Mikayla Gainor
It is an exciting time for PRM as two teams from Grove City College gear up for their Spring Break service trip during March 4th through March 9th . One team of fourteen is heading to the Agricultural region (southwestern NY, northwestern PA), while the other team of twelve is traveling to the Appalachian region (northwestern WV, southeastern OH, and southwestern PA).
Our teams have spent several weeks preparing for this time over Spring Break. In the fall, we kicked things off with a group meeting to begin understanding the mission of PRM. At the start of the spring
semester, we went on a one-night retreat together to deepen relationships, discuss specific team
visions, and pray over the churches we would be meeting. Weekly meetings followed the retreat
with discussions centered on spiritual gifts, team unity, and logistics. With less than a week to
go, we are especially seeking prayer for the trip ahead. The following are some ways you can
join us in prayer over these trips.
Prayers Requests for Each Group
One passage the Appalachian team focused on was 1 Corinthians 12-13 which discusses how
the body requires many members to function well and how love ultimately inspires the use of
individual spiritual gifts. Related to this discussion is a prayer request from John Garrett, one of
the Appalachian team members: “that the Spirit would fill me with Christ’s heart and
compassion for these communities and the love that binds the body of Christ together.” Please
pray that Christ would work through us by using the unique gifts he has equipped us with to
serve one another and that his love would be the motive behind our actions. Pray that the Holy
Spirit would unite our hearts as a team and that his love in us might be a testament to his
goodness and grace.
We also prayed through Ephesians 3:14-21, asking that the Lord would strengthen us in our
inner being and dwell in our hearts through faith. Another Appalachian team member, JD Minor,
asked for prayer to intentionally pursue Christ each day. Please pray that Christ would deeply
ground us in himself daily as we come to understand the “breadth and length and height and
depth” of his love which surpasses knowledge, that we might be “filled with all the fullness of
God.” We ask that his glory may be vibrantly on display as his power works in us and answers
our prayers even “more abundantly than all we ask or think.”
From the Agricultural team, Tess Dattoli asks “that the Lord would renew a steadfast spirit
within us and grant us willing spirits to sustain us. That we would humbly learn and serve from
these rural churches.” Join us in praying that God would give us humble and willing hearts that
are curious, present, and selfless during our trip.
Additionally, one of the churches the Agricultural team will be visiting is the Redeemer
Anglican Church in Franklin, which is a recent church plant from Grace Anglican Church in
Grove City. You can pray that God would be moving in that town and draw people to himself
through the community there. This team will also be assisting with a youth rally at Bethany
Camp in Sinclairville. We ask that the Holy Spirit would be at work in the hearts of the youth
who attend and that they would grow in their hunger and thirst for the Lord. The Appalachian
team will be helping with a food pantry in Powhatan Point, OH, so we ask that members of the
community would be blessed and see Christ’s abundant love for them through this. We will also be assisting with some outdoor tasks and building projects at the First Presbyterian Church in
Waynesburg, PA, so please pray that God uses our work to encourage and support them.
We are looking forward to meeting the pastors and their communities in person very soon,
and we are expectant of what the Lord will do during our time with them. Stay tuned to hear how
the trips go and how we see God’s hand at work!
Mikayla is a writing intern for the PRM and a senior majoring in Psychology and Biblical and Religious Studies. She is from the Chicago area.
