Day Two at PGM

Good morning~

Once again the team is off to PGM for the day after a successful train ride, van pick-up and some team time. Joel is entertaining both himself and Panera customers with his hands and sounds as I update you all. :)

Day two held many of the same tasks during the day at PGM. However, instead of having a tour, we jumped in to various jobs upon our arrival at 10 am. So...many more labels, dishes, pounds of food and more! The attitudes of diligence of the students have been wonderful, and it has been a joy to watch. We were a little more comfortable yesterday, so we could find more things to do if a task completed early. I (Katelyn) was grateful for the opportunity to meet some of the moms and children. I feed Joel up in the playroom/nursery, where other moms in the program and overnight guests take care of their children. What a joy it was to encourage, talk "mom talk" and share from God's Word with these ladies.

We ended around 3:30 and spent some time driving around the city and at Navy Pier. It's been a little chilly and drizzly so we stayed inside. Actually, as I type, it is raining a good bit outside. After some hotdogs and beef sandwiches, we headed back to PGM for the services.

Because the ladies gather in the meeting area before the men, we girls joined them and had some great opportunities to talk. Overall, they are very sweet and we have greatly enjoyed talking and encouraging them. As always, we leave extremely encouraged as well, with a burden and love for these ladies. They love being able to hold Joel, and he has been a precious blessing to share. It is such a joy to see these women light up as he smiles at them.

Last night, we did the service in the overflow room. There were over 100 men in there. Jared, Will and Suzanna gave their testimonies and we ministered in song. It's actually kind of funny because after diligent preparation of music, we do not have a piano in the overflow room so all of our songs are ending up to be a cappella. We are learning flexibility and how to stay all together in rhythm and tune without an instrument. :)

Well, I'm off to join the rest of the group now. We are thankful that you can rejoice with us as God answers your prayers here. Brother Ray, the man who preached last night, told us that one of the men thought we were a big family because of the way we interacted. How amazing it is that, because of Christ, we are family. God is so good!

~Katelyn, for the Team

During the Service