Wow!  We saw many contrasts in the city of Atlanta!

          marble entrances ... crumbled sidewalks

          sleek buildings ... burned out warehouses

          lush parks ... crowded shelters

          hopelessness ... Christ, our Hope

Our group of 20 joined two other churches, for 60 total.  Throughout the week, our jobs included:  sorting clothing donations, repairing fences, weeding at our motel, handing out snowcones to the homeless in the hot Atlanta sun, painting, picking up trash, praying with people on the streets (with our eyes open!), making sandwhiches to hand out, serving breakfast at a shelter, playing with children at another shelter & teaching them the story of Noah's ark, cleaning mattresses at another shelter, moving steel bunkbeds, chipping flooring, & participating in a Block Party.

We also saw Stone Mountain National Park, had a Krispy Kreme detour, experienced unique restaurants (at The Varsity:  "What'll ya have?!"), saw Olympic Park & played in the fountains, shopped at Underground Atlanta, The CNN Tower food court, Target, and an Atlanta Braves baseball game.

Whew!  It's no wonder I'm tired!  But the biggest impact for me, was in seeing that the homeless are not a nameless mass.  They have faces & names & stories that represent families & needs.  Pastor Kurt taught us to reach out and touch people, look them in the eye, and call them by name.  By doing so, we validate people.  We affirm that they have a place in society, and they are worthy of our attention.

I am grateful for the way the Lord has stretched me through this trip!  Look for pictures from our week in Atlanta, July 9-14, at www.churchonthestreet.com, Walk the Streets with Pastor Kurt.