Starting My Placements and Building Community

Hello friends,

Last week, I started working at my two placements at the First Presbyterian Church of New Orleans and Mid-City Ministries!

At the FPCNO,  I will be working with their ministry, Program of Hope, which is an outreach program for those suffering from homelessness. I will also being working on educational projects, both within the Program of Hope and through the Christian Education committee. I was thrilled to finally meet the congregation and get commissioned on Sunday! My new church family is so welcoming and generous; I am blessed to have the opportunity to work with and serve them.

My second part-time placement is at Mid-City Ministries where I will be helping tutor 3rd and 4th graders after school twice a week and leading a bible study for middle school students on Wednesday nights! I am so excited to meet the students I will be working with, starting tomorrow!

While I am very excited to start these ministries, I am also in need of your prayers. I want to learn about the communities I am serving, both on as a body and as individuals, so that I can learn how to love them and how my strengths and weaknesses will interact within these communities. I am also eager to see how these beautiful communities will teach me in the coming weeks and months.

Not only have I loved my placements so far, I have also been loving my housemates. I live with seven incredible women who are all smart, hysterical, fun, and committed Christians. I am blessed by each one of them in many unique ways. The house definitely feels different even if one of us is missing. They are already teaching me about myself, community, compassion, active listening, and what it means to build a covenant.

Last week, we built a community covenant as an effort to define who we are as a Christian community and what it looks like to work together, eat together, clean together, worship together, and love together. We spent six hours hashing out the covenant over two days, only to come to the conclusion that this is a "living" document that will continue to be shaped and re-molded through time. I am eager to see how this document changes, how the covenant changes us, how we change each other, and how the Spirit moves and blesses through all of this.

Thank you for your prayers and support throughout my YAV year so far! Look for postcards in mailbox soon!

Preparation and Fundraising Update

I have very exciting news: You all helped raise over $4,000 to complete my fundraising for the year!! I was not expecting this overwhelming response. Thank you to all of you who have given generous gifts and kept me in your prayers! More thank-you notes will be mailed this week, so check your mailbox soon.

I leave on the 16th to fly to New Orleans, spend a few days with the other New Orleans Young Adult Volunteers before we all fly into Newark. From Newark, we are headed to Stony Point, NY for the week-long orientation for all of the YAV's. And finally, on the 26th we fly back to New Orleans for our year of service to begin!

I am thrilled and a little anxious about this year. I've never spent so much time away from home and my friends, so I am anticipating that some days will be challenging. Still, I am very privileged to be able to serve with some amazing people in an incredible city. I am ready to learn more about discipleship, servanthood, compassion, and trust in God over the coming year.

I am asking for your prayers throughout the year for my ministry and the ministries of my fellow YAV's. If you are interested in becoming a prayer partner for me and are able to commit to praying for me once a month, please email me at hannahmills7@hotmail.com.

Again, I thank you for reading this blog, taking a moment out of your day to think or pray about my ministry and how God will be working through me and the people I am serving this year. Thanks again for all of your generous contributions to make this year happen! You rock!

In gratitude,
Hannah

My Support Letter

Hello friends,

Below is my letter asking for support through prayer and finances that I have been sending out the past month. If you would like one, along with more information about the YAV program, please email me at hannahmills7@hotmail.com

I am thrilled to tell you that I have been chosen by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to serve for one year as a Young Adult Volunteer in New Orleans, Louisiana! As part of this exciting commitment, I have to raise at least $3,000 in gifts and pledges for my year of service, and I am hoping that you will join me on my journey by supporting me in this effort.

Through the Young Adult Volunteer program (YAV) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), I will be joining over 70 other young adults serving at 16 different sites both domestically and internationally. While I am still learning my specific responsibilities, I will be working in two part-time positions. One of my positions is at the First Presbyterian Church of New Orleans working on the Christian Education committee and helping run their homeless ministry. My second position is working with the non-profit Mid-City Ministries where I will be helping run an after school program tutoring program for elementary school students.

I am definitely anticipating this year will be life-changing for me. Although I have experience working with children and in Christian education, I know that I will be challenged and have to step outside of my comfort zone. My focus will be on helping meet the needs of others. I will be challenged to trust God in new ways through this process. I am eager to see what God has in store this year for all of the YAV’s and in the ministries that we are participating.

As I am beginning to write this new chapter in my life, I am inviting you on this journey with me. I am inviting you to be a partner in ministry with me. I hope you prayerfully consider making a gift or a pledge toward my financial support. The timing is critical as I need to raise $2,000 by July 1.

I have enclosed a special flyer that includes more information about the YAV program and my own reasons for wanting to serve. I am also including a Covenant of Support form and ask that you consider making a gift or pledge. I invite you to please pray about becoming a partner in ministry with me for this year.

I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for your consideration, prayers, and hopefully your support as well!

In gratitude,

Hannah Mills

My Placements!

I have two of them while I am there!

I will be working at a church serving through their homeless ministry and Christian education.

My second placement is with the non-profit, Mid-City Ministries, where I will help tutor elementary school children after school. 

Please pray for me as I try to prepare my heart for serving in these places to which I have been called.