Project Destiny Update 1: Training and 1st Day

Thanks so much to everyone who is giving support to my Project Destiny work, either financially or in prayer. I am just over half-way funded! Many of you have been generous beyond my expectations. If you are still interested in supporting me, check out the prayer letter I wrote in May, in the Archives. You can send a response, along with your e-mail address to 5E Oak St. Boston, MA 02111.

I've been helping out to train our two dozen PD counselors for the past two weeks. Everyday, from 8AM- 5PM, in workshops and lectures, we've covered topics ranging from taking out the garbage to the history of Chinatown; from classroom management to theological understandings of the City. Meanwhile, our group has been gelling, forming a team that works, eats, plays, prays, and worships together. It's exciting to see how the different personalities are coming out and how people are stepping up and helping out.

For me, the past 1.5 weeks, or so, can probably be best described as a working retreat. Sure I've been busy, but I've been a little more sheltered and withdrawn from the City because of our loaded schedule. While it's slightly ironic that most of our staff comes to PD to have an experience with urban missions and I'm engaging the City less in order to help at PD, I think it pays off in the long run because the Lord has definitely used PD in the past raise up people to pray for and serve in the City. So even though I have less time to be directly involved, I feel like I'm helping to lay some groundwork for many more Christians who will, at some point, make the decision to move here and be epicenters of change for Boston.

The First Day was yesterday, so yes, we did meet the youths. We have 52 of them that I would ask you to pray for. I know a good number of them because of connections here and there. They range from the really small and adorable 11 year olds to the kids who are taller than me and speak in baritone voices. I look forward to getting to know them better and to seeing how our counselors learn to care for them.