"Captives Come Home"
(by Run Kid Run) ![Captives Come Home - Love At the Core](http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/images/web/linkmaker/badge_itunes-sm.gif)
goingLOCAL was amazing! I'm sad that it's over, so writing this post is bittersweet for me. I really don't even know where to start...I just don't know how to put into words what I feel inside.
I guess you could say that I fell in love over the course of three days.
And not just with one little person, but with an entire neighborhood. I know that sounds crazy, especially since I didn't actually meet everyone in the neighborhood. But at the very least, I fell in love with everyone that I met! Ü
I'd love to post all of the pictures that I took, but I don't know the rules about posting children's pictures without permission. So I'm only posting pics of the kids I have permission to post, along with some pics where I blurred out their faces & stuff. I left their smiles where I could, because those smiles are part of what caused me to fall in love!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguHlMEVitpZ5ZWU-thb9dhq2LjtSdMl8GUJSiUBB2q61jVPMqyEm7pJj49l1NfyTmDfpQrlMDqpn7xFfxtE09t8yCacDa4LkdJotCLQhNRsjutTvpb6L-jH5vjF3uL0AiC01blplJUDeg/s640/IMG_4931_2.JPG)
I had some great conversations with some adults and a bunch of kids. I received hugs that melted my heart. The Food Outreach fed 80-100 people each day. A first-grader read me the entire first page of the book of John from one of the Bibles that we handed out. {OK, so I sort of accidentally made her do it. It's a long story. But she enjoyed it & told me that she read more the next day!} And have I mentioned the smiles? Seriously, they'd make your heart do somersaults!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2IjA3ctUP0EGcxwgd1W11bp3KYRcATTBz_M406JGFi6B-UY8Z4g4Eeq7LhyDqH6DhwyBNSGqW700ls4Ebx-wSEEbd5oW4ggqf-6FljfJ13n3BaX92CNmvn0i-LS8ZpLAaHV5Pu86xOA/s640/IMG_5057_2.JPG)
I loved seeing the kids laugh & have fun!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZupPtb0A_QWMehZqeMi5XvbvAR_mfnXJqw1ZKL7J6nRx1Vh5Rf-BbClwEz09mnpjAcyYkpdHzJ0G6eI2XB4cJlT5rfHEnqR_MQ-YQac5xP7BOB-ZCs7-Zv8LlkQFU6YlC_Opjv9WW84/s640/IMG_4946_3.JPG)
I watched tough little boys [who thought they could pick up a Marine ~ ha ha!]...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJi5p9fPGAyuvn1NMFH_BuJ40yZWI9QEtcD-bXmd6PyqJNVgPJVVx_HEoaY_UI66PGcFMGj_2OjmOhiQfRrEq87XGUB12lWerSp6Hu1lPFQCw2vaSXbLrSiowzFrGE3ALqyYvXVIKdxlM/s640/IMG_5012.JPG)
...forget their problems for awhile & dance to the songs we played for VBS.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwtKdxAmNndaPX-8vqKW3xPiKIkbJA1e4XrdCFOKgMmOnn4-54DLhHQZQmlZbKWlFVuA9Y5lkbqIUrUGtc4o8Jkb7WLNxybWb1diqF2AULEbPTvbUVGWp1spaEemyubW3TN6jHpjKFMY/s640/IMG_5001_2.JPG)
I held the sweetest little girl {who cried when she had to go home}
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4oXNRk8gsoOR_LZp_OLgFpTw_0TU2PDBl5ZQd1F7eaAh5lpRAmhwv6mgUAF4OEoTIWEhOqKZxpea1X_C1kZIjiHDoBQNj-4CnNcJHBdaSQAtLfDtfiZoLNqZMICdzeBw6zTpM-Iut9Xg/s640/IMG_5061_2.JPG)
And that's only what happend on my side of the street. On Sunday morning in the youth room, I got to hear the testimonies of 5 or 6 of our teenagers who ministered to other teenagers (across the street from where I was helping with VBS). Several said that their lives have been changed. They have a greater appreciation for the things they have, and they now see a difference between wants & needs. I almost cried as one student talked about seeing a boy with huge holes in his socks, while he has a bunch of socks at home without holes.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTilANvABMYWDSQR8atVgOTOqWTm-k9QIbeM7X2QLP9yj-p51-wIWn5yIpu_vfbPhkxEVfcg9p54_9JBQv-QiVLfxeTs7Gn_uKFmYXakBsulaRYFzTUy_ulYP7J1huss4Bde0OaVES1cQ/s800/222927_1687731674629_1277791954_31365488_2765740_n.jpg)
{Thanks for the pic, Amelia!}
There was also an awesome group of people that walked all over the neighborhood talking to people about Jesus. And I think I mentioned before that there were a couple of other mission projects going on in other parts of town (at the nursing home & the prison). I do life with a wonderful community of believers at my church, and I am so thankful to serve there. Over 100 people took time out of their lives to love God & love others in our community last week, and I'm so glad that I was a part of it. We got dirty, stinky, exhausted & sunburnt, but it was totally worth it!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSNx7oiMSJtihHnxKoX_szI6Ni6pFk6ueWLPDqge2Tq_3FwWOGogzCt3iJlKIYG-HMWrmS7GtNXCa1CMn28b2Y9FhyphenhyphenC1Hp3wQi_zfMg6r5tRvuSxXnn3YTAzjdW_r-XFzKge6xtGNX-wc/s640/IMG_5071_2.JPG)
![Captives Come Home - Love At the Core](http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/images/web/linkmaker/badge_itunes-sm.gif)
goingLOCAL was amazing! I'm sad that it's over, so writing this post is bittersweet for me. I really don't even know where to start...I just don't know how to put into words what I feel inside.
I guess you could say that I fell in love over the course of three days.
And not just with one little person, but with an entire neighborhood. I know that sounds crazy, especially since I didn't actually meet everyone in the neighborhood. But at the very least, I fell in love with everyone that I met! Ü
I'd love to post all of the pictures that I took, but I don't know the rules about posting children's pictures without permission. So I'm only posting pics of the kids I have permission to post, along with some pics where I blurred out their faces & stuff. I left their smiles where I could, because those smiles are part of what caused me to fall in love!
I had some great conversations with some adults and a bunch of kids. I received hugs that melted my heart. The Food Outreach fed 80-100 people each day. A first-grader read me the entire first page of the book of John from one of the Bibles that we handed out. {OK, so I sort of accidentally made her do it. It's a long story. But she enjoyed it & told me that she read more the next day!} And have I mentioned the smiles? Seriously, they'd make your heart do somersaults!
I loved seeing the kids laugh & have fun!
I watched tough little boys [who thought they could pick up a Marine ~ ha ha!]...
...forget their problems for awhile & dance to the songs we played for VBS.
I held the sweetest little girl {who cried when she had to go home}
And that's only what happend on my side of the street. On Sunday morning in the youth room, I got to hear the testimonies of 5 or 6 of our teenagers who ministered to other teenagers (across the street from where I was helping with VBS). Several said that their lives have been changed. They have a greater appreciation for the things they have, and they now see a difference between wants & needs. I almost cried as one student talked about seeing a boy with huge holes in his socks, while he has a bunch of socks at home without holes.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTilANvABMYWDSQR8atVgOTOqWTm-k9QIbeM7X2QLP9yj-p51-wIWn5yIpu_vfbPhkxEVfcg9p54_9JBQv-QiVLfxeTs7Gn_uKFmYXakBsulaRYFzTUy_ulYP7J1huss4Bde0OaVES1cQ/s800/222927_1687731674629_1277791954_31365488_2765740_n.jpg)
{Thanks for the pic, Amelia!}
There was also an awesome group of people that walked all over the neighborhood talking to people about Jesus. And I think I mentioned before that there were a couple of other mission projects going on in other parts of town (at the nursing home & the prison). I do life with a wonderful community of believers at my church, and I am so thankful to serve there. Over 100 people took time out of their lives to love God & love others in our community last week, and I'm so glad that I was a part of it. We got dirty, stinky, exhausted & sunburnt, but it was totally worth it!
![Amy](https://sites.google.com/site/themesongblog/img/signature.png)
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