In mid-June, we were elated to re-start our kids and youth clubs at our centers following strict covid protocols. We were also planning to restart senior adult programs in July, but then, only 3 weeks in, the covid cases in Houston spiked. As a result, we had to suspend our in-house gatherings once again to keep everyone healthy and safe. Fortunately, we were able to continue our drive through daily food distribution and homebound deliveries, but what a dilemma we were experiencing – how could we continue to minister to kids and youth without access to our centers?
The Lord impressed upon us that since our community couldn’t come to us, we needed to visit them at their homes. We wanted them to realize how much we cared about them, but more importantly, we wanted them to know that God loved them and that He hadn’t forgotten about them, especially in the midst of a global pandemic! With that vision the staff and summer missionaries mapped out routes to visit over 100 children and youth to do ‘porch visits’ at their homes.
Some of our summer missionaries made signs on poster boards to communicate how much we missed our community friends. Others put together “care packages” for the children and youth. The Lord provided tasty snacks and toys that we could distribute to them during our visits. As a special treat, we gave each family a giant cookie cake inscribed with the message, “WE MISS YOU”. 
Over the course of two weeks vehicles were loaded with all our “goodies” and caravans set out to visit the porches of the families who are so dear to us! We had not seen some of these children in over 4 months, so we were pumped! When we arrived at their houses, we made sure to all wear masks and practice social distancing. The children and youth greeted us with squeals of delight, smiles, high-fives in the air, tears of happiness and lots of gratitude.
We are so grateful to the Lord and for all of you who support the mission work we do for helping to make this all possible. It was truly a blessing to the children, youth and their families, but even more of a blessing to all of us here at Mission Centers of Houston. To God be the glory, a great thing He has done!
After one of our preschoolers received a princess Costume from her gift bag, she said “Now I’m God’s princess”! Another mom expressed her gratitude by saying that with everything going on in the world, she was feeling very low, and she was so appreciative of the encouraging visit as it put smiles on the faces of her family members. She said the visit showed her that we care about her family as much as they care about us and that Mission Centers of Houston will always have a special place in her heart” 
Thank you for your prayers as we ask the Lord to continue to provide for the physical and spiritual needs of the families in the Joy and Gano communities and for His guidance in ways to share His love, grace, and mercy during this most unusual time in our world. 
