Envision Cleveland Summer Recap

 

Hello Family and Friends. The weather in Cleveland is starting to get cooler and sweaters are coming out of the closet. But before we welcome the Fall season, I want to update you on our wonderful summer at Envision Cleveland! Now that we have wrapped up our summer programs, I want to provide you with an update from this summer on how we participated in engaging, educating, and empowering our communities. At the end, you'll learn about Envision Cleveland's newest business. Thank you for your continued support of Envision Cleveland! Engage Our summer teams helped us run 7 weeks of youth camps at the Bridge, Elton Ave. Garden, Concerned Citizens Community Council (C4), and Grace Old Brooklyn. Our kids had a blast! Each week had a different theme, including water games, rockets, camp games, and field day. We had about 85 kids engage with us over the summer. And each week they learned more about Jesus and were challenged in their faith. NINE people (kids and adults) prayed to receive Christ, many others received Bibles for the first time, and many were connected to local church congregations. Our kids are already asking when we will have kids camp again. Educate The SHOP Our two students learning construction skills through the vocational training center were both hired by local construction companies! Congratulations to you both!   The Bridge We wrapped up our summer ESL & Money Management Classes at The Bridge. We also continued hosting our monthly Citizenship Trivia Night. So far in 2023, there have been 41 students enrolled. Our summer teams also helped us collect school supplies, and we were able to give out 110 filled backpacks to youth K-12 and starting college. Fun fact: Envision Cleveland has assisted and taught international newcomers from 23 countries! This summer we added Peru, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. ______________________________________________________________ Lunch Challenge Many families in our neighborhood live 200% below the federal poverty line. This neighborhood is also considered a "food desert" (geographic areas where residents have few to no convenient options for securing affordable and healthy foods — especially fresh fruits and vegetables). We ask our teams to prayer walk around this area praying for revival, for hope, and for addictions to be broken. We ask teams to enter small businesses and pray for the owners. We challenge teams to purchase lunch on a limited budget, so they can experience a bit of the struggles that our neighbors face. Based on the photos below, what did you notice about their meals? Empower This year we have hosted 14 Short-term teams and recruited an intern. We helped give 200 people broad missions exposure and challenged them to lean into what God has next for them. Between teams and events, over 400 people have visited our site so far this year. So what did our teams do this summer? Each trip includes these four building block elements: training, helping with projects, engaging our neighbors, and debriefing. Each team received training on cross-cultural engagement, the realities of minorities living in urban environments, and sustainable community development. These trainings were to equip the team for the ministry, projects, and environments for the day. We begin each morning with worship, prayers, and devotion time. At the work sites, our teams helped to plant seeds, water, harvest, pull weeds, mow, work on the chicken coop, paint garden box owner signs, feed the fish, and many other projects at our community gardens. We were also able to partner with a few local ministries like West Side Alliance, Grace Old Brooklyn, Building Hope in the City, Everybody Drives, International Friendships Inc., and Scranton Road Ministries to help with their ministry needs. In the afternoons our teams engaged with neighbors through daily youth camps, ESL and Citizenship classes, and neighborhood BBQs. Each evening teams were encouraged to debrief the day and share where they saw God at work, what they learned, their testimony, and what was challenging for them. These teams were a blessing to us as they helped us and other ministries with various projects around the city. They also helped us run programming that we could not do on our own. In return, we want to empower and challenge these teams to dream and be involved in meaningful ministry in their communities at home.    We pray that their one-week short-term trip experience will be a catalyst for the next stage of their life and have a long-term impact on their lives. Envision Cleveland Coffee!  Did you know that Envision Cleveland now roasts its own coffee? We source beans from Congo, Burundi, and Mexico and roast them at the Bridge. View available beans and order through our website. Thanks for your support! Shop for Envisionary Coffee PRAYERS ESL Classes: Starting on Oct. 10th.  Opportunities to share the Gospel with our ESL Students Ongoing renovation and funds for The Shop.  A season of REST for our Site Staff.  HALLELUJAHS Praise God for a new site van! We're so thankful for all of the churches and individuals who helped us purchase this vehicle. Opportunities to share the work God is doing around the world.  Safe travels to different churches across the United States.  Ongoing partnerships through prayers and support.  Ways to Support Envision Cleveland!  We are grateful for your partnership. Thank you! Give to the Work of Envision Cleveland Amazon Wish List

My Prayer for You "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:3-6 NIV After a year of fundraising, I am almost fully funded! Praise God!  Would you prayerfully consider partnering with me monthly and joining in on the work God is doing at Envision Cleveland?   Partner Today Thank you for your ongoing prayers and support.  How can I pray for you?  In Serving Together, Seng Sheng Chang