Day 5: PUMPed about what God has done at BUMP

It's unreal that Friday is already here, that we're ending VBS tonight and that we head home to our friends and family in the Lehigh Valley of PA tomorrow. God has done so many amazing things in the hearts and minds of our kids, and through that growth they have served the community of Southwest Baltimore in a way none of us imagined when the week began. But God knew all along that this would happen, and He alone should be praised for that!

We have three more students who want to talk about their experiences this week, so without further ado, we give you Matt, Alexandra and Chloe:

"The BUMP week was the most amazing missions trip I have ever went to. The most amazing thing of this week is that we got to got help out with serving food to people who have no job or homes. I have grown more and more closer to God this week, too. The fun thing about this trip is that I got to play and to talk to inner city kids and help them get closer to God and even get to have Jesus in their hearts for the first time. Most of this week got me thinking what these kids go through, like drugs, smoking and sex trafficking. It didn't surprise me at all that where we were staying that there is sex trafficking, but it was still eye opening. But overall I have had the most amazing week of this year." ~ Matt S.

"I had a great time at BUMP. I loved being able to help people in a very needy community. We went into the community and prayed for people on our prayer walk, then had a produce giveaway for families in need of food. We also helped out on a farm at the Samaritan Women and met a crazy but super fun guy named Farmer John. I learned a lot about urban life and poverty this week at BUMP. One of my favorite parts of BUMP was being able to do a skit called "The Pirates of Pizzazz." I got to meet a lot of great kids at the VBS and really got to connect with them. Let's just say that my back was sore from so many piggy-back rides! I also had fun at the Inner Harbor on Wednesday. We got to go to Fort McHenry and the National Aquarium. After the aquarium we went shopping at the mall, which I loved. Today we we cleaned up the church, as it is our last full day. Over the week, I learned more about poverty, how to share the Gospel, and about urban life. I would say that BUMP was the highlight of my summer." ~ Alexandra

"This week was better than expected. To be honest, I didn't know if this was all it was said to be, since none of us had ever done it.  I connected to the people from my own church and the people from Stillmeadow (the church we stayed at). We did prayer walking, and that was one of the best things we did this week -- in my opinion. I had thought we would get more rejection from the people here, but the truth was that many people needed prayer. We did a block party and VBS all week, and it was so cool to see all these kids together and play with them and teach them about the Lord. I never thought I could grow so much in one week, but I did. It was a really awesome week, so yeah." ~ Chloe

As you can see, God has started a wonderful new thing in our students this week. Please pray for us as we finish up the last night of VBS, say goodbye to these cute little kids and getting ready to head back home in the morning. We are tired and it will be sad to leave this all behind, but we are looking forward to coming home, too. Pray for safe travels and God bless!