Hi Friends,
It was a joy to visit the Servant Partners site in Philly! I spent the past two years working with our two Philly interns, Julia and Emilie (in the pic above). They finished their internship in June, and I attended their commissioning. Julia and Emilie took me on a walking tour of their neighborhood, and we kept running into people they knew. It was clear that they had invested so much time, energy, and love into their neighbors.
I also loved spending time with my good friends and SP co-workers Dan & Denise and Ali & Ramiro. I’d heard so much about Philly from them over the years, so it was amazing to see it with my own eyes. I visited Reignite Philly (a welding training program) and Esperanza Health Center (a faith-based medical center located in the neighborhood). It was very encouraging to see how God has been working in North Philly, and I am thinking about what aspects of the work might carry over to South LA.
Then, I got to do some sightseeing in both Philly and NYC:
(We ate at Laser Wolf in Philly, a fantastic Israeli restaurant. Highly recommended.)
(Me, Keo, Tabor, Ali, and Denise – we had a girls weekend in NYC! It was wonderful to have some extended time together.)
Lastly, I wanted to share that my sabbatical is coming up! It will start on October 1st. Servant Partners offers a sabbatical after 6 years of work – in my case, it’s now been 7 years with SP (I delayed my sabbatical to finish my term with my church’s Leadership Team). I’ll share more details about this in my next newsletter.
Blessings to you this summer!
Janelle Look 