Stay at Home Mission Experience - Day 4

Today's blog is brought to you by all jr. highers! But that means they're short and to the point, so enjoy.

Everybody was amazingly helpful when introducing me to mission experience. I loved the fact that everyone is really welcoming and kind. –Braden

Emlyn went to vacuum the creepy room with creepy babies in there because I was too sacred. We painted the coat room in the church and the kitchen next to it. –Meredith

Anna, Daniel, Meredith, and I had to paint the coat room today. Anna was a great sport and helped us with anything that we couldn’t reach or paint with the roller. In the middle of it Anna stepped in the paint can lid 4 times. After we painted the coat room Daniel was unscrewing the light and turned off the lights somehow and Troy saved the day. -Emlyn

Stay at Home Mission Experience - Day 3

We're already half done the week (it goes by so fast). Today FIRE (junior high) students helped at the pantry while WATER (senior high) students went on a new adventure, but I'll let them tell their stories below. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support!

Today we went to a non-profit organization called Westminster Neighborhood Services. We mostly helped with the food bank they have there, but they also offer different services. Such as medical care, mental health care, church services, child care, and many more. Today I sorted through school supplies for their upcoming back to school bash. Where they give kids everything that they would need for school, from backpacks to pencils. It was really cool to see what they offer to their community. The organization views the people that come there as neighbors instead of people in need, and it makes them feel that they can recover from whatever loss. – Callie

 

Today we travelled to a place near downtown Indy. There, we worked at a place called Westminster Neighborhood Services. If there is a service project you can think of, we did it. I or someone else with me did packing, sorting, boxing, unloading, moving and sorting food, weeding, childcare, cleaning, rearranging, packing, recycling, crafting, cooking, picking up trash, and probably others I can’t think of. We took a break to eat lunch and found that most of our bags were soaked from the ice melting and leaking in the cooler. A personal favorite of mine was seeing the monstrosities that were created when a few of us were told to make t-shirt bags. Yikes.

Then we packed up the bus and headed home until tomorrow when we will be returning. Some people took this opportunity to nap, while others fell asleep back at the church. *cough Luke and Alyssa cough* Tonight was Taco Tuesday, and it was absolutely delicious. We played a game involving memorization of names and people which I bluffed my way through and helped the girls team in a whopping 0/3 games.

After getting all out competitive fire out, I loved listening to tonight’s lesson about loving mercy and paying the mercy we’ve been shown by God forward to others. Overall, our achievement today was a great addition to the trip, and we are officially half way thought the trip. It has gone by so fast, and I’ve loved every second of it. - Lauren

 

Throughout this week things have been different from other mission trips I have been to. Being so close to home and seeing how rough some parts of town are in just a 10 minute drive was eye opening. Today I served at Westminster Neighborhood Services I worked in the kitchen and in the store unpacking boxes. I learned a lot about the local community and the copious amounts of struggles they prevail through. One worker Chris always had a positive attitude even throughout the mundane work we were partaking in. I hope to learn more about my local communities and to further my knowledge about God. Overall, I had a good day and am excited to finish this week strong. - Ryan

Stay at Home Mission Experience - Day 2

Today was our first real day of work for our mission experience. We made blankets, weeded and painted around the church, and packed 8,424 meals for the Million Meal Movement. All of these ministries are tied to Fishers UMC, allowing students to be a part of the amazing things our church is doing. But, I'll let them tell the stories.

I’d say the first day of service was a success. To start off the day, I had a killer bagel sandwich. After breakfast, we had our first day of devotionals. The lesson surrounded doing what is right. That concept was tied to the fruits of the spirit to make it more digestible (haha pun). The service projects in the morning that I participated in were: blanket making for Hamilton Trace and weeding around the church. In the afternoon, we packed 2,100 meal packs for Million Meal Movement. Learning about the vast amount of hungry people just in Indiana made me a lot more appreciative for my bagel sandwich I had eaten that morning. God is truly good. - Delaney

 The first day of service was a success in my opinion. I enjoyed painting the fence for the preschoolers. Even though they might not notice I know that we worked hard. I also really enjoyed making the food packets for the in need family’s. I still can’t believe that we feed 2,100 families. We came back and had a really fun night. - Alyssa

This day was interesting… It started off a an unspeakable hour when I couldn’t fall back asleep so I just laid awake for a couple hours until it was time to get up. By that point I was happy for a fantastic start to a mission trip, but that’s how it always is I guess. We had a good breakfast that involved some colorful banter and then went on to devotionals. It was all about doing right and the verse that hit me the most was Galatians 6:9 which says, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good…” That really stands out to me because I think of all the mission trips I’ve been on (5 including this one) and how tiring serving gets sometimes when you’re out in the heat doing labor you don’t want to do. I just hope we all take that message to heart even when it may get tiring or we may be bored because we didn’t get to go anywhere special this year.

Next up, our first project of making blankets. I surprised myself by volunteering for this but I was glad I did. This is because while other people were painting or pulling weeds outside, a group of us sat inside the cooled gym cutting and tying fabric and listening to One Direction or songs from the Lemonade Mouth soundtrack while debating which High School Musical Movie is the best (#2 is the best by the way). I was so proud of myself and even though it took me forever and I was the last one to finish I made the blanket entirely by myself and it wasn’t terrible, in fact it looked pretty good if you ask me. Then we went outside and pulled weeds and painted until lunch.

After lunch we took a ride to Million Meal Movement, a Christian organization that packages and gives meals to needy families in Indiana. The leader, Shane, explained to us that around 1 in 6 families in Indiana are food insecure, and that number has increased 400 percent due to COVID-19. Those numbers left me astounded because I, like most people, didn’t really think about how prevalent and close to home food insecurity is. Then Shane talked about how we were making a shipment to help disabled veterans through the Salvation Army. This hit close to home for me because I thought about my brother, and while he is not disabled and still in the army I get worried sometimes about what happens after soldiers like him come home. I think while my brother is far from a disabled veteran returning from close combat, I was able to understand their situation and necessity a little more than normal. The meal packing was fun though, repeatedly scooping ingredients doesn’t sound fun but it enjoyable with friends singing along when the radio played anything from Britney Spears to Baby by Justin Bieber. Added note, Rebel Rebel by David Bowie came on the radio and I started singing along and one of the leaders came up and said “gotta love the Rolling Stones” and I corrected him and I was right and I was so proud of myself. I do add that part so my father will be proud of my classic rock knowledge.

Anyways, we came back and had a fun time hanging out and just getting to know all of the new people and getting back together with all of my friends. I started off scared of the change this mission trip would be but I’m glad we got to serve, especially at home where we get to see an impact locally. I’m sure you all are bored of my essay now but I would like to thank you for reading and I hope you all stay safe and know that God loves you. - Lauren

Stay at Home Mission Experience - Day 1

For those of you who don't know, we were not able to go on a mission trip this year. So the churhc has allowed FIRE & WATER Students to have a mission trip at home, with a few extra safety protocols. Yes, it is different, but we believe that Jesus will still show up and shine through students this week. To be honest, it's just fun to have students in the Wharf again...

One thing we are trying to do is keep as many things "normal" as we can, and one of those has been the blog posts by students every night. So here are the posts for tonight.

I am Carson Gamble and this is my 6^th mission trip and it is a little weird to be on mission trip 5 minutes from my house and across the street from IKEA. Usually today would be semi-eventful meeting people from around the country in some strange place I have never been to, but we are here at the church and the weird part is the procedures we are following. We are staying safe and limiting how much we can spread and cross contaminate, but otherwise it’s just a normal mission trip albeit very low-key. I am very grateful that we are able to even meet especially in this form during the pandemic and am trying to make the most of it. - Carson

Hey all! It’s Emma Bittinger. I’ve been on 6 mission trips as well. Normally, we drive on a scorching hot bus or a cramped van for an extensive amount of hours to a different state, different church, and different people. This year is my last and final one as a student. Here, we are staying locally. Nothing is really changing except sleeping at the church. It’s our community this time. We usually serve out of state, out of our comfort zones, but this is our city and people. I think this mission trip will be a good different. Despite not being the traditional trip, I know we will all equally benefit from this. By serving where we live, we can look at our own brothers and sisters from a different perspective. Sometimes people always think that other cities are in desperate need, like poverty or homelessness or segregation. But people must understand that these needs and issues are apparent in the close world around them, in Indianapolis. Living in Fishers, Carmel, or nearby gives families and children a typically ‘safe’ bubble to grow and mature in. Outside this, and even within this bubble, there are people who struggle too, not just in the “ghetto” parts of town. As much as I am disappointed that I won’t be experiencing the YouthWorks trips like I have in the past, this will help develop my understanding of how I can actually help out my community in which I live in. Thank you for reading. Peace out… - Emma