I am embarrassed to write this true confession. While serving dinner at Mercy Street I said out loud, “I don’t know if I have anything new to blog about our trip to Mercy Street this month.” For shame!
Do NOT get me wrong. I love writing about Mercy Street – the faith based ministry that pairs students in West Dallas with mentors . This program helps to transform and give hope to students in West Dallas. Mercy Street has made a tremendous impact in this community. I love writing about the middle school students who are cute, personable, and full of energy. I love writing about the staff that are also cute, personable, and full of energy. (They have to be full of energy to keep up with the students.) And I love writing about the mentors who are extremely caring and want to share in God’s work.
The Mercy Diner was packed with students, staff, mentors – and volunteers from the Living Stones and Albers Men’s Bible Fellowship Classes from First Baptist Church Richardson. We were there to provide supper. The menu was: Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches*, Chips, Grapes, and Brownies. Yummy!
The energy level in the room was off the charts – not in a bad way, but the kids were enjoying being with there and socializing with their friends.
Even forming a circle for the prayer before the meal was a challenge.
The room was packed, and I did not visit around as needed. My bad, but thankfully by the end of the evening, the Lord provided me stories to share.
As we were dining on the hot ham and cheese sandwiches, Nancy (also known as Excellent Cook Nancy) mentioned Susan and Tamra’s story. It is the stories of Mercy Street always amaze me. Each story is unique. Nancy mentioned that Susan’s best friend was Tamra’s mentor. Two years ago Susan’s dear friend died of brain cancer. Because Susan knew how important Mercy Street was to her friend, she began mentoring Tamra. Susan mentioned that it is not always easy, but she has the desire to help Tamra.
While I was taking Susan and Tamra’s picture, several of the girls ask me to take their picture. It was wonderful. (Some nights the students are shy.) They were not cramped in the booths, and I could get better pictures. These are the some of the faces of Mercy Street:
Sweet, precious, cute, personable, and full of energy, Joy is a rather new staffer at Mercy Street. Joy has a deep love for the Lord. She is our contact, and it is a joy to work with Joy. On this night she prepared a game that the kids loved.
For this game, each person attached a balloon on their leg. The goal was to keep others from popping your balloon, and at the same time to pop other players balloons. It was so much fun to watch, and the students had a ball. By the way – the boys won big time. Maybe the students had used up enough energy playing this game to be ready for the Bible study lesson.
I was so wrong about my prediction of not having anything to write about. I was not looking and listening. Learning Tamra and Susan’s story, and being able to visit with the students while taking their pictures made my day.
Excellent Cook Nancy also showed me this bulletin board. I like it. I love it. How true.
Pray for the students, staff, and mentors of Mercy Street. The tasks are not always easy, but what is happening at Mercy Street is so important.
Blessings to you and yours,
*For the Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches we made a spread of spicy mustard and apricot jam – about equal parts. We spread this mixture on the buns. Then we added ham and cheese, wrapped them in foil, and heated them in the oven for about 15 minutes. That was it! It was such an easy meal to make for a crowd, and it was very tasty.