For ministry, we're splitting up the group into 3 teams and rotating among different types of community service - children's day camps, elderly, and homeless. Unfortunately, the day camps fell through, so instead we are surveying students at San Francisco State University on their religious backgrounds and beliefs and sharing the gospel whenever possible.
Here are a few glimpses of what we did this summer:
Friday, June 22: Women's Time
One of my roles here is co-leading Women’s Time. Tonight, we talked about femininity and what we’ve learned about being a woman from our families, media and popular culture, and from women of the Bible.
 |
| Waiting for women's time to start |
Saturday, June 24: Lindy Hop in Golden Gate Park
One of my other roles on this summer missions trip is co-leading Experiential Learning — in other words, taking the team into the city and helping them look at it from a spiritual and scriptural perspective. I LOVE this role because I love cities and showing people that there is beauty here too, not just dirt and crime.
Today for Experiential Learning, I took our team to a free swing dance lesson in Golden Gate Park, which is a giant park on the west side of SF, even larger than Central Park in NYC! Afterward, I had them reflect on Jeremiah 29:1-7, God’s letter to the exiles in Babylon instructing them to seek the welfare of their city of exile, and think about the following question: “Given this secular example of people seeking the welfare of the city by providing free public space and arts, what are ways that you can bless this city and your home city?”
As we discussed the passage, one of the freshmen (Justin, below) shared how he was finally able to see beauty in the city. I was super encouraged to hear how his attitude toward cities had changed so much in only 2 weeks in San Francisco! He wrote about shifting perspectives on his blog -- go check it out: http://ohhyehh.tumblr.com/post/26326970608/god-of-this-city
 |
| Bernice and Justin doing the Charleston |
 |
| Line up with your partner in a big circle |
 |
| Changing partners |
Sunday, July 1: Sunday Streets
Today for Experiential Learning, I took the team out to the Sunday Streets Fair in the Mission district, which is a predominantly Latino neighborhood. Once a month, the city closes a major avenue for over a mile so that people can ride bikes, jog, dance, and play in the street. It’s a big festival, with musicians every few blocks, street dancers, and vendors lining up the avenue to entertain people as they walk by.
After the street fair, I had them go to a park and reflect on Acts 17 with the following instructions: “Observe how Paul ministers to people of different cultures in the city. Ask God—How can I also minister to people who aren’t like me?”
 |
| SF is the mural capital of the world, and Balmy Alley in the Mission district is full of murals depicting dreams, wishes, critiques, and struggles of this community. This one appears to highlight the disparity between the rich and the poor, and the policymakers and the public. |
 |
| A demonstration of the history of street dance through the decades. This gentleman was illustrating funk. |
 |
| A poet sets up shop with his typewriter on the street. His sign reads: "Pick a subject and price and get a poem" |
 |
| Mission is a predominantly Latino district. This shop proudly displays its lucha libre (Mexican wrestling) masks. One of my students offered to buy me one if I would wear it for the rest of the day. I declined. |
