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Lottery Numbers for Friday, June 17

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Davies nearly perfect for Swoyersville Legion

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; To Theresa Walt, of Nanticoke, the best thing about Friday night&#8217;s block party was the smiles it brought to her children&#8217;s faces.</p><p>&#8220;They waited all week to come,&#8221; said Walt. &#8220;They were so excited.&#8221;</p><p>The party, which was held at the Restored Church on Meade Street, capped off an effort by Icon Ministry to engage young people during a mission trip to the region.</p><p>&#8220;We are a group of 20 students at Connections Community Church in Inwood, West Virginia,&#8221; said youth pastor Ryan Miller. &#8220;We have had a great time, and it has been a very eye-opening experience. It&#8217;s been crazy to see so many young kids with such great needs in the community.</p><p>&#8220;We came because we wanted to help Restored Church make a difference.&#8221;</p><p>The ministry also ran a sports camp with Lighthouse Ministry at Coal Street Park during the week-long trip to Northeastern Pennsylvania.</p><p>Members of Restored Church&#8217;s youth group were excited about the opportunity to continue the church&#8217;s effort to assist the community as well.</p><p>Even though it was their first week of summer vacation, many of the group&#8217;s members woke up early and made their way to the church.</p><p>Jonathan McLaren and Brianna Wojciechowicz attended the event with their 11-week-old daughter, Evelyn, because of the kindness shown by members of the church.</p><p>&#8220;People are nice here,&#8221; said McClaren. &#8220;And there were some really good things to eat.&#8221;</p><p>The group served up not only a variety of food, but a chance to participate in some activities. One attendee called them &#8220;old-fashioned, but fun.&#8221;</p><p>Face painting, a photo booth, coloring books, bubbles, a doughnut-eating contest, raffle and a bingo game had young and old enthusiastically leaving their seats to participate.</p><p>Beau Lowery, 17, of Icon Ministry, said the group does a mission trip every year.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve never done anything quite like this before,&#8221; said Lowery, smiling.</p><p>Restored Church has reached out to the community in the past. Simple efforts, such as handing out bottles of water on hot summer days, have seemed to provide the church with a presence in the community.</p><p>As Lowery looked back over his week, he admits to having to get up early, work hard and apply patience in dealing with youngsters.</p><p>Still, when he is asked if he would do it all over again, he doesn&#8217;t hesitate.</p><p>&#8220;Of course, I would,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It was a great week.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Austin Rickard and Beau Lowery color with crayons during a block party at the Restored Church in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_church2RGB-6.jpg</photo0><caption0>Austin Rickard and Beau Lowery color with crayons during a block party at the Restored Church in Wilkes-Barre. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_church3rgb-6.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Hunter Walts, 6, participates in the egg race at a block party at Restored Church. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_church3rgb-6.jpg</photo1><caption1>Hunter Walts, 6, participates in the egg race at a block party at Restored Church. </caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_church4RGB-6.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sylar Walts, 6, blows bubbles during a block party at Restored Church in Wilkes-Barre on Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_church4RGB-6.jpg</photo2><caption2>Sylar Walts, 6, blows bubbles during a block party at Restored Church in Wilkes-Barre on Friday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_church5rgb-6.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Nasir Cobbs, 7, gets his face painted at the block party on Friday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_church5rgb-6.jpg</photo3><caption3>Nasir Cobbs, 7, gets his face painted at the block party on Friday night. </caption3><photoCredit3>Fred Adams | for Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Ministry group holds event in Heights</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>ggibbons@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGGibbons</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Block party in the Heights provides opportunity for fun and faith