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Memphis Street Reach Days 1 and 2

The team from First Baptist Church, Monroe departed on Saturday afternoon around 3:30 bound for Memphis, TN. To help make the 10+ hour drive more palatable, we stopped in Knoxville, TN for the night, and drove the remaining 5 hours across Tennessee on Sunday to reach Brinkley Heights Urban Academy, which during the summer serves as the host site for Street Reach Memphis. SRM is a 20+ year old ministry birthed out of the hearts of the small congregation of Brinkley Heights Baptist who desired to see their community changed. Now they welcome mission teams from all over the country to work in the eastern portion of inner-city Memphis each summer.
Our team of 12 adults and students was assigned to a site known as "National" where we conduct backyard Bible clubs for children in the area. On Monday morning we welcomed about 65 children between the ages of 3-14, and on Tuesday, we joined with about 50 children. Our mornings consist of canvassing the area in teams to knock on doors and invite children to come to the park, while the actual club portion consists of opening games, rotation through stations of Bible stories and games, before finally serving each child a lunch provided by the area school system. When the club is over, our teams return the children to their homes.
Our afternoons provide us the opportunity to participate in a mission activity of our choice. Monday afternoon saw us participating in a prayer walk around our club site area, and then Tuesday afternoon we had the chance to work in a nearby laundromat providing free washes to customers and if they would like, a time of prayer. Our team from FBCM is here along with churches from Tennessee, North Carolina, Texas, and Arkansas, all serving at different club sites all over the city.
We have had great weather, and even greater opportunities to develop relationships with area children through sharing stories about people who chose to follow Jesus. We certainly have been challenged in different ways, but also have seen the ways we have grown. Our desire to apply what we learn/experience in Monroe is strong, and we can't wait to see what else God does with us this week.


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