Blog: Water Street Life

Last week during our devotional we talked about forgiveness. Each girl shared what they felt forgiveness was and who deserved it. The good thing is that the girls were receptive to this discussion. Some of the girls felt that whoever did the hurting or wounding does not deserve forgiveness and needs to work for it, if they desired it. Others said that if they made a mistake you can let them off the hook; forgive, but NEVER forget. As our discussion continued some of their hearts started to turn when true forgiveness was explained and even more ...

Currently at the Lydia Center, I am teaching “Recovering From the Losses of Life” by H. Norman Wright. It is with joy and sadness that I watch our clients struggle to identify the losses in their lives. Whether it is death, divorce, illness or abuse, all are serious losses that can lead to unhealthy patterns of thinking or living. 

Recently, I had the privilege of enjoying a sacred moment with a “Sally”. I call it a sacred moment because this was a moment when God’s love shined through in all of its glory. For the first time in her life, Sally shared the name ...

As we were gearing up for the flu shot clinic at Water Street Health Services, there were numerous times when I would feel a bit uneasy about waiting for our next flu vaccine order to arrive. We had completed one clinic in the dining hall of Water Street Mission and were scheduled for a second clinic at Water Street Health Services. Thoughts like these kept coming to my mind: "You really should have ordered more vaccine sooner. You will probably run out of vaccine during the flu clinic you advertised—that will be just great.” 

Well, the day of the next flu shot clinic arrived and ...

What encouragement shared recently in the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era! Thank you to all of you who, through donating and volunteering, helped this woman find change!

TO THE EDITORS:
I would like to thank the Water Street Rescue Mission for helping my "little sister,'' who is loved dearly and needed the counseling the mission offered for her mental well-being.

When her family was unable to get through to her, the mission was there. When she was unable to be there for two of her children with autism, the mission offered her more.

Thank you for taking good care of her.

Elizabeth Stoutzenberger...

The other day, Carl un-expectedly came to my home and rang my door bell. He told me he was in the neighborhood and wanted to say hello. As we caught up and talked, he thanked me for being in his life in his early Teen Haven years. He shared with me how he first came to know Jesus Christ at the Teen Haven camp and how he could come to a place to hear the word of God and be challenged to live for Jesus. We laughed at how he was “always right” and everybody else was wrong ...

When Lancaster County Christian School held their Homecoming ceremonies a few weekends ago, an award was granted to the ‘King’ and ‘Queen’ along with the title. The school awarded a $100.00 gift that the King and Queen could donate to a charity or ministry of their choice. My daughter was selected by her peers to be Homecoming Queen, and her charity of choice that she desired to pass on this blessing to was Water Street Ministries!

At the basketball game Friday evening everyone in attendance heard our mission statement and a brief description of what the ministry means to her. I’m praising ...

My name is Garrett Wood and I am a social work intern from Millersville University. I am working under Chuck in the Men’s Ministry side of the Water Street Mission. I choose to pursue an internship at Water Street, because during my freshmen year of college I became interested in working with the homeless population. As I came into a fuller relationship with God that was filled with joy and obedience, I realized that there is a lot of pain among people who are homeless. This is when I realized that I wanted to be able to help this population. ...

In the mid 1970’s, the Prayer of St. Francis appeared on the cover of the Parade Magazine in the Allentown Morning Call, my hometown newspaper. It was the first Sunday of the New Year and my introduction to this beautiful prayer. I was so moved by the piece that I tore the cover from the magazine and placed it in my box of special things. From time to time I would come across it when I wander through my box of memories. I have used it as a gauge for how I am living my life.

On Saturday, December 31, as I ...

*Larry dropped out of high school with “plans” to get his GED. As time quickly advanced, a year passed by and he never took the initiative to enroll in the GED classes. Much has been going on in his personal life at home with his family. As he shared his hurt and pain that he has gone through, consistency in the ministry has allowed him to trust the staff here at Teen Haven. As we spoke, he took personal responsibility for his actions, lack of motivation and not following through with his plans. Together we enrolled him in ...

In the Fall, I attended the memorial service for Mary Ella Herr, one of Water Street Ministries’ longest serving high impact volunteers. With dozens of years of volunteering, she had served in the office most recently, taught children in the Mission, held women's Bible studies and many other things.

She was also my Sunday school teacher when I was a preschooler, and she grew up as one of my grandmother’s best friends. When I was a young lad, she was our church librarian, and I consider her partially responsible for my love of books and reading. Please pray for her ...