Day Four at PGM

Good morning~

Well, yesterday was definitely the best day we have had so far! Every aspect of the day was great! By now the students are very comfortable with the tasks at PGM and they are busy about them. They are receiving direction still, but are being very proactive as soon as any job is completed. There is much singing, talking, laughing and calorie-burning that goes on during these times. :) The service last night was a blessing as well. We were able to be in the main service area. This room holds somewhere around 600 men and women. Jason, Jacquelyn, and Victor gave their testimonies, we had various musical solos, duets and group songs. Justin finished by preaching on the kindness of God that leads to repentance. How great God is, and how great it is to share that with others!

I was thinking that some of the tasks we are doing here might be confusing in other updates, so I thought I would explain them. Here are some examples:

• Dishwash: The students take the used dishes from meal times, rinse them, and place them in the commercial dishwasher. Then they put them all away. Remember, the mission serves anywhere from 600-12oo guests. So, LOTS of dishes!!! They also wash the dishes used in food preparation.
• Meal Serving: The students ladle out soup and put sandwiches on the plates as the men and ladies come through.
• Food prep: LOTS of chopping, cutting, peeling, etc.
• Table Setting: There are several shifts for lunch, which means that the tables need to be reset every hour.
• Unshackled: Because PGM moved locations 2 years ago, they still have around 60,000 tracts that still have their old address in them. They have made labels with the current address to be placed over the old ones. Needless to say, this is a never ending job. :)
• Stockroom: This includes sorting food that gets donated daily and stacking them on shelves. This process moves fast from pallet to shelf in order to not clog the hallways. Also, this means cleaning out the fridge and freezer, which are two separate large rooms. They also throw away bad/rotten food.
• Greenhouse: PGM has desired to grow some of their own food. They have several large greenhouses. Also, in a desire to use their food waste, they have developed a system to get rid of it in a profitable manner. They have huge boxes of worms that they throw this food waste in and then the greenhouse staff use the worm manure to nourish their plants, as well as to sell. It is rich stuff! Some of our guys have been working with the worms and taking care of them. :)
• Soul Winning: A couple of the guys have been able to go out with men from the mission and share the gospel around Chicago. This has been a great experience for them.

Well, there is more to share, but hopefully this gives you somewhat of an idea of what we have been up to. The students are sad that this is our last day here at PGM. They have grown to love these people and the opportunities to serve. We praise God for this time! As we came together after the service last night, one of the men in the program asked us if we know the song, "Here I am to Worship." We all sang it with joy and adoration of the Savior. The lyrics are below. I hope that today you can worship God in California as we seek to worship Him here! Because we are kept pretty busy at PGM, I do not always get pictures. However, below are some from when we were walking around the city yesterday.

Light of the world
You stepped down into darkness.
Opened my eyes, let me see.
Beauty that made this heart adore You
Hope of a life spent with You

Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
All together worthy,
All together wonderful to me

King of all days
oh, so highly exalted
Glorious in heaven above
Humbly You came
To the earth You created
All for love's sake became poor

Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
All together worthy,
All together wonderful to me

~Katelyn, for the Team

Enjoying Time after the Service

In front of the Buckingham Fountain

Concert Stage

The famous "Bean"

Art Museum