3. Pray for the many homeless in the city and those without heat this winter.

4. There was a 5 alarm fire recently in an apartment complex near my house. More than 90 people have been displaced. Please pray that their needs are met and that the community comes together to serve them and that God would be glorified through this tragedy.

5. Pray for the Christians in the city. Pray that we would all be able to find fellowship with other believers and that we would really be able to connect with an know the Lord here. Pray against complacency in a city where the needs can be overwhelming.

Thanks for your commitment.

KS