Ember Cast Goes to Philly

This weekend Ember Cast had an opportunity to head north to the City of Brotherly Love for a weekend of brotherly love with a group of high school sophomores and their leaders. The weekend was an unforgettable one, and certainly an eye-opener for everyone. Specifically, the weekend took place in Chinatown, paired up with a Chinese American Church led by pastor LT. LT was a guide for all of us suburban folk, providing everything from directions around the city, to history of the city, to where the best places to eat were. But this weekend was driven deeper than just to have a fun time in Philadelphia. The purpose was to drive our group towards a few biblical truths through physical immersion and real-world application. The trip was designed around the three themes of movement, contextualization, and artifact/symbol.

The few of us from Ember Cast arrived a bit earlier than the rest of the group on Friday evening. We got a chance to link up with LT at that time and share an authentic Chinese meal in Chinatown. Having been our first time in Chinatown Philadelphia, this was a time for us to see the area and ask questions as well. The group arrived soon after and the weekend began. The first assignment was for them to break up into a few groups and take 45 minutes walking Chinatown to observe all cultural differences they could find. We then regrouped and discussed how these differences develop a different context for how the Bible can be shared.
After these activities we were taken to the room we would be staying in for the night. It was close quarters, but we managed to fit everyone in, for the crucial sleep they needed before waking up at 6am the next morning. Before going to bed, however, we a group discussion and bible study. One of the main pieces that came out of this was a time for everyone to look inward and find something they will change in their lives from this weekend. We also had everyone share their comfort level with the city environment.

The 6am wake up call accompanied a quick clean up and morning prep before heading over to Sunday Breakfast Mission to help serve the homeless. This is a center that feeds somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 people every meal for 3 meals a day. They house over 200 every night, and provide services for getting people educated, and employed. We served the center in a few ways. Some of our students were actually serving food in the kitchen, others were moving different boxes of materials, and the majority of us got the bear of sorting out the abundance of food donations found in the pantry. The center pulls in monetary and food donation from approximately 30,000 sources, so needless to say there was a lot of food to go through in the 4 hour window we were there. A huge dent was made in the organization before another team cam in to take over for us. Before leaving the center and heading off for lunch, we were given a tour of the entire facility, providing some history and understanding of what the mission and values of Sunday Breakfast are.

Lunch break involved a journey to the Chinese supermarket to eat in the food court there. Certainly more culture was to be observed at this time, as well as more conversation about the the evangelical movements taking place in Philadelphia.

After lunch the group we brought got the opportunity to link up with the youth group from Chinatown for a scavenger hunt around the city. Not only was this a great time for everyone to see the city of Philadelphia, it was also a time to meet with other believers and develop new friendships. Unfortunately my team didn't fare too well in the competition, but the memories of running through Philadelphia were very much worth the loss. Following the scavenger hunt, the youth group students got a chance to hang out, while Ember Cast and leaders got to link up to share ideas for how to make our ministries more effective in reaching our students.

A trip to Philadelphia wouldn't be complete without Philly Cheesesteaks, so as we neared the end of our trip, we made sure to stop at Tony Luke's for their world famous cheesesteaks. Debriefing time accompanied our dining experience, and before we got ready to head back to Maryland, one more surprise awaited. We were lucky enough to catch social entrepreneur, Chris Marlow, right after getting off his flight to Philly. Chris spoke to the group about following God's plans, regardless of how distant they may seem. He encouraged everyone to maintain focus on God instead of the world because often we forget about God's plans when we focus on worldly ones. Chris also shared the story of his non-profit, HELP, which works towards aiding impoverished cities through the love and mercy of Christ.

Overall, the weekend was successful in immersing the group into a new culture to better understand ministry, as well as to serve the needs of the people through the compassion of Christ. It was also a fun time for the group to bond and grow closer together. Most people on the trip hope to go back to Philly sometime soon, and I know I would like to go back too.