The mission trips have started. Our first group of teams finally arrived in Baltimore and they are so excited for the week ahead. As we wrapped up orientation, Katherine, Kelly, and I really feel a sense of excitement from each one of the team members for the community and a passion for the people that they will serving.  As we approach our first day at the work sites, we’re beginning to see the incredible stories that the people of Baltimore have, and we couldn’t feel more blessed to be living life with and serving these people this summer.

One of the primary sites we have been working with is the Baltimore Christian Community Center.  The outreach of this place is absolutely incredible and it is moving to see the impact that it has on the local community. Tom Homans, the director of the center, welcomes kids from all over the inner city to the outreach to give them a place of joy and peace in a city that is so broken and poor. Right in the heart of the low-income district of the city, The Christian Community Center offers a place of refuge, fun, and spiritual encouragement to kids’ lives—many of whom have suffered more heartache than most people witness in their entire lives.

I was speaking with a young lady the other day that lost her brother to street violence a number of years ago. As she told me her story and began to share with me the hurt she has gone through with such an event, my heart broke. Even in all of the sadness however, there was something so beautiful about her story.  As she was talking to me about her brother, she shared how through such a devastating event, that she came to know Jesus and has given her life to Him. The joy that this young woman had was that of nothing I have ever seen—that even in heartache, something beautiful happened and changed her whole life. She has long been attending and still regularly attends the center to this day and will be going to Bob Jones University this fall. The impact of her story on me has been incredibly powerful ever since that day.

This is just one of the many beautiful stories that come from the people of the Christian Community Center and the city of Baltimore. Tom and the young lady that I spoke with are the true heroes of the community.  This summer isn’t about us as interns and what we can do as an organization, it’s not even about “doing missions;” this summer is about the people of the community—those who’s stories have yet to be told. We’re here to tell those stories as we work with teams from around the country.

For all of team Baltimore,

Blaine