Leech Lake - Thursday

Hey everyone, today was out last day of serving. We went into the wee hours of the night with our footwashing and praying for each other so cleaning up tomorrow morning should be exciting. Thanks for all your prayers and support and we'll see you soon. Until then, a few more stories from the day.

After learning I would be in Kids Club this week Sunday night, my first reaction was frustration.  Even though I had done a week of it before in Newport, I only wanted to go to service projects, but continued to put a smile on my face to try and seem happy about.  Looking back, I realize why God put me there, despite my prayers beforehand to put me anywhere else.  At the beginning of the week, I met a girl named Mia who captured my attention by trying to take my glasses on the first day (don’t worry I got them back).  Over time, I learned along with Sabrina that she wanted to be a singing, ballet dancing, cheerleading gymnast.  God knows I’m not any of things but my attempts to sing and dance always put a smile on her face and demonstrated I was where I was supposed to be.  Later that week, I had the pleasure of meeting Gavin who was about the opposite.  We played Super Mario around the park all day and I was excited to find out he didn’t want to participate in water day, saving me from being drenched like the rest of my crew.  The thing that stuck out to me most was his genuine curiosity in how the world works and his constant questions, which I was happy to try and answer.  Overall, both of them were extremely difficult to say goodbye to today, and I was silently hoping that the next group will give them the same love and attention.  Both reminded me how God, even when we feel uncomfortable, bends us so that we can still make an impact in another’s life.  In theme with the lesson this week about God’s love for us and our response, I would have to leave saying thanks to Troy (and God) for putting me in this group where I know I made a difference in two kids’ lives and making two new friends. -Evan

Looking at the job list on Sunday night, the only thing I could think was that I am NOT a physical labor kind of girl. But just as I always try to do, I aimed to go into the first day with a smile. God treated me well this week to say the least. The heat index was supposed to be between 95 and 103 degrees, but we ended up with breezy clear skies with plenty of shade. As I spent the time scraping paint off of old wooden posts and painting the ceilings of smelly boys locker rooms, I started to realize that the company I was surrounded by and the positive attitudes of everyone I encountered was going to make my week fantastic. I started to realize day by day that this trip and this job was exactly where God wanted me to be. It pushed my comfort levels and patience but I made the most out of it. One of the houses I had been painting, edging, sanding, and scraping for a few days was finished today and sitting back and seeing how far that house had come was so rewarding. As hesitant as I was when Troy placed me in this group with this work, I am so thankful that God placed me here. -Lauren

My day started out at the Outrageous Sports Camp where we played basketball with the older kids and tag and other outdoor games with the younger children. While I was disappointed to hear I would have to interact with other human beings at the beginning of the week, it turned out okay in the end. I ended up becoming good friends with a girl, Alaina, and that was a good thing to know leaving the site today.  When coming into the site I had feared that I would not be able to have the patience required to handle children, especially those who were around my own age. But my friendship with Alaina changed that. I am no longer fearful of working with kids. This is one more reason why I am grateful for what this trip has provided me with. Once we left the site we went to our work project where we pulled weeds so that the carrots could grow for the Bemidji Food Shelf Farm. The work we did there was very visible, so it filled us with a sense of accomplishment when we finished up. Once we came back to the high school we had free time and an afternoon activity and then we went into the foot washing portion of the evening. The foot washing ceremony is one of my favorite moments of the year because I can talk to my friends while I feel at the peak of my closeness with God of the week. It is a great feeling to interact with your friends at this time because it is the end of the long week of hard work and you experience a closeness which our time together and with God has brought about. I am so very grateful to have come on this trip, however I am very happy to be coming home soon. -Rachel

Leech Lake - Wednesday

Another great day of serving. Enjoy the stories and we hope to see you soon!

When I heard Monday that I was going to be at Outrageous Sports Camp all week I was pretty excited. To say the least I’m pretty exhausted with one day left. But most of all Monday I didn’t expect to leave the camp today with makeup on my face. There’s a first for everything in life, and this is one of them. The kids there are so fun and energetic, and it’s overall just a great time. While I wasn’t the happiest to have makeup put on me (they held us down) they just seemed to be having the best time. I guess I managed. –Adam

So it’s my job to work with kids. I thought it would fun playing games and sports with them. Well I was completely wrong. The kids are 5-16ish years old and that is a big age gap. Adding on to the age gap problem the kids we were working with were complete nightmares. They would scream, hit, bite, etc. to us. They didn’t seem to know the word NO. Then Troy took us on a detour on the way back to our living space. We saw where the kids were living and only a portion of what they had to go through at home. There would be over 6 or 7 kids living in one tiny home and they were all either cousins or siblings. Maybe there would be a parent to take care of them but the majority of the kids are taken care of by their older siblings or a grandparent. We now could understand why the kids were acting that way. They just wanted attention. A thing that they craved and much needed. So we gave it to them and they calmed down and listened. We had a rough start but now the games are going much smoother. Oh, did I mention the game of the kid’s choice was basketball? (Matthew you would love to be in my group.) They had some pretty sick moves and broke at least everyone’s ankles twice.

Ok, back to the parent situation that the kids were going through. We spoke to a person that was part of the native tribe there. She explained to us that the parents drink and do drugs because the things the white people did to their ancestors. It makes so much sense to me now. She told us this was the seventh generation and the children should be better and spread their culture. I hope the children do.

Today we had a cookout and some of the community came out to eat with us. I decided I wanted to sit by 2 elders of the tribe. They had a lot to share. They shared their view points on the world and the TV shows they watch. Did you know they know who Gene Autry was? If you don’t know pour ice water on your head to wake you to the world and look up on Google the greatest cowboy who ever lived!!!!! At the cookout the “people” (that’s what the Natives want to be called) got into a drum circle and sang songs in their language. Earlier in the week we learned a Native dance and we danced to the music. I was dancing the shawl dance but without a shawl so I just looked like I was flinging my arms around. It was so much fun (we got in trouble because apparently we disrespected the dancing circle. I found out it was because one of the girls picked up a child and was dancing with her in her arms and that was a big NO NO). On our way back we stopped at Dairy Queen and the ice cream cones where payed for by the church. So I made sure that I got a large cone. When we finally got back we did our usual Jesus time but at the end of it all the worship leader told us that he would sing more Christian songs for us and it was awesome.

Sorry, it late and I’m just not that coordinated but I’m going to tell one more story about our trip. So I swam in the Mississippi river in my clothes. It wasn’t planned but I was like when will I ever get another opportunity to swim in the Mississippi. I of course was the first one in then everyone followed me. I regretted my choice as soon as I had to ride to our sleeping area in wet cloths. Not only was I wet we were battling a major storm. I couldn’t see the road and lighting was all around us. I thought I was going to die! I finally couldn’t take it anymore and I passed out. Which is what I am about to do now so Goodbye and wish us good luck for our trip back home. (sorry for my spelling and grammar right now it’s 11:30 at night and lights out was at 11:15) -Emily

Hi. Day 3 of service is over. Today, as a part of the Mystery Moose crew, we went to a woman’s house and did various remodeling that all was to come together to paint the areas we had scraped, washed, and replaced. It was supposed to be much hotter than it turned out to be, so with a breeze, it was perfect (Yay God!). We started out scraping away loose paint on the shudders, deck, and basically everywhere paint was chipping. Some of the boards just beneath the roof were decayed and rotten so Russ (the adult from another church) and I nailed in new boards.

The best part of the day of service was probably this little girl. She was one of the five grandchildren Connie (the lady whose home we were working on) takes care of permanently. I never learned her name but she was probably about five. Anyways, I gave her a piggy back ride. It lasted for about 45 minutes and consisted of me sprinting around the house and yard and hearing her squeal with excitement all while everyone else was busy doing the work we were more sent to do. It really made me feel good to make her so happy because, living in a one “parent” home with five other children, I am sure she doesn’t receive significant attention. I am very excited for tomorrow because I am hoping she remembers me because even though I was very exhausted after running so much, I was very happy.

Finally, tonight we had a little bit of extra worship time. Russ had brought his guitar and has been the worship leader all this week. We sang about 6 more songs and it was a very uplifting experience. Everyone sang like they didn’t care who heard and in between songs we had times of praise and silent confession, and overall it was just a very freeing moment.

Just one more day of service tomorrow! Praying that it goes well and that we are able to keep doing God’s work. See you all in a few days! -Matt

Leech Lake - Tuesday

Sorry for the delay, we had quite a night last night. Upon leaving the headwaters of the Mississippi River we encountered a small storm with torrential rain and 60 mph winds that wreaked a little havoc on our big bus and trailer. So we drove a little slower and got home a little later meaning the students didn't get a chance to tell their stories until the next morning. But here they are, enjoy and we hope to see you soon.

Greetings!

First I’ll tell you the story as to why this blog is happening this morning. Youthworks is doing something a little different this year with one of the evening activities. One night a week, the churches are free to do whatever evening activity they would like to do, with only their group. We decided we would go to the very beginning of the Mississippi River! It started out so innocently, picking up pebbles from the bottom, climbing over rocks and taking pictures. Needless to say, we all ended up drenched, and had a 45 minute drive back to the high school, in the midst of an immense thunder storm. When we got back, the youthworks staff members were kind enough to let us use the showers again, but it was also 11:00, which is lights out time. No time for blog! Wasn’t that a fun adventure?

Okay now for the real stuff. This week started out as a challenge for me and a few others. I found out what I was going to be doing for the week, and was excited to see that I would be working at the kid’s club! I’ve always loved hanging out with and loving on the kiddos in the places that I serve, but this time it was a bit different. The first day, a lot of them weren’t open to building new relationships with these people that they knew were going to leave them at the end of the week. I felt like I just couldn’t do it. I prayed and prayed that God would help me figure out a way to give these kids the attention and love that they need, without making them upset or uncomfortable. Luckily, the second day, the kids were much more accepting to our presence! I got to play with more kids and when we lead the story time, they were extremely attentive, and could even answer 2 questions after! It just goes to show how much God has been working in Cass Lake these past 13 years. The children know that God will protect them and that He is the one we rely on in times of worry and stress.

Yesterday, I also had the opportunity to work in a garden that serves fresh foods to the community. This is really great because at a lot of food pantries they get canned and processed foods, but here they can receive locally grown greens and veggies! We had the job of laying down hay to keep in the moisture and smother the weeds for the plants. It was really satisfying to physically see the progress that we made. I’m excited to see what the rest of the week has in store! (Today is water day at kid’s club! yeet) Thanks for reading the blogs and keeping up with our adventures in Cass Lake!

Halfway done! -Grace

P.S. Mom we get back around 5 or 6 on Saturday.

Hey friends!

This week I have had the opportunity to work at the kid’s club. Having worked with kids on a mission trip before, I expected it to be just like last time and for it to be a breeze, but I was so wrong. On the first day, it was difficult to get any of the kids to open up to us and hang out with us; they mostly just wanted to hang out on their own and had no interest in anything we had to say. Going back on our second day, I was slightly discouraged, expecting none of the kids to listen to me. It was the exact opposite though; the kids were so much more willing to listen to us and play with use! Yesterday, they were willing to hear the Bible story and answer two questions about it afterwards!

Getting all of the kids to open up was great, but the most exciting part of the day yesterday was when one kid willingly started a conversation with me about God. This little boy had talked to me for at least half an hour about a video game he plays. Of course I had no idea what he was talking about, having never played this game, so I was smiling and nodding. At one point though, he mentioned how he had built a castle in his game that he said no one was able to see, except God who could see anything. This sparked a conversation with him about God as he began to ask me questions, such as why does God get to see everything and talk about the amazing things he knows God does. It was amazing to hear such a young boy, no older than six, already have so much faith and knowledge about God! 

I am so excited to go back to the kid’s club, especially since today is water games day! Thanks for reading our blogs! -Katie

Yesterday I worked at both the outreach sports camp and a food pantry that grows their food on site. It was the second day that I worked at the outreach sports camp and on the first day the children and teens we worked with were trying to act out and not listen on purpose. But, on the second day we worked there we figured out they were acting out for attention so if we ignored them when they were doing things they shouldn’t they would stop and we could go and talk to them later. After figuring that out things went significantly better after we figured that out. -Alex

Leech Lake - Monday

Today was our first actual day of serving the people of Leech Lake. Due to how things work around here our days look a little different from other trips, we work with Kids first thing in the morning and do our regular morning routine at 2:30 in the afternoon for one. We also were able to have a cultural experience with a woman who married into the Ojibwe tribe (and now has a master's degree on Native American culture), so the students had a very full day of learning and processing. But, I'll let them get into that. Here are some stories straight from them, enjoy!

After working with the kids at the sports camp, Troy took our group to see the homes of the kids we would be working with all week. Quite honestly I had no real idea what to expect, but as we pulled in to what was the neighborhood, I was very much humbled. Seeing all of these rather small houses and tall grass and just very not well kept areas I began to feel very emotional for the kids themselves. I just felt angry and frustrated that these kids, and there were a lot of them, had to live in conditions such as these and have to grow up in a place where they may not know when the next meal is coming or if they will see their parents that day. To me it just seems unfair that these kids have to go through these sorts of things because after all, they are just kids. Which is why during our camp today, just playing basketball, which I am terrible at, and seeing these kids smile and laugh when I missed a shot or when this girl, Mia, just lit up when I offered to take her on a marathon race as she was on my back just makes me feel God’s presence in them and in me. Even though it is only for a short time, we can allow these kids to forget about any struggles they are going through and just let them be kids. These simple laughs and smiles really are the epitome of God’s love for me. –Zane

Spending my first day on the mission trip as a freshman has been a whirlwind. I spent my day with kids climbing on my back non-stop. I spent my day with kids telling me about their home life and how their day has been going. It has just been crazy but the one thing that stuck out most to me was the fact that there is so much we don’t realize about the Native American culture. The history that we learned today is just something I could’ve never imagined. I think there’s so many concepts about their history that has just been hidden and unspoken that needs to be more recognized all throughout our culture. Their way of life is different. The rules, expectations, and limits are different. I really liked that one of their main focuses in their everyday life is respect. Respect the land. Respect your people. Respect property, animals, people’s feelings, and so many more things. I also think that it’s amazing that the people around here appreciate silence and take it as a sign of respect and it’s something they look for which is different than our culture at home. It’s sometimes classified as awkward or sometimes disrespectful if you can’t think of something to talk about and keep a conversation going. The way that the Native people live is something I wish we had in Indy. The culture is different and something I envy. Especially res. time! ;)  -Lindsay

["Res. Time" is a loving nickname for the pace of life on an Indian Reservation. The people here are more concerned about being with people/family and spending quality time with them, but this causes many things to move at their own pace. People may be late to an event but the culture sees that as okay because everyone knows it is because they were busy with something more important, community.]

Today was the first day of my first ever mission trip, so it’s safe to say I was pretty nervous. I wasn’t sure how God was going to use my skills in this trip, but those worries were quickly answered when it was decided I would be a part of the ‘storytelling team’ working with kids. One of said children quickly decided I would be her new best friend for the few days I’m here, and even made me a friendship bracelet during craft time. She was really sweet, though a short attention span. But hearing about some of the situations their families were in made me appreciate mine a lot more, and really sparked a desire to give these kids some happy summer memories, if nothing else. Learning about their culture has also been very interesting, and I look forward to learning more and getting to know the kids even better in the days to come.  -Sabrina

Leech Lake - Sunday

Hey everyone, we arrived safe and sound. We have had dinner (wild rice farmed by the people here), gone through orientation and learned a little more about the people we will be serving with this week. We are one of 5 churches, so there's a lot of people ready to show the love of Jesus.

Each night we will be sharing stories from our students on where they saw Jesus today, what they did, how they experienced God's love, etc. So for tonight, here are a few first impressions. Enjoy!

We’re finally here! It was a very long trip, but we made pretty good time I think. It was definitely good that it was not hot outside today, because that made the bus ride much more bearable. We didn’t have any vehicle issues like flat tires either, which was great! Now that we are here, it is very interesting to see what the other churches are like. Most of them are very small, and we learned that we will not be in groups with them as much as we normally are. This may make it harder to connect with the other churches, but we will definitely still try to talk to them and get to know them! We also learned a little about the community we are going to be serving in, and it sounds like it is going to be a very interesting and new experience. I am very excited to begin serving tomorrow! -Megan

After what seemed like forever, we are finally here. My legs are probably going to be sore for the next few days but I’m excited to be here. I’m very glad that the school we are staying at is nice and that there are showers on site. We got to play a few games with the other churches when we first arrived and all the people seem to be very friendly and easy to get along with. I’m going to keep an open mind about everything this week and I am very excited to get to work and share God’s love with this community! -Scott

After a full day in the bus we have finally arrived in Minnesota. The trip down thankfully wasn’t too bad. We had no vehicle issues and luckily most people got some rest in during the drive (I would not be on that list though). Also I may have found my new favorite thing already on this mission trip. It’s called a trailer. The use of the beautiful invention made the bus extremely pleasant as I was in it all day long and was actually cold. When we got to the school that we are staying at we were greeted with a big smile from the Youthworks staff and then were able to talk to people from the other churches. After talking with other churches it has become very clear that most of them have never gotten to go a mission trip and I’m hoping that I can help them to have a good time and want to come out and serve God more! I’m excited to start working tomorrow and see what God has in store for me. Please pray for us, the other churches, and the Youthworks staff that we can just go out and show Gods love. -Kaili

TED Talks For Jesus?

I'm currently reading the new book from the TED talks, their official guide to public speaking. Obviously they have had many amazing (and not so amazing) speakers over the years and I was hoping to learn a few things.

But today I was reading the four types of speech to avoid:
The Sales Pitch: What can I get from you in this speech.
The Ramble: I have nothing to say so I just keep talking.
The Org Bore: This is how my office works.
The Inspiration Performance: Look at me, I'm a great speaker.

And I started wondering, how often to we share Christ like these? Here's what Christ/the Church can do for you if you get in with me. I don't know what I'm talking about when it comes to Jesus but I'll just keep talking. This is how my church works so this is how you need to believe. I'm more concerned with getting my quota of talking to people about Jesus than actually talking with you about Jesus.

You know what the best speeches are? Honest. Personal stories. From the heart. What if instead of memorizing the Romans Road we just told people why we believe in Jesus and want to know Him more?

Of course, there's a catch to this: Are we a disciple of Jesus? Do we actually believe it (or even do we know what we believe)? Do we really want to know Him more?

T

Happy Independence Day

I'll keep it short and sweet today. This day in America is all about freedom. But why are we free?

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. ~ Gal. 5:13 (MSG)

Be free today, but not a selfish free. Be truly free.

T

Jesus Will Offend You

I saw a video recently from a man I greatly admire.



Here's the reason I love this video, it's spot on. For some reason we have started to believe that we deserve not to be offended or have our feelings hurt. The problem is, if someone then offends us we want them to change or we ignore/get rid of the part of them that we deem offensive.

And you can't do that to Jesus.

Jesus was offensive. Jesus is offensive. He had no problem pointing out a sinful condition in a person, going so far as to call His closest follower and future leader of His church "satan". He asked questions that were uncomfortable and hurt going as far as referring to an entire group of people as dogs. He asked people and still asks us to do things that are not easy and may actually make us seem offensive.

And He's still 100% God and 100% love.

If you really want to know Jesus you will be offended. It's impossible not to be. You will have to struggle with Him and who He is and who you are. The only alternative is a safe Jesus kept at a safe distance.

Have you ever kept someone who made you uncomfortable at a safe distance away? How strong was that relationship...?

T