We will head back to Chicago today — with a short layover in Tampa, Florida! (Trust me, we are also confused about that…) Please keep us in your prayers as we travel!

Airline schedules being what they are, we have been routed through Tampa on our way home. Gives me (Val) a chance to upload more pics!

Weather-permitting (please pray!), we will be heading to the ballgame tonight to watch the Phillies take on the Mets! And what’s more… it’s Pride Night at the ballpark! Be watching for lots of rainbow-themed pics!

While we are working in Philadelphia this week, we are so thankful for places like Broad Street Ministry, which act as a model of how to approach those in need with dignity and love. Their mission statement says it all! “At Broad Street Ministry, we practice radical hospitality. We embrace all individuals of our community with enduring empathy and care. We reach beyond the societal norms of service, confront the injustices that oppress our most vulnerable members, and fundamentally shift the expectations of how we engage with guests, staff, volunteers, and our community partners. We sustain a fervor that one day this practice of hospitality will be pervasive and no longer be considered a radical act.”

See https://www.broadstreetministry.org/ to learn more!

We are very excited to be working with St. Francis Inn while here in Philadelphia! One of our goals is to get to know different neighborhoods in the area and see how different ministries respond to the needs of the hungry. St. Francis Inn is “a Franciscan, Eucharistic community called to minister with the poor and homeless of Philadelphia. Formed in the spirit of the Gospel and inspired by the life and compassion of Francis and Clare of Assisi, we try to meet the immediate daily needs of the people we serve with food, clothing and hospitality. Furthermore, we empower persons to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty and address structural injustices. We seek to build relationships with those whom we serve by respecting their human dignity, by helping them to restore hope in their lives, and by living simply among them.”

Learn more at https://stfrancisinn.org/