Our apologies these blogs are a day late. The footwashing ceremony went over two hours last night and our decompression of the trip tonight was about 2.5 hours. This has been a great trip and we thank you for all your support and prayers.
T
On Thursday, our group went out to Manna Café to take part
in the biannual deep cleaning of the kitchen and main serving area. While the
place was kept in relatively good shape, there was plenty of dust, corrosion,
and all sorts of gunk that had to be cleaned off the equipment and the general
area. Afterwards, our group had time to visit the NASA research facility at
Wallops, VA which is home to many rocket and aircraft tests for the climate and
atmosphere that have been done for a good amount of time. This fall I plan to
attend Purdue for engineering so the only reaction I had at that visitor center
was me obsessing and nerding out over the large history of rocket development
and tests the Wallops center had. There was a radar plane (I believe an E-2
Hawkeye) that kept on doing touch offs on the runway on the main base. I was
even more impressed when I learned that Project Nike from the 50’s to the 70’s
was based at the Wallops center. To my knowledge my grandfather, as an
electrical engineer, worked on some of the technologies involved, and a member
of the church worked at the base during the lifetime of the project. I’m not
for certain that I plan for an aerospace degree, but I can’t deny being
impressed by the massive development of planes and aircraft in the last century
and a half from simple hot air balloons to missions in outer space. God’s people
are capable of incredible things and I want to harness the sciences and details
that God put into this world to make technologies that can better the lives of
many whether in a small town or the entire globe. This entire week has been an
interesting transition, but I am ready to move on and use the gifts God gave to
pursue my passions to help further Christ.
-Connor
On Thursday the 19th my group consisting of
multiple people, worked at Una Familia and at the Youthworks kids club. Una Familia
is a program dedicated to tutoring kids. I hanged out with some middle schooler
who told me a lot about geography and countries they would like to visit. After
they learned they got a snack and could play games like connect 4 where we had
a big tournament that got really close. Afterwards we worked the Kids Club I
worked specifically with a kid that had a special need just to be supervised
constantly and he wore me out. I resumed my role as “the king of pb & Js.” And
worked on water day where we cooled off the kids while having a little fun.
After work we had our final gathering where we did the foot washing ceremony
and I prayed for my brother and started balling since he is leaving for college
soon. Also after the footwashing ceremony we seemed to bond all together in our
faith and become a big group of friends instead of loosely connected associates.
Friday was much easier as we traveled to Uniontown, PN to stop and debrief for
the trip and we all had a lot of fun and laughs and we talked about the highs
of the trip and we all took some time to remember on the lows and the amazing
work that was going on in Eastern Shores and how the community there really is
close and works together. They freely trust strangers with their children
knowing they are with Youthworks and they trust their neighbors to help with their
kids. After we were done remembering we had some more laughs as the newest
member of the youth group talked about how much they have grown into the group over
the week.
-Carson
Today we started the drive back home. The hours in the car
and time spent talking at the church allowed for me to reflect on this past
week. Working with kids the entire time was an unique experience, and one I
enjoyed. One memory that stuck out to me in particular happened yesterday at
Kid’s Club. There was this girl named Carly who sat down at the table I was at
and didn’t speak. She seemed very shy and was just watching us play cards, but
I noticed the ends of her hair were pink. I struck up a conversation and
pointed out that my hair was also pink, and her face lit up. The rest of the
day she stuck with her ‘pink twin’, and it was wonderful to see God use that to
help me connect with a kid that otherwise might not have opened up to me. My
friends also know that I tell really cheesy jokes, a lot, and I was able to use
them as ice breakers this week to get to know the other kids in the community
and from the other church. Some people even told me afterwards that though they
may have groaned at the jokes, they brightened their day. I’m glad I can help
spread the joy and love of Christ in all these ways and so many more. As
someone who just graduated, this mission trip reminded me of the joys and
advantages of getting to know people and serving them, and I look forward to seeing
where He will take me next.
-Sabrina
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