It is indeed a blessing to be in Flint, Michigan once again serving with the First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church to distribute bottled water to the residents of this city. Even before the Flint water crisis became public in 2015 First Trinity had been providing bottled water to anyone who wanted it 5 days a week. For some background information on the Flint water crisis see my blog entry from earlier this year 2017 Flint Mission – March 20, 2017.
First Trinity is currently
one of the remaining non-government sponsored water “points of distribution” still providing bottled water to Flint residents. Whether it is in the dead of winter with snow on the ground, the blistering dog-days of summer, or any conditions in between, the dedicated individuals of this small church avail themselves from 10am until 2pm daily to serve everyone who comes seeking water. Since January 2016 churches and organizations throughout the U.S. have been donating bottled water to First Trinity, and people like the team from Alfred Street Baptist Church (ASBC), have been coming here periodically to help with the distribution. When teams come to town these warriors get a bit of a break.
Coming together to serve on this mission are: (l-r) Vernon Hammett; Shannon Wallace, an extremely gifted 
photo journalist from Baltimore, Maryland; Charles Monterio, Sr.; Ryan Arrendell who is a graduate journalism student currently attending UC-Berkley; Bill Emory, and; Roshawnda (Ro) Humphries, a native of Flint currently living in the DMV.
T
his week we distributed 1,178 cases of bottled water and an additional 141 six-packs of gallon-size water. We also gave away 150 household kits which included hand sanitizers, disinfectant wipes and/or baby wipes. We were able to bless families with 94 winter coats and 70 backpacks loaded with school supplies. And 68 families were able to receive canned and dry-packaged 
goods from the food pantry at First Baptist.
In addition to interacting with each person who came to the church, we were able to venture out to deliver bottled water and baby wipes to a daycare center nearby. The proprietor was very happy to accept these donations. We also stopped by a local high school and helped them unloaded and place into storage six pallets of bottled water (about 500 cases) which had been dropped off. Ryan and Shannon also shared hand written notes of encouragement with most of the people we came across.
MY GOD IS AWESOME!
Charles Monterio, Bill Emory, June Monterio, Andre Lipford, and I arrived yesterday to provide support to the efforts of Trinity Missionary Baptist Church. The church has been providing FREE bottled water to city residents for more than two years. Monday through Saturday, from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm, anyone can stop by the church and pickup cases of bottled water. Deacon Bill Quarles who has been the point person for First Trinity’s water distribution shared that they are one of a few organizations which still gives away water. Most residents must purchase the water they consume from retail outlets. Deacon Quarles further indicated that they are the only organization in Flint to provide gallon containers of water which is sorely needed for bathing, cooking and cleaning.
Missional Journey 