Leech Lake - Day 5/6

I apologize that we are just getting to our stories from the last two days tonight. Thursday was a full day, it was our last day of serving (all of FIRE & WATER got to be together with kids that afternoon!), we visited the headwaters of the Mississippi, we shared our stories, we washed each others' feet and prayed for each other, and we stayed up late into the night just talking.

So after a late night Friday was a really, really early morning with us getting on the road super early, a little bit of a rest in Eau Claire, WI (thank you Lake Street United Methodist Church for hosting us), and hours of conversation about our trip and Jesus.

We hope to be home safe and sound tomorrow, but before we go here are a few more stories from our students. Thank you to everyone who have been praying for and supporting this mission trip, thank you for helping students share the love of Jesus and discover a little more about who He is. But now if you will excuse me, the girl's are screaming outside because they saw a bat...

Today we drove back from Minnesota, we stopped at a church to spend the night. As we drove back I thought about this week and what impacted me the most and it had to be being at Iris’s and seeing people get food. I loved seeing the different reactions of people receiving there food. Some were happy and some were almost embarrassed which I can get because no one want to admit they need help. Overall I enjoyed the whole trip. -Abraham

Today we left the Youthworks site this morning, and I was just thinking about what I really did this week. It was my first Mission Trip, and I really had a lot of fun. I got to meet a lot of new people, and it was just really fun. -Robert

Usually I write 15 paragraphs when I do blogs but I think I will spare you all tonight. Today is the last day on my last ever mission trip. Yesterday night was filled with a lot of emotions, crying, and feelings of impending change for me. It was really great to be surrounded by my friends but change is scary and leaving this youth group is proving to be very hard. I have grown up in this church and I cannot remember a time when I was not in youth ministry at Fishers UMC. I will save all of the sappy feelings for later but I will be forever grateful for all Fire & Water has done for me spiritually and personally. On the verge of tears I will say, thank you to all my friends and all of the adult leaders for giving me such an important part of my life. Greetings and goodbye from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. -Lauren

Leech Lake - Day 4

No long introduction today, here's some great stories from some great students!

Today was our third service day. I was working at kids club which is a Christian summer camp. Kids club is my favorite work site because I always learn a lot from them. They are so honest and over share. Today I heard a girl say that her family doesn’t talk about church because that’s where they torture people. And it was surprising to hear other people’s view on Christians because I feel like sometimes we come into mission trips feeling like we are heroes but people in this area have traumatic incidents with Christians. But on a positive note today we walked down to the lake near the church we are staying at and I saw a lily pad for the first time. Then I saw a bunch of snail shells. I picked up a weird looking snail shell and I realized it was actually still living. I kept a couple empty snail shells and named them after the Backyardigans. It was really exciting to look at God’s creation and I really enjoyed looking at the beautiful landscape. It was definitely something you can’t see in Indiana. Then after that we walked to this coffee shop that was also an emergency shelter. The owner showed us around the shop and the upper floor that she renovated into a bunch of bedrooms. It was really nice and they had one of the best vanilla iced coffees I have ever had. Then at the end of the day we went swimming and thankfully no one almost drowned this time. Overall this day was really fun. (Also as I was writing this Liz murdered a spider that was on Callie’s pillow) -Kaycee

Today’s activities for my group was a new experience for the week. We started off by going to a community member’s house (Joy) and picked up trash for the first part of the day. The interesting thing about her house was that she had wild rice processing equipment that they used at one point in the past. Her son was there for a little bit and he stopped our group and explained how everything worked and shared some funny experiences he had when he used to do it. After, we all took a lunch break and when we got back Joy was there and gave us new instructions for what she wanted us to do. The girls in my group took the task of starting to paint her house while me and the other guys had an interesting task. At first we started to clean out junk Joy didn’t want around the processing equipment and then we moved onto destruction… So she had an old dead chicken coop made of wood and a few walls of sheet metal that she wanted gone. The thing about the walls of sheet metal was that they were nailed to wooden stakes with nails and we didn’t have any hammer or other tools to help us take them off. So us boys decided to pick up some metal pipes that were laying around and absolutely go to town on these walls. And let’s just say thank goodness Mr. Henke was watching over us and not Liz or Anna because they would not have approved. We all took turns swinging on the walls and we were just destroying everything. Once we got done with those metals walls at that point we were just doing the destruction for fun and the chicken coop did not stand a chance. We all ended that work day with smile on our faces and an interesting story to be told. Other than the usual stuff we do after leaving work sites like showers and free time, for our evening activity we went to a lake right near us and we all swam and played volleyball. Because we were having so much fun, we decided to do our church group time at some picnic tables right near the water and other than the mosquitoes it was an eventful unplanned night! –Matthew

Today we got to do kid’s club! This is my favorite thing to do on Youthworks trips, since I love kids and creating relationships with them. I played with kids on the playground, read them a story about Jesus, and played basketball and 4 square. During dinner, the Youthworks staff set up a luau with decorations and music, which was really fun. Then we had the gathering and evening activity. The evening activity tonight was swimming at Walker Beach. We all went in the super cold lake and some of us played volleyball as well. We loved it so much that we stayed at the lake for church group time as well. On the way back to the church, the people in the bus sang (actually screamed) Disney channel movie songs at the top of our lungs. It was a great day! -Morgan

 

Leech Lake - Day 3

 Our trip is half done! It was a hard day of work, especially with the smog outside from wildfires (we woke up and everything smelled like a campfire), but our students did a great job today! But, let's hear it from them. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support!

Today was our second service day. My group worked in the garden at the church we are staying at. The end goal for them is to turn the backyard into a big, beautiful prairie. So, our job was mainly to pull everything out of the ground and flatten it all in order to help them prepare for this. Kaycee, Pastor Renee, Troy, and I cleared out the whole flag pole area. At the end, we actually got a lot done, and it was really cool to see an “after” product. Our evening activity was a scavenger hunt around Bemidji. It was really cool to see all of the statues and art around the downtown area. It was fun running around and racing the other groups we saw running across the streets. Then, we had the gathering and church group time. During the gathering, we talked about compassion and how we can take it into action. Finally, during small groups, Miss Lisa, Noah, Robert and I did a little self-reflection activity that really opened my eyes up. This second day of the trip was very enjoyable and I can’t wait until tomorrow. -Morgan

Today I worked in the garden pulling weeds and putting down tarp, plus we also had ice cream because it is Tuesday and Liz always has Ice cream on Tuesday. -Brandon

Today marked the halfway mark in this year’s mission trip. We served at a local food shelf where we did similar tasks to that of our own food pantry at Fishers UMC. We talked to some of the staff, but specifically a woman named Iris. Iris was an elder of the tribe and told us copious stories of the egregious events that happened to her grandmother. At the time the government was pushing Natives into boarding schools and Iris’s grandmother was picked out of a hat and was sent to one. In these boarding schools they tried to eradicate all forms of Native culture and heritage within an Indigenous person. When they were brought back into their reservations, they felt out-casted and banished. Learning about the not so idyllic US history has been my favorite part of this mission trip. It seems like whenever the US is talked about in school they are always talked about with a positive connotation yet in actuality it is very far from it. Hopefully our group can continue to make meaningful connections within the community.  I hope to broaden my perspectives and continually become more educated about the history of Cass Lake, MN. -Ryan          

Leech Lake - Day 2

Well, today was a different day. All of us were ready to head out to our work projects when a thunderstorm come up out of nowhere (two hours before it wasn't even on the radar). All of our plans for the day were changed, and the students did great with patience and adapting to change. Our groups went to a food shelf (much like our food pantry) and a school to do maintenance and upkeep.

We also spend a lot of time today learning about the Indigenous People of the area. From an exercise where we got to move around and experience this history of the local people to having a speaker who is a Christian Indigenous presenter in Canada and the U.S., our students were able to learn a lot about the people and culture of Leech Lake. 

And here are some of their stories from today:

I had a good time today I had a really great experience. Today we were supposed to be weeding and in the beginning we did we were digging up the flowers and weeds that needed to be dug up. Then suddenly it decided to rain at first you would feel like that would be bad and horrible, when in reality it helped them out. They had been having a drought and hadn’t had much rain I don’t think any at all for a little while. So in the end it helped them a lot. We got to go to a school instead and help clean all of the desks and chairs and take off all the gum. I saw Jesus in the Youthworks leaders today because even though we had complications they were still able to get us serving and helping others. -Mayanna

Today was really fun, in terms of seeing the faces of the people. All the families were very thankful when we walked up to their cars to give them food. I was a wonderful experience that I hope to happen again to others in the group. I hope to be a blessing to not only the people but to my neighbors as well. I am looking forward to tomorrow, so that I may serve this wonderful town once more. -Vaughn

The time I had today was really great. We didn’t get to do the garden because of the rain, but the people around here were really blessed by the rain. Instead, we went to the superintendent’s office and we cleaned 4 classrooms. I can’t wait for tomorrow. -Robert

Thanks for praying for us (keep it up!).

Leech Lake - Day 1

We are here! To be honest, there is not a lot to share today because we spent 14 hours of our day on the road. However, a few highlights:

We are staying in the town of LaPorte, population 111. Youthworks being here increases the population of the town 30%.

Youthworks has been in this area for 18 years. Last week they painted a home that was one of their first service projects 18 years ago.

We are focusing on who are neighbors are this week. That being said... who's your neighbor? (Luke 10:25-37 is the Scripture we are using to learn about this)

But, let's hear from some of our students on how their day went.

We left at 4:30 in the morning today, and drove 14 hours to make it to our site. Some people slept for a while, while others drove or just talked about past memories. Tomorrow we will go to our service projects and I just pray that we are able to help make a difference in someone’s life. -Callie

Hello everyone, if you’re reading this I want to say thank you for taking the time out of your day to read what we have to say. We left really early today and that wasn’t the coolest but its really cool that we are here now. Well anyway thank you so much for reading and have a great day. – Noah

This last week I was at summer camp and got little sleep as I was an “adult” and had to be up and ready to run showers for the scouts. At night I stayed up late so I got at most 15 hours of sleep in the week. When I got home on Saturday I slept for over 10 hours probably. I got up at 3 in the morning and left for church. We prayed and then off we went. I was up for an hour or so then I was out until we stopped for gas. Then I slept more before lunch. In the Van I got to talk to Mr. Henke and Mrs. Ellcessor and learned a lot about them and their families which was awesome. I look forward to learning more about LaPorte and the Cass Lake communities and the history of the Native Americans that live here. My Group is lucky enough to get Kids Club at the end of the week which should be a nice rest after being at work projects the first two days. As for tomorrow my group is at Joy’s House and I look forward to seeing what that entails for the group. -Luke

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

Niagara Falls - Day 5/6

My sincerest apologies that we didn't get a blog up last night. Thursday is always a crazy day with the community cookout, the end of our partnerships, and the footwashing ceremony where our students have their feet washed and pray with each other for a few hours. Things just went too late last night (and started way too early this morning). But we have a few stories from the week for tonight, enjoy!

Overall thought of the trip is that it was amazing. My favorite part was working at Trailblazing Seniors, a drop in center for retirees, and meeting Elder V (the woman who runs it). It was great because she told us what God has planned for our future. We’re in Canada and going home tomorrow. –Noah

Today we sat in the van for a few hours and crossed to Canada. We are currently staying at a church in Troy’s hometown. Our group toured a lighthouse and then went tourist shopping where I got a sweatshirt. Then we went to the beach. I almost drowned when I swam to the other pier then Luke had to help me. This trip was fun since I was given the opportunity to socialize with a lot of different people even though it was hard sometimes. I also loved touring the local church in Niagara Falls called Holy Trinity it was definitely a site to remember. –Kaycee

This trip was life-changing for me. Not because it was my first, but because of the people I met. Of course I met people while we were at the service cites, but the day we went to the falls really made me think. We had just gotten off the Maid of the Mist, and just decided to walk around. While we were walking around we ran into one of the Youthworks staff, Joseph. He was talking to one of his friends he’s made while working this summer, and apparently his friend wanted to tell his story. His friend’s name was Micah. Before he told us his story, he asked everyone what was their most difficult time in life. Some people did answer, but I had an inkling in my stomach to answer. Micah told us about when he was born with a rare condition that gave him cancer. At six months old he was doing chemo. Medical conditions continued throughout his life, doctors didn’t think he was going to live. But guess what he did! He said God had been there his whole life and told him to never give up. He went through a lot of deep struggles and decisions, and wondered if life was worth living. But God never gave up on him, and he never gave up on God.

After he told us his story, we began walking to where we would watch the firework show. Ginny was walking with Micah, while I was walking with the others. As we were walking I was wondering why he shared his story, because it’s not easy to. All last year I was working with kids just like Micah. They usually wouldn’t open up right on the bat. But the fact that Micah just told his story with no worries or hesitation, really just spoke to me. When I asked him why he told me his story he just wanted people to know that God changed his life for a reason, and God made our lives like this. He asked me to tell him why I asked this specific question. I told him that what he said and who he is just meant something to me. He was wondering if I was impacted by his story and what I learned. He impacted me to learn people’s stories and never give up even if you’re in a deep dark hole. He asked me if I ever wanted to end my life. I told him no because I haven’t had enough time on this earth to even think about it, even if I was just mad about life. He told me it was okay if I ever wanted to end my life, because he’s been there before. He understands what it’s like to not feel important or feel like nothing is ever going to be okay. When I told him that it was my first mission trip and that he was basically one of the first people I’ve talked to. Micah was surprised and really proud of me because of that. I don’t know if that was because it’s hard for people to even understand him, or that me talking to him was surprising. Then he asked Ginny how I inspire her. Now that’s a question I never ever thought I would hear about myself. Ginny said how I’ve been stepping out in faith to help and talk to others. As well as the sincerity in which how I carve out time for Jesus are inspiring. After that we made it to the site where we could see Niagara Falls and we took a few cool selfies.

After we parted ways there was just an inkling beat inside of me to dance, since I’m a dancer. Usually I never get that feeling, but just by the way he inspired me. There were a couple other times where Micah appeared, and him just being there made me happy. One of the last times I actually was with him I told him that. He wondered why I was happy just because he was there. I told him that he made me feel like I was important. I told him that after I met him all I wanted to dance. He told me to just dance, but for me it doesn’t work like that. He told me to dance even if people are or aren’t watching, because who cares. He told me that if some of my friends don’t like who I am then they’re not my friends. The last time I saw him he told me I wasn’t alone, because God’s always with me. I told him that I would dance for him because he impacted and inspired me. He said that I was the second person that was directly impacted by him. He even pulled over Joseph to tell him that, because they’ve become such good friends.

I’ll always remember Joseph. He impacted and inspired me in so many ways I don’t think I even know how many. The first day that we were there he sat at my table. Different people were talking about they can’t do different things because they’re not talented enough. He said that God gave us the gifts and talents we have for a reason. To be able to see and make a difference with your gifts. The first night he also told us how he didn’t fall into the right crowd in part of his life. He told us how one day he knew he needed to make a change. Joseph talked about how God helped him and never left his side no matter what. How God forgave him, and how things you’ve done shape who you are for a reason. To me it just seemed like God’s spirit was just shooting out of him all the time. Also how much he care about then people who serve and the people being served. The way he inspired me to learn about God, just by how he loves God. Also the fact that he wanted to know each and every one of us, and if he didn’t he wished he did. Joseph is a person who inspire others each and every day, and I’m glad I got to know him a little bit.

I’m thankful that God placed all these people and missions in my life, because without them I wouldn’t be who I am. Especially all of the youth group people and volunteers. I’ll forever be thankful for this mission trip and the opportunity to be able to share with others. This scripture really spoke out to me this week, because to me it’s all of life. “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people can’t see the whole scope of God’s work, from beginning to end,” Eccleslates 3:11. –Callie

Niagara Falls - Day 4

Today was a different sort of day for everyone. We got to sleep in for an hour (something new Youthworks is trying, which was very well received) and we also had a ton of rain which caused a number of our planned service projects to be changed. And as always our students are doing fantastic, but don't take my word for it. Here's some stories.

I have been working at kids club all this week. It was very inspirational, and a lot of great moments. The kids were really engaged and I felt like they really connected with God. Circle time is really fun, the music BUMPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! –Mayanna

Today I worked at Lockpoint senior center. They had a big event planned where all of the seniors competed in mini sports games. My group was in charge of running the stations. After the “Olympics” they had, we ate lunch with them and presented their medals to them. My group also had dinner prep tonight, and our rap was the best song I’ve ever heard!! Tonight’s evening activity was the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center. I learned a lot more about the Underground Railroad than they have ever taught me in school. Today was a pretty good day. –Morgan

Today I worked at NGRM which was a men’s shelter. These past two days I did landscaping at two different places, so this was a nice change for me. At the shelter I started out by sorting bread with one of the seniors from our church. We got done fairly quickly then went back into the main room to hear about the volunteer coordinator’s storyline. She had a very inspirational story and told us how God had worked and is continuing to work in her life.

After we were done talking she gave us our final job which was sorting through about 2,200 different letters to find 6-7 that they didn’t need. We ended our morning by eating lunch with them and saying “goodbye”. Before we had to go back to the church we were staying at we had about an hour. To fill that hour we decided to go to a local ice cream shop that was recommend and got some really good ice cream. We then went back to the church to sort sandals for the locals in the community who were in need.

Lastly for our evening activity we went to a museum that was about the Underground Railroad. I personally learned so much and met one of the workers who had an ancestor that was involved in it when it happened. We’ve got one full day left tomorrow so I can look forward to lots of weeding. But overall all this weeding and landscaping was well worth it because I got to meet the beautiful community of Niagara Falls! –Matthew

Niagara Falls - Day 3

New places to serve, new experiences like Niagara Falls, it's been a great day. Here are some stories from our students, enjoy!

Today my group went to two different locations. This morning we went to the Lockport Home for senior citizens. It is a complex of buildings. The first one was built in the 1800’s and was home to Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of the Treasury who was on the $1000 bill. The other buildings are connected and were built at various times. At the Lockport Home we talked to seniors and played a word game with them where we had to unscramble the letters in a phrase to spell a new word. My team won with the word “polycarbonates”. After that we talked with the residents and drank smoothies. One senior named Bob fought in World War 2 in the Battle of the Bulge. He told us about the worst 12 hours of his life and how he earned his Silver Star. This was really cool because this week’s theme is about storylines and Bob told us a lot about himself. We also did some chair exercises which was very interesting. Tomorrow we are at the Lockport Home all day and there we will be having the Annual Lockport Olympics which should be very entertaining.

We then ate lunch and left for our housing site which was where our second project was. On the way we got some shakes at a local restaurant and bakery. We arrived at St. Raphael’s and got to work sorting and cleaning sandals that had been thrown away after people used them at the Cave Winds Attraction at Niagara Falls State Park. These went to places locally and abroad.

Next was showers and after those we saw Micah who we met earlier in the week and gave us his story. Micah is a native to Niagara Falls and has Asperger’s and also had brain cancer. He introduced us to his barber who also gave us his story. We went to the Falls this evening and saw Micah there too. Today was a really good day and I thought it was really cool to learn other people’s stories since that is our theme this week. –Luke

Today the group I was in worked at two churches at the first one we worked with older people and played bingo and ate lunch with them at Trailblazing Seniors. The people there were very nice and very hard working and I got to talk to a lot of cool people. At the second church which was also the home of the person who instructed us we helped set up the stations for a kids club. We did things like setting up a slip and slide and a speaker system. We filled up water balloons and set out sidewalk chalk. Then we set up a coloring contest and made lunches for the kids. We got it done pretty quick and even met some kids that came bye while we were setting up so we had a little bit of fun while we were there Noah went on the slip and slide in his shorts so he was wet for most of the ride back to the church.

After dinner which was taco Tuesday. After word we went to Niagara Falls there were so many people and it was very beautiful there was a park and the Falls were very beautiful with mist that flew high into the sky. We then went on the Maid of the Mists where we had to wear ponchos because of how much mist came of the falls when you went bye them it was so beautiful and interesting and I really enjoyed it. After the ride we walked around looked at the gift shop and walked to Goat Island where the falls started we got to look of the falls and in the dark light were shined on them with red, white. And blue for the Canadian and American Flag. And at 10:00 they showed fireworks over the falls, they didn’t last very long but after they ended we stayed a little long and headed back though we ended up going the wrong way back but we just took a path through the town to get back and I had so much fun today and I am glad that I got to help people and met new people. –Elizabeth

When I first arrived in Niagara Falls I made an assumption that everyone would be well off and have lots of money. The first evening activity that we did was a poverty simulation which put into perspective of what poverty was really like there. Around 60% of people were on some form of government assistance. This was shocking to me because I have never been here and just assumed that everyone would have jobs and be rich because of the falls. I was mistaken when I went to see the falls, they were beautiful, but what I also noticed is that in Canada there is so much going on, but in America there is only one casino. This made me think about how could this be possible for a place to have such a beautiful landmark to still be in poverty, not to mention that more of the falls are on the American side, but on the other side you have so much to do. The poverty simulation person said that there once was a time where everyone was working and had a job working in factories around there, but that those factories closed and people lost their jobs because of it. Just driving around there a plethora of factories that are abandoned. It was sad to see this and I also got a more personal account of what life was like around the Niagara when I spoke to some of the kids in my kids club. Today I talked one on one with about 3 or 4 kids and just asked what it was like living next to the falls, and what they thought about it. They all told me that I needed to go to Canadian side because the New York side was boring. I personally enjoyed the New York side, but I can’t blame them for saying what they thought. The whole time in the background I saw a big Ferris wheel and hotels, zip lines, and it all just made me want to come and see what was going on.

Today we lead a discovery station and the kids got to share some of what they had discussed about the reading, some of the kids told personal stories of what they answered. The question was “What is a moment when you thought something bad was going to happen but something good had come out of it.” One person said that their sibling (who was sitting right next to her) had survived cancer and has been perfectly fine for 3 years this girl was around 8 or 9 so she has been struggling for a while. The next person shared that one time she made a mistake and thought her dad was going to be mean to her and her little sister, but she was surprised and happy when he was not mad at them, she said whenever she made a mistake he would always be mean to her. The final person spoke about forgiveness and being accepting, she said when she went to school she was bullied, and that people used to beat her up. She said that they are now best friends and that they worked everything out. The thing that I learned from this is that I should not have had a prejudice against the kids. I thought they hadn’t been through anything, and it made me think these kids are only 8 and have been through more hardships than I have. They did not let it get them down, and I think that is something I will want to take away from this mission trip, that I shouldn’t assume so much until I talk and get to know someone. –Ryan

Niagara Falls - Day 2

It's Monday, that means it's our first real day of work and getting to know people in our community. Thank you all for your prayers and support, here are some stories from today.

So today. I started with breakfast and morning devotionals. Honestly, no expectations. God spoke through my devotionals to me about being selfless. But the word selfless still has the word self. And I’m still honestly so confused about the whole self-less thing which should be explanatory. But that’s another thing I admit needs fixing in my life.

Orientation for the worksite begins and I realized what I was in for. I looked the previous night for which group I was in and Horseshoe was the answer. I then searched for where I would be working – with KIDS. Okay. Mixed feelings. I had previous presuppositions and mixed feelings about children but I was still excited for the week. Alright, back to the present.

After orientation, we rode in our groups to the worksite. Horseshoe group rode in a bus with Mist group. Both groups had a combination of FUMC kids and Becks kids (from North Carolina). So, I know I should be selfless at this point but the whole “self” conflict was still obscuring my time. I felt disconnected from the other church, even though my whole “mission” in my mind was to serve the children and only the children. Despite that, I continued and it was okay. We got to the worksite and had the stations and folders handed out to us. I was leading the Discovery Station with Ryan and Carson. We had to read to the kids and ask them comprehension questions which seemed like a lot for a group of little kids. We didn’t have that much time to plan because kids began to flood in the gym. The first wave of kids was extremely young. I was still obsessed with trying to be selfless that I can’t get over the “self” part and trying to fulfill the “experience” that you’re supposed to “feel” which I know isn’t correct. Anyways, I stood awkwardly in the corner until a brave girl who was running around the gym came up to me with a huge smile. With a staggered breath, she gasped, telling me her name and a bunch of useless things about her. Or so I thought…

As I got to know her (mainly her just telling me her entire story and me nodding and listening), she was actually diagnosed with Celliac’s disease when she was younger. But she assured me she was fine now because of her entirely new health regime she explained in detail to me. Anyways, I was still very eager to be her buddy of the week but she has a ‘TUDE and drains your energy like no other. I have this all in my mind but I kind of feel rushed at the moment because it’s close to bedtime but I promise you it all was amazing. Fast-forward to the Beck church… we became friends and had quite a few laughs about telling each other we thought the other had accents and the differences between Indiana and North Carolina.

Another thing that I want to mention is the Poverty Simulation we participated in tonight. That was majorly eye-opening. It was stressful being an 85-year-old arthritic homeless widower man. I had to pay so many utility bills, pre-paid burial services, food, and rent for my new dwelling that I bought. It really put into perspective what this “tourist” town of Niagara Falls and so many other small towns nationwide and worldwide there are. I participated in a Poverty Simulation in Atlanta two years ago but this experience was much different with personal interactions prior in the day and seeing the effect that I impacted the children. The simulation and statistics (with my math and numbers oriented brain) really push me to motivate me to be an even greater “buddy” to Freya throughout the week. When hearing and “experiencing” just one single hour of “poverty,” I legitimately feel so grateful for everything I have. The poverty that affects students and parents and everything is just so impactful and perspectival. So many more moments that are like none other I have ever experienced but anyway. I vlogged (videoed) a little bit of today and will continue throughout the week.

But I just want to end on a striking note that I heard in the Gathering session from a video at our YouthWorks site, explaining God’s Reckless Love and Unfailing Love that pursues us despite our sins: “Mistakes are bruises, not tattoos.” (Thanks for listening to my TedTalk and perfectionistic brain of mixed/mangled/jumbled/incomplete thoughts that I wish I had more time to write about but I feel rushed because I’m honestly having a genuine amazing time.) –Emma

Today was the first day on our mission trip to Niagara Falls. So far this has been a good trip and I have enjoyed the company of our youth group and the others with us. Today my group went to a Parish and we helped out with a man named Don. Don was a nice gentlemen who was volunteering helping us maintain the grounds of the Perish and the cemetery that the Perish had. At one point he showed us the food pantry that they had run which was smaller in size but similar to our churches pantry. You could see him talking about the pantry and see him visible getting emotional talking about helping people in need and giving them some dignity. That was one part that stuck out to me especially.

Other than that we were working in the landscaping around the property and talking with our group. And later on in the day we had a poverty simulation. The thing that struck me about the simulation is when the administrator mentioned that close to 95% of the school was living in poverty. The simulation was tough and it just went to show that we are very lucky to have what we have.

Overall I am glad to have had these experiences it has been mind-opening. –Jacob

Today was the first day on the Niagara Falls mission trip. Overall it was a good day, but there were some experiences that really stuck out to me. First was in the morning after breakfast, and if you don’t know, the building clean-up crew is an assigned crew to clean bathrooms and all around the building. Since there not a lot of people assigned today, Delaney, Noah, and I volunteered to help clean. Noah was sent away to help another group clean, and Delaney and I were tasked with cleaning the boy’s downstairs restroom. Now that in and of itself sounds terrible simply because all men are inherently gross, and it was not fun in all fairness.

After that trying time we went off to our worksite, and mine was Kids Club. Now I am not a terrible person around kids, but I’m also not the best and I’m glad I was faced with the challenge of getting out of my comfort zone to experience new things. Jonah, Mayanna, and I were in charge of teaching a lesson about our topic, of which was change and becoming a new person. We taught our lesson by drawing a series of several different transformations and having the kids sort them out. They completed their task in no time, and we got to teach them and ask them questions about how God changes them for the better and how they will continue to become new in Christ. This was very eye opening to me because I don’t remember being so educated and involved when I was younger and I loved this opportunity to help give them hope in a sense. This especially stuck out to me because some of those kid’s backstories were hard to listen to. One girl in particular mentioned a stepdad that got in trouble for hurting her mom, and she hasn’t seen him again. I sat with this girl at lunch and listened to how happy she was despite being in that situation and it made me realize that even so young God is teaching them resilience and how to change their own outlooks and circumstances. I genuinely connected with the message of changing in Christ and becoming new for believing in his word because of those children who kept on playing and laughing, despite many of them living in not-so-fortunate conditions.

I also had a lot of fun just hanging out and playing with the kids at Kids Club. There was one boy whose favorite word was a curse, and he kept on repeating it throughout the day, sadly making all of us laugh. And another young boy and girl who were so in love they picked each other every time they were up for Duck-Duck-Goose. I also had a fun time hanging out with my crewmates and getting to know the people from my church, and the other church from North Carolina better. Mayanna and I also learned how to play pool from Carson and now we are self-proclaimed pool masters.

At the end of the day I had a great day that far exceed any expectations I had based off of preconceived notions. I had loads of fun with the kids both from the club and from my group. I am very excited to go back tomorrow and spread what I know about life (not much), and God to those fun, bright children. –Lauren

Niagara Falls - Day 1

Hey everyone, we made it here safely. Thanks for all the prayers and support. Today was mostly travelling with a little bit of information about our community (we covered everything from getting stuffed friends to the fact the city of Niagara Falls has over 60% of people on some sort of government assistance).

But as always, I'd rather let the students tell you their stories and where they saw Jesus today. Enjoy!

Today was the first day of the mission trip. We got to leave at 7AM! That was great, and then we all slept on the bus despite the late hour. Eventually I was the only one awake so I read my bible. I read Ecclesiastes and that was whack. Then we ate lunch and I ate Vietnamese food and it was good. Then we arrived eventually and met some great people and we were filled with the Lord and it was good. I thank the Lord for the amazing people we met and the opportunity to serve others. –Carson

Day 1 and I am already seeing God all around us. Of course that is possible anywhere you are in the world, but this site is overflowing with God’s love. Seeing the exhausted YouthWorks staff just shows how hard they work every week to keep this site and community running. I hope in the future I will be given the opportunity to work for YouthWorks at a mission site in college. They look so happy to be working as the hands and feet of God. Please pray for us this week, so that we may be able to spread God’s love like staff does and how God wants us to. –Delaney

What is up world? It is officially the end of day one and a few interesting things have happened. The first interesting  thing was the fact that I was able to sleep on the bus the entire way up here, which is something I never thought I’d be able to do, so yay God for allowing me to get the proper rest to prepare for this week and go out and serve him best I can. The second thing that happened today that I feel a strong need to share is the fact that we went to lunch at a mall, and like many malls it contained a Build-A-Bear. After passing by the store for a second time a few of us knew we needed to ask Troy if we could go build one. After I asked him, he just looked at us and said “let’s go” and proceeded to take four teenagers girls to Build-A-Bear, where we made great economic decisions because our bears were all on sale. After securing the bears it was back to the bus, where I continued my previous nap and then in what felt like a weirdly short amount of time we had arrived. The YouthWorks staff greeted us with smiles on their faces and the few I’ve been able to talk to have been so nice and welcoming. I look forward to continue growing my relationships with the staff here at Niagara, as well as go out tomorrow and begin building relationships in the community. Please pray, or continuing praying for everyone on this trip, and for everyone that we will hopefully make a difference for this trip. -Kaili

   

Fully Restored

I'm in the middle of trying to wipe and restore a phone. It's so much fun...

But, it reminds me of how we misunderstand forgiveness. In talking with people over the years it seems many see forgiveness from God as simply wiping the slate clean. The problem is, it's so much more.

Imagine I gave you a brand new phone. But not just any phone. It was personally set up by me. I put hundreds of dollars of the best apps possible on it. I went and put your pictures and videos on the phone. I downloaded (legally) all your favorite songs and movies onto the phone.

Then it gets a virus.

Your phone needs to be wiped. So you wipe the phone. It's back to factory settings.

Yes, the virus is gone, but that's not true forgiveness. The phone needs to be restored.

After the virus I restore your phone back to all it's former glory. It has all the apps, videos, pictures, songs, everything back on it that it once had. That's proper restoration.

When we are forgiven by Christ we are not set back to zero. We are not factory restored. We are put back to where God views us, as His child, His spirit living within us, all the perks that come with being His favorite. We are restored back to where we were before sin entered.

If we understood that better, we'd probably live differently, even after we've been forgiven. This is why we need to know Jesus and love God so much more every day. It helps us realize just what we have been restored to, and how we can grow even more in our relationship with Christ.

Christ isn't just offering forgiveness, He wants to restore you.

Now to do the same to this phone...

T

Silence...

You know what drives me crazy (and in turn drives my family crazy)? When I ask a question and there's no response. Why don't you answer?

My wife and I have had discussions about this and now I'm starting to do this with my daughter. And usually they think I'm being annoying because I think they aren't listening to me. Usually, that's not it. I don't know if they heard me. So if I ask something and there's no answer or a blank look (or sometimes they don't even look my way) my gut response is to think they didn't hear me and ask again louder (and sometimes more annoyingly).

Do we think that of God too? When we ask and don't hear an answer do we think He can't hear us? Except we know He can, so is He choosing not to hear us?

Except God chooses to be silent. And sometimes that can make us (me) even more aggravated. But that doesn't mean He's wrong. Sometimes He needs us to wait or even ask again.

Maybe God's silent for a reason. If only we knew what it was at the time...

T

Back To Reality

Last week we had all sorts of wonderful mission trip stories. And it was a great trip and Jesus did lots of amazing things.

But it's back to reality.

There are ways to serve Jesus every day, even at home with your family. There are ways to give to Jesus, love Him, share Him, all the things we did on the mission trip we can do at home.

So will we?

What will you do to have a mission trip at home...?

T

Eastern Shore - Day 5/6

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 19^th 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

Eastern Shore - Day 4

Hey everyone, here are the stories from Wednesday. We have only one more day of serving, keep praying for us please!

Troy

Today, I went to Agape to help with preschool age kids. The theme there was the Shipwrecked vacation Bible school we had at our church. When we arrived, the kids were sitting to begin watching their video, however, we did not stay inside for a long time. We headed outside and did some yard work. Delaney, Liz, Jacob, Morgan, and I pulled weeds and broke off dead trees around the sign in front of the place. When we finished, the kids were outside playing and we went to play with them. They were all joyful and loved playing with us. Afterwards, the kids went inside for lunch and we helped the volunteers there to serve the kids. As the kids ate lunch, we went upstairs to eat our own lunch and had an extended break because the kids were taking a nap. Once the nap was over, we went back downstairs to talk to the kids while they ate snack then headed outside so they could have their boat race with the boats they made during crafts. We then left to have dinner and showers and have an early gathering. Later we went to the beach and I didn’t get in the water, but I watched everyone else enjoy the water and watched the sunset with Emma. We then returned to the church to conclude our day.

-Rachael

Today my group went to Agape, which is a free preschool childcare place. We spent the day playing with the kids and helping in the yard as much as possible. After that, we went to the showers and went back to the church to eat dinner early so we could have as much time at the beach as possible. We spent a couple of hours at the beach for our evening activity, and then our church went and got ice cream. To end the night, we came back to the church to rest up for our last day of service tomorrow.

-Morgan

This mission trip so far has been interesting. I have so far worked exclusively with kids, the first 2 days I worked at kids club. Working with kids was nice because they are full of energy and these kids were pretty well mannered. Today and tomorrow I will have also been working with kids at Agape, a church camp, and also helping them out with yard work. It has been pretty interesting because like I said I enjoy working with kids and it has been a good experience all around.

My experience on this mission trip has not just been limited to my worksite I have had fun and learned a lot during other parts of the mission trip. On Monday we had a cookout with the locals and it was fun to connect to the community through playing soccer matches and eating food. I also learned a lot on Tuesday Veronica, an immigrant herself, talked to us about some of the challenges community members on the eastern shore face. As it turns out a lot of the eastern shores population consists of migrant workers or immigrants and so it is a pretty tight nit Hispanic community.

Over all it has been a good time and I do enjoy helping out at the eastern shore. I’d like to thank the people who helped us get here, the church, my parents, and of course Liz and Troy. I feel as if I have made an impact on my faith and in the lives of others.

-Jacob

Eastern Shore - Day 3

Our apologies this blog was posted a little late, but Troy and the internet are not playing nice and things just didn't work out. But it was our second day of worksites and here are some stories.

T

Hi my name is Noah Lipscomb. I am here to tell you about my fantastic day! The first thing I did today was go to a church and paint the walls. The second thing I did today was I went to the lighthouse shelter and I helped paint furniture. Thanks for reading!

-Noah

I had an amazing day today. We started the day to go to a summer school type program. I met this girl. She demanded me call her princess. So, Princess started to work on her work book. She zoomed right through it. We probably did 20 pages in an hour. After the first hour, he had a snack. After snack, we all played games. I played matching / memory with princess. After the fun game of memory, (Princess won)   we said goodbye. I hated saying goodbye. Although, I knew I would be able to see her at Kids Club.

After we got back, we ate lunch. When we finished lunch, kids started rolling in. I kept on looking for princess. When princess arrived I was not playing attention. I was playing Uno with the kids that already arrived. When she arrived she tapped me on the back and scared me half to death. We played Bananagrams and had gotten bored real quick. So, we got out Apples to Apples. Princess is 4 years old. She was on my team. We played and played until snack started. When snack started, Princess was very picky. Well, after snack we started stations. When we did stations, I was put on Games. The outside, sweaty, humid games. We were going to play Capture the Flag / Cone, but the kids thought otherwise. So, I played on the playground with the kids. We played out dies for a good hour and then went in.

When we went inside, we did more choice time. We played some Uno and said bye to princess. She started tearing up and said goodbye. After Kids Club, we went to the showers.

After showers, we talked to this person and she talked about immigrants since she is one. After that we had Free Choice time. We walked around town and I got cheese fries and Pepsi. A little taste of home although I prefer Coke. Anyway, we went to the playground. We played and brought out our inner 5 year old. After that, we had our prayer meeting. We sang songs and learned lessons about Jesus. We had hearts to write down what we cared about and I wrote Princess. I will miss her. At the end of the prayer meeting we had or church group. We invited the Greenlee family (coincidence) over to our group. We talked and had a good time. To end the night, Troy asked us to write a story for the Blog and I volunteered. And that is basically it.

Anyway, that is Trevor Greenlee signing off.

-Trevor

These past two days I’ve had the opportunity to volunteer at the Agape Community Christian Preschool. They were doing a VBS program that they had stretched out to last 6 weeks. I was able to perform all kinds of activities with the kids, such as singing songs, making crafts, and playing zombie tag around the playground. One of the highlights of my week was seeing the adult workers at the preschool and witnessing how much they cared about the kids. I later learned that several of these children had absentee fathers and unstable home lives. The women working there explained that their goal was to be the strong parental figure that these children need. This led me to reflect on the impact I could be making back home. I thought back to how much of an impact my parents had on me and how without their support I would not be the person I am today. This helped me to realize how much of an impact these women could be having on the children I had played with today. I currently work at the Fishers YMCA as a child care aide and knowing these children’s situations helped remind me that I’ll never know how stable a child’s home life is. Witnessing these women’s love has made me strive to make a conscious effort to show love to the children that I work with every day because I’ll never know the difference that it can make.

-Hannah