Kansas City Mission Trip Day 6-Friday(June 18, 2010)
6:30 in the morning we were awaken for the final time by Kim’s sweet voice saying “Good morning ladies,” and then proceeding over to us and saying, “OK grumpy corner, time to get up too!” Then it was a whirl-wind. Changing, packing, loading, getting breakfast to go, high 5’s, tears, hugs, pictures, evaluations, free T-shirts, then locked doors and clicked seat belts, a final honk of the horn and we were on our way back to Worthington. We made a pit stop in Omaha, NE on the way back to get some lunch in the Old Market part of town. The Spaghetti Works filled our bellies wonderfully and then the rest of the trip was very uneventful. We arrived back in Worthington around 5ish, we prayed, we laughed (not us, we NEVER laugh), and then we headed home to our own showers, our own beds, and our homes. It was a wonderful week, a life influencing week (especially the Pastoral Lectures ), and we invite anyone who is reading this to ask us about it, because boy do we have stories that we would love to share.
We also want to thank all of you who helped us get to Kansas City and back. Thank you for donating your time, for donating your money, for supporting us, and for praying for us. We are already planning for next year because of the awesomeness of this year and a lot of that was due in large part to you. Thank you so much for everything!
We also want to thank all of you who helped us get to Kansas City and back. Thank you for donating your time, for donating your money, for supporting us, and for praying for us. We are already planning for next year because of the awesomeness of this year and a lot of that was due in large part to you. Thank you so much for everything!
Kansas City Mission Trip Day 5-Thursday(June 17, 2010)
Today is our last full day in Kansas City and we were greeted by beautiful weather and a great day. After breakfast burritos we were introduced to our last theme of the week, “Less Ego, More love.” After some wonderful reflections we split up into our crews again to begin the day. Crew Liz went (as previewed on Wednesday’s note) with the kids from the Bethel Church back to Wyandotte Co. Lake Park to have some fun, free time. After doing some games with the kids and lunch the water activities started. First, it was nice and calm-like with a harmless game of water balloon toss which then escalated quickly into “drenching everyone in sight.” Buckets, Rubbermaids, even traffic cones were used as portals for getting the dry wet. Even though Pastor Liz gave a “Pastoral Lecture” on not getting wet, she still ended up getting soaked.
While all of that was going on Crew Sue Ellen was heading over to Mount Carmel (the Upper Room) where Crew Liz was the day before. They continued to work with the 2nd graders on Math and Reading. Mount Carmel, as we all now reflect, was very formative to each of us during the mission trip—it was awe-inspiring and awe-some! After lunch it was time for their second session of Kid’s Club. Today was a free day so they did arts and crafts, including tie-dying bandanas and crafting things out of clay. The purpose of Kid’s Club, Mount Carmel, and Bethel, on one level or another, is to just be a presence in their live of love. And boy did we love and feel the love in return.
That evening’s activity was a community cook-out where people who lived in the community surrounding Grandview Park were invited to the church for dinner. The pictures really show how amazing the cook-out was! After great food (and a “Carolina” dog for Pr. Liz) we all went inside and learned how to salsa dance. Yippy!!
That evening’s CLUB continued the theme of “More Love, Less Ego,” and it culminated with a foot washing ceremony (which was really hard for Pr. Liz, but I must say that I still feel honored to be able to have done that for the wonder women that sat in that circle!), which was followed by our final small group time and a string ceremony. After 4 ½ really long, hard days we headed off to bed, for our final time in the fellowship hall. Friday brings an extra early wake up with a speedy send off, so sleep well.
While all of that was going on Crew Sue Ellen was heading over to Mount Carmel (the Upper Room) where Crew Liz was the day before. They continued to work with the 2nd graders on Math and Reading. Mount Carmel, as we all now reflect, was very formative to each of us during the mission trip—it was awe-inspiring and awe-some! After lunch it was time for their second session of Kid’s Club. Today was a free day so they did arts and crafts, including tie-dying bandanas and crafting things out of clay. The purpose of Kid’s Club, Mount Carmel, and Bethel, on one level or another, is to just be a presence in their live of love. And boy did we love and feel the love in return.
That evening’s activity was a community cook-out where people who lived in the community surrounding Grandview Park were invited to the church for dinner. The pictures really show how amazing the cook-out was! After great food (and a “Carolina” dog for Pr. Liz) we all went inside and learned how to salsa dance. Yippy!!
That evening’s CLUB continued the theme of “More Love, Less Ego,” and it culminated with a foot washing ceremony (which was really hard for Pr. Liz, but I must say that I still feel honored to be able to have done that for the wonder women that sat in that circle!), which was followed by our final small group time and a string ceremony. After 4 ½ really long, hard days we headed off to bed, for our final time in the fellowship hall. Friday brings an extra early wake up with a speedy send off, so sleep well.
Kansas City Mission Trip Day 4-Wednesday(June 16, 2010)
The sun has finally broken through, and in more than one way. We woke up on Wednesday ready to start our new adventure. After a good breakfast and crew Sue Ellen cleaning the building, we headed up to morning devotions to be introduced to our theme of the day, “More there, Less here”—looking deeply at the motivations that drive our actions—why do we do the things we do—for the Glory or for God. After 2 days on work projects both groups were now switching gears to start working with kids in the neighborhood through different clubs and activities. Crew Sue Ellen participated in YouthWorks Kid’s Club which runs in afternoon (from Monday through Thursday) in the local park for the kids of this neighborhood. There were 5 different rotations including Arts, Games, Reading, Welcome, and Main Street. Games and Songs, Laughter and Smiles drifted on the hot KS air joyfully as the Gospel was shared and love was spread! The girls planned out everything that they were going to do and then did it. It was wonderful to hear all about it and about the special bonds that the girls made with the kids!
Crew Liz also switched gears on Wednesday from work projects to working with kids, but instead of working with YouthWorks’ Kids Club we went to 2 already established ministries and worked there. The first place we went was called the Upper Room at Mount Carmel. Here we worked with a group of 2nd graders on Vocabulary, Math, and Reading. I personally got attached to a little girl named Destiny. She was amazing and watching our girls interact with the kids and watching the kids soak up the information, attention, and love from our girls was awesome! After helping them with lunch we headed over to our second stop of the day, Bethel Church where they run a youth program for kids 9th grade and under. We ate lunch with them, played duck, duck, goose with them, and did arts and crafts with them, and much fun was had by all. We will be returning to Bethel on Thursday to go with them on a field trip to the lake that we went to on Tuesday night for a water fight—fun!!
When we all returned to the church after our day of serving, crew Liz did some more serving as they served up dinner for the night. Our nighttime activity was a trip out to Olivet Baptist Church for a Wednesday night Bible study. For the last 2 years the church meets on Wednesday to read through the Bible together. They started in Genesis and now, a little over 2 years later, we read 3 chapters from the book of Jeremiah. After a really good Bible study we walked outside and were greeted by a full, double rainbow—a sign of God’s promise—SO FITTING!! We then went back to church for CLUB and then we had church small group, and then time for bed—yippy. Tomorrow is our last full day which is bringing many different emotions and feelings. Looking forward to it!
Crew Liz also switched gears on Wednesday from work projects to working with kids, but instead of working with YouthWorks’ Kids Club we went to 2 already established ministries and worked there. The first place we went was called the Upper Room at Mount Carmel. Here we worked with a group of 2nd graders on Vocabulary, Math, and Reading. I personally got attached to a little girl named Destiny. She was amazing and watching our girls interact with the kids and watching the kids soak up the information, attention, and love from our girls was awesome! After helping them with lunch we headed over to our second stop of the day, Bethel Church where they run a youth program for kids 9th grade and under. We ate lunch with them, played duck, duck, goose with them, and did arts and crafts with them, and much fun was had by all. We will be returning to Bethel on Thursday to go with them on a field trip to the lake that we went to on Tuesday night for a water fight—fun!!
When we all returned to the church after our day of serving, crew Liz did some more serving as they served up dinner for the night. Our nighttime activity was a trip out to Olivet Baptist Church for a Wednesday night Bible study. For the last 2 years the church meets on Wednesday to read through the Bible together. They started in Genesis and now, a little over 2 years later, we read 3 chapters from the book of Jeremiah. After a really good Bible study we walked outside and were greeted by a full, double rainbow—a sign of God’s promise—SO FITTING!! We then went back to church for CLUB and then we had church small group, and then time for bed—yippy. Tomorrow is our last full day which is bringing many different emotions and feelings. Looking forward to it!
Kansas City Mission Trip Day 3-Tuesday(June 15, 2010)
Once again Tuesday morning brought on the rain, so after our morning devotions which introduced the theme of “More Be, Less Do,” our work projects of painting houses once again got put on hold, but never fear, there was still plenty for us to do. Both crews, Crew Sue Ellen and Crew Liz (no longer “New Liz” for the “Old Liz” was back) headed out to the church were Crew Sue Ellen was the day before. Our groups split up and started conquering the many projects that the church had in store for us. A few people went to unload and sort through files that dated back to the 1850’s while others continued painting and cleaning the food pantry, while others headed outside to get dirty and gross as they cleaned out window wells, door wells, and trimmed back some tree (huge understatement—I direct you to the pictures!!) After 6 hours of hard labor we headed to the local YMCA for much needed showers and then back to the church for Taco Tuesday. The evening activity took us on the road to Wyandotte Co. Lake Recreational Park where we hung out at a shelter, well equipped with play ground equipment, played games, and also hiked down to the lake. It was beautiful and relaxing—really enabling us to practice our theme of the day of Doing less and just Be-ing. Our return to the church greeted us with snacks and CLUB time where we actually practiced being still and quiet with God. Our small group church time was awesome! We talked about prayer and actually made our own rosters of people for us to pray over and also got a “smiley” reminder so that we will pray for the people on our rosters. All in all it was an awesome day all around! Yippy!
Kansas City Mission Trip Day 2-Monday(June 14, 2010)
Sunday night in Kansas City brought an onslaught of thunderstorms which by the morning had let up quite a bit but made it impossible for us to do our work project for the day—painting houses. So, after a yummy breakfast (prepared by Marin, Ellen, Katrin, Morgan Jensen, Nikki, and Sue Ellen), and a quick cleaning of the building (done by Emily, Kirsten, Morgan Johnson, Kara, Carly, Kerrona, and Pr. Liz), and morning devotions with the theme of “More Courage, Less Fear,” we were given our work site assignments for the day. The first crew, let’s call them crew Sue Ellen, headed over to the Presbyterian Church to start painting the area that they use for their food pantry. After 6 hours of painting they had finished over half of the food pantry walls which took up over 3/4th of the church’s basement. WOW!!! The representative from the church, Kim, gifted the crew with the photo pictorials of the church’s 150 year celebration—one of which we’ll be presenting to the church upon our return to Worthington. The other crew, let’s call them crew New Liz, stayed back at the Presbyterian church do some much needed clean-up and clean-out. So, picture the Ruth Room (in ALC’s basement) filled to the brim with stuff, a lot of stuff; and so crew New Liz (called such because Liz had to attend to some things and she was replaced by Phil, aka, New Liz) pulled everything out of the closet, organized everything, recycled a lot of it, cleaned the room, and then repacked the room. Needless to say our girls did A LOT of work today and they did a WONDERFUL job too! I am so proud of them.
After showers at the local YMCA we came back to the church for another yummy meal—this time pasta, chicken, and other such goodies. Once we had full bellies we set off for our evening activity, a scavenger hunt where we were seeking out 8 different murals painted around Kansas City, KS. Once we found the murals we answered questions, took photos, or even made up songs. It was an amazing night, and, as a special treat on the way back to church, we stopped at a local ice cream shop for a taste of extra yummy goodness.
That brought us to CLUB time (evening worship) where we continued to explore the theme of More Courage and Less Fear. After songs, skits, and a meditation we gathered together as a small group and processed the day and also talked about community: the good, the bad, and the ugly--and about how you feel in a community, and how to find a community that is life-giving and not one that is destructive. Wonderful conversation was shared and many God moments were experienced! After that we returned to our sleeping quarters to hunker down until the next day—which was nice!
After showers at the local YMCA we came back to the church for another yummy meal—this time pasta, chicken, and other such goodies. Once we had full bellies we set off for our evening activity, a scavenger hunt where we were seeking out 8 different murals painted around Kansas City, KS. Once we found the murals we answered questions, took photos, or even made up songs. It was an amazing night, and, as a special treat on the way back to church, we stopped at a local ice cream shop for a taste of extra yummy goodness.
That brought us to CLUB time (evening worship) where we continued to explore the theme of More Courage and Less Fear. After songs, skits, and a meditation we gathered together as a small group and processed the day and also talked about community: the good, the bad, and the ugly--and about how you feel in a community, and how to find a community that is life-giving and not one that is destructive. Wonderful conversation was shared and many God moments were experienced! After that we returned to our sleeping quarters to hunker down until the next day—which was nice!
Kansas City Mission Trip Day 1-Sunday(June 13, 2010)
Our Mission Trip to Kansas City has begun and so far it’s amazing! We headed out of ALC’s parking lot a little after 8 o’clock in the morning and chased rain all the way down to Kansas City. When we pulled up outside of Grandview Park Presbyterian Church we were greeted like royalty! 10 or so people rushed out to greet us, give us name tags, and carry our luggage to our sleeping quarters. As we were waiting for the other groups to arrive we got the grand tour of the church that will be our home for the next 5 days, and then we started playing. We played two games that are new to me: 1) Ninja, and 2) Pterodactyl (my new favorite game of ALL TIME!!!). Once the other groups arrived we ate a scrumptious dinner of Sloppy Joes, Baked Beans, Mac and Cheese, Pears, and Salad (with introductions of our food items sung to us by the staff). After dinner the Adult Leaders Partied and the youth got orientated. After that we all came together for CLUB, which is our nightly worship time. The theme for the week was introduced, “More or Less,” which comes from a reading in John pertaining to increasing Jesus more in our lives as we decrease ourselves and our self-centeredness. After songs, skits, “Yea, God”s, and “Balling Buffalo”s we heading down to our ALC room for Church Group Time where we talked about God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit already being inside of us. God the Father creating us in His image and calling us “Good!” so when we see others they too also have the image of God upon their face, and they too are “Good.” God the Son is in us, redeeming us, healing us, forgiving us, and making us whole as he hung on the cross for our sins—we remembered this and proclaimed this in action as we served Holy Communion to one another. And God the Holy Spirit stirring in us, even now, because we wouldn’t be here if the Holy Spirit wasn’t already at work within us—as we talk, play, sing, meet new people, and serve God’s world. After that we prayed, shared surprises and hopes and are now heading to bed. Tomorrow will bring breakfast duty for half our group and cleaning duty for the other—so yea!?!?! Then off to do God’s mission in God’s world. Have a nice night and see you tomorrow!!!