Did you take a road trip this summer with your kids or grandkids? Well if you did or if you ever have, you know that ultimate question. "Are we there yet?" Well, after taking a bunch of CityConnexx mission road trips this summer with groups from all over the country I'm ready to ask, "Are we done yet?"

Well, not quite but almost. After 80 hour weeks for weeks on end, I have more stories than I have time or space to share with you. But I wouldn't trade it for the world. Thanks to your recent gift of $ you have helped us and our partners host and house over 700 youth and adults who served this spring and summer on short-term mission trips all over the country.

From Portland to LA, San Diego to Native American reservations in New Mexico. From Vancouver to a new ministry in Salt Lake City and Denver and Colorado Springs to a new Native American ministry in South Dakota. From Memphis to Chicago to Flint and Indy to Philly and Rock the Block in New York City. Wow, that's a lot of miles and many more ways for teams to minister and serve on the frontlines of urban and Native American ministries.

Children and youth came to know Christ for the first time, and not just the urban or Native American kids. Many suburban youth dedicated their lives to the Lord while serving this summer. One church had 17 baptisms when they got back home. Homeless teens worked side by side with our kids and celebrated together at the water park. We passed out more water and sack lunches to the homeless than ever before. We held a bunch of VBS, sports camps, and community make over projects. Every ministry partner facility was cleaned, painted and given a facelift so they can continue ministering year round to their community.

Then last month we hosted the Youth Leaders Tent at HeavenFest where 35,000 folks came together to celebrate Jesus.

On behalf of our ministry partners and those who served, I just want to thank you so much for your ongoing faithful gifts of love to this ministry. Your gifts and prayers allow us to continue to send groups to places that rarely see volunteers and assistance. We serve what I call "the underserved church" and it's a joy to see God do so much with so little.

To get a feel for what a CityConnexx mission trip looks like, visit www.cityconnexx.org and click on YouTube icon. We'd love to talk with you or your youth/missions leader and take your church or small group on a custom-designed, high impact mission trip.

Until then, have a great rest of the summer and we pray that you arrived safely on your road trip this summer.

For Him and them,

Dean Cowles
YouthPartnersNET & CityConnexx
Founder

LIVE COMPASSION!

Your Donations at Work:

The Community of Adsideo seeks to minister to an emerging, post-modern neighborhood in Southeast Portland.  They are dedicated to the journey of discovering the fullness of God's redemptive vision for this world and learning the art of living deeper and further in this beautiful story called the God-Life.  They serve a group of about 120-150 people on a weekly basis, and this grant will go toward their Adsideo Kid's and House of Ramah Kids programs that serve many young children.

Adsideo is now able to offer care for children, ages 0-12. They have infant and small child care (ages 0-4) every Sunday in their nursery. For the older children, they have lessons prepared that help the children to reflect and contextualize Christianity in a way that is age appropriate and challenging. They are also currently working on a service project for Adsideo Kids, which will be a great opportunity to live out the ideas and lessons the kids learn in this program. They currently serve approximately 20 kids from infants to age 15.

Ramah Drama is a drama program that provides mentoring opportunities between their youth, and their family advocates using a drama focus. The House of Ramah hosts this group every other Sunday with the intentionality of fostering positive relationships and building leadership in their youth. Together they use drama to illustrate messages that are pertinent to both church and culture as they strive to discover the meaning of what it is to truly walk as Christ walked.  This program currently serves 15 kids ranging in ages 6-17.

Prayer Request:

Please pray for Cannan, that he will heal quickly from his ruptured appendix and that his staph infection will clear out so he can have his tubes removed soon.  Request by Jeremiah, age 12.