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