LOGAN

Logan West Virginia, a town most people have never heard of, it is afterall just another little old dying coal town, West Virginia is full of them. Well it is really nothing to look at, although it is nestled in beautiful mountainous landscape,  its houses are old and condemned, the steets are lined with signs of deterioration and empty store fronts. Homelessness and unemployment are abundant. The stories of broken homes and desperation you hear from the kids at kids club break your heart.

But to the 32 students and leaders who spent a week loving and serving this community, Logan is beautiful. It is full of God's love and grace and the Holy Spirit is active in the church of Logan. Our team was extremely blessed by the people of Logan. While there we served at kids club: loving and playing with kids who have experienced struggles we will never know. Teams also built a wheelchair ramp for a community member who was unable to leave his home for many months. Others worked at a school tutoring and cleaning and painting, still others worked at a salvation army store, a place where many people come to get things for their families. The Holy Spirit worked in each of our hearts in a unique way and a few from our team wrote their thoughts to share with you.

Since the youth ministry's mission trip to Logan, WV last year, Logan has been a place dear to my heart. Although my heart breaks for the broken families, homeless, malnourished, poor, and needy of Logan, it also rejoiced for the joy, love, hope, peace, and patience that is found in the people who live there. Life is much different in Logan, than in Pittsburgh. Even though the people of Logan have little to none, they have great joy in their hearts. In Pittsburgh, we are blessed with much more than we need, yet we are quick to be negative and  are not content with what we have. Now that I have realized that I am this way, I am doing my best to be more content with what I have. My complaints and judgements have been more obvious to me. Thanks to Logan, I have grown deeper in my faith and am now blessed to have a closer relationship with God. I am truly blessed to have been welcomed into the City of Logan, West Virginia. ~ Kaitlyn W

Logan grew me a new family. You have no idea what that means to me. ~ Pete T

Logan allowed me to open my heart and fill it with Gods everlasting love ~ Lauren E

It was just so amazing to see people doing what we say we do "living out God's unchanging Word to serve an ever-changing world!" ~ Kevin S

Everyone grew in different and in unique way. This trip showed me how close our youth group really is and how much of a family we are. ~ Evan G

Logan brought me closer to the people in our group and i loved serving the people of logan in whatever small way we could. Emily W

Logan enabled me to see that God created destruction and beauty, but even amongst the destruction in Logan, there was beauty everywhere. Jen K

 

 

                                                     Building the wheelchair ramp.

²⁷ “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you.    ³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.  Luke 6:27-36
 These are the verses we studied all week during our club time. How easy it is to read these words. You can only truly do what they say through the power of God's love and His work in your life.
Thanks to all those who prayed and supported us during our time in Logan. Please keep the Students and leaders of MPC in your prayers.

 Visiting nursing homes to cheer the residents. We sang for them and did skits and just talked and listened.

                                          Knowing how to play four square is a must!

                                           soaking up the culture at a bluegrass concert!

                                                                           Twins!

Greater things have yet to come and greater things are yet to be done in this city!!!

Logan WV here we come !

Mission trips and service projects are an important part of the youth ministry at MPC. We place a high value on serving our neighbors both near and far as we have served places in our own community and around the country in New York, Chattanooga, Boston and as far away as St. Vincent, Costa Rica,  and Jamaica just to name a few! Yes we serve and help people and share the gospel in a variety of ways on these trips. But we also are changed and touched by the Holy Spirit in ways that only someone who has served on a mission team can truly understand. What God does in our lives, our relationships with Him and with each other never ceases to amaze me.

This year we are headed back to a little town in WV for the 2nd year in a row. We are very excited to be going back to this little depressed coal town. Last year this trip had a significant impact on many students lives and the leadership felt that nudge to go back and see what God has for us to do and learn and see.
Thanks to all those who supported this trip prayerfully and financially! We can't wait to go and come back and share with you all! There are over 30 students and leaders going and we leave Sunday June 19th and return Saturday June 25th. Please pray for the team!
Here are some pictures of our pepperoni roll fundraiser! Yum! Special thanks to Betsy Gourley for all her help with this fundraiser! Check back for stories and pictures upon our return.