Mission Trip Summary

I know - this should have posted weeks ago. I have a couple of family vacations in the mix, along with a couple of hectic weeks playing catch-up at the office, so I apologize for the delay. I do want to take just a minute to give you my final thoughts about the mission trips.

Our Chicago mission trip was probably the best mission trip I have taken students on. Their level of contact with really hurting individuals, and the fact that they were put into the shoes of some of them (to an extent) really made the trip hit home. I feel like CSM did such a great job of educating our students about the city we were in so they knew a lot more about the hurting and the problems of the people in the city. The experiential elements to the trip were fantastic! I feel like the students were really taken out of their comfort zone, which is an important thing to do with teenagers. The thing that really makes me feel like this was a great trip is that so many students are bringing it home. Some students are planning a VBS for south Cape in a week and a half. Other students want to get involved into discipleship so that they don't lose their God-high. And that's what it's all about - being the hands and feet of Jesus, and allowing the experience to transform your own life.

Our Cincinnati trip was excellent as well. YouthWorks does a great job of providing students with a first mission trip experience, and this week was no different. Our students worked their tails off without complaining once. And they were able to do so much good for the community. On the last day of the trip, the guys at the food distribution center separated 26,000 pounds of food. WOW! And the other groups worked just as hard. The things that made this trip feel special was the number of setbacks that we had - schedule changes, dislocated thumbs, sickness, etc. There were too many things going wrong for it just to be a coincidence. I think other forces - evil ones - were at play because they were worried that we were doing so much good for the people of Cincinnati. But those forces didn't win! Jesus did!

Thank you for your support in prayer and for reading our updates!

Cinci Day Four

Tanda gave this to me this morning. I thought it was worthy of posting:

Answers to Prayers

Monday night I prayed that God would show me and the girls connections between weeding gardens and serving Him and I also requested to meet new people. Tuesday as I/we spoke to the women at the garden Dorothy made a wonderful statement to us. She needs two knee replacements and can no longer work the garden. She told us what a blessing it was to have us there to pull weeds and help. She said that many times the weeds and work become too much and discourage growth and the desire to continue. As we did the weeding it allowed them to focus on growth and hope. I saw the weeds as a variety of things in our lives that discourage us or keep us from growing to our potential. At times when we were weeding we did not know what was a weed or what was a wanted plant. This showed me that we need fellowship with Christians to help us point out the weeds in our life that keep us from growing to our potential in Christ.

______________________

There have been moments in my week when I have had these same questions: Why are they weeding? What difference is this really making. Praise God for giving our girls the answer!

Riddle: What do you call two adults and two really fun girls, mixed with lots of laughs, meeting new people, getting lost, and very yummy food? A trip to the ER, that's what you call it. After I made my way to work with Tammy's group yesterday, I got a call from Kristy. She told me that Alyssa may have broken her thumb playing extreme dodgeball (she fell on it). I told her to put some ice on it to see if it responded. It didn't get any better, so I met them at the YMCA so we could get showered, then after a brief stop back at the church, I took Alyssa to the ER at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Kelsey went along for the ride, and Nikki - being the site director - came too. I never thought a trip to the ER could be that much fun. We were there for a few hours, and we laughed most of the time. Alyssa too, even though her pain level was a 9 on a scale from 1 to 10 (but you never would have known it by looking at her or talking to her). 

It all started as we were checking in. Mario was the guy at the check-in desk. He asked the standard check-in questions, then he asked to take a look at her thumb. She held up her hand, which looked far from normal. Mario's response: "Whoa! Oh, my! We're going to take you back right now." with a clear sense of urgency on his face. We cracked up at how bad he freaked out at the sight of her thumb. I told him that he'd never make it as a doctor with those kinds of reactions. He informed us that he had, in fact, just applied to medical school. I told him that 'how to respond to injuries' would be covered in one of his classes, for sure. We saw a few more people before being taken to an examining room. We had a sign that hung outside our door that said "Quiet Zone." We were anything but quiet! We laughed and laughed very loudly. I wished I had had my notebook with me so I could write down everything that was said and done for posterity's sake. 

One of the highlights was when I offered Kelsey a nickel to go ask someone what time the ER closed. We could hear when she asked the first person. We were all gathered at the door peeking around the corner. We couldn't see her, but we heard as she tried to ask, but she absolutely busted up midway through her sentence. We lost it! I haven't laughed that hard in a while. She did it again, this time asking one of her doctor's down the hall. When the doctor came back and found out that we had put her up to it, she said, "When she asked, I told her, 'Never,' but I was wondering, because she seemed like such a smart girl."

Alyssa's had two doctors. The first doctor met with her, then later another doctor came to show her the X-ray. As she looked at it with us, she didn't see a break or dislocation, so she took Alyssa's hand and really started to work on her thumb hard. Alyssa was in a lot of pain. Then we went back to the room and waited. Doctor #1 came back and said, "You have a dislocation. The other doctor, the pregnant one, wanted me to tell you that she's really sorry." Well, yeah! We got a laugh out of that, too. Apparently, they were all looking at the wrong joint. Hmmmm...

At one point, Doctor #2, the pregnant one, came back and was working on Alyssa's thumb again, this time trying to put it back in place. I said to her, "So I hear you're pregnant." She didn't respond right away. Then she realized that I was talking to her, and she said, "Oh, I thought you were talking to her [Alyssa]." I said, "NOOO!!!" She mentioned that if that were the case that I must not be that great of a youth pastor.

As we waited to be checked out, the door suddenly opened and a doctor rushed in and said, "Sorry. I have an urgent need for a SpongeBob video." Again, more laughs.

After all of the frivolity, I decided to take the girls out to a nice dinner, since we missed our dinner and evening activity. We ate at Max & Erma's and then, after a short visit to the pharmacy after a long drive to find it, we headed back to the church just in time for bed. I never thought that my personal 'fun' highlight of a mission trip would be a visit to the hospital, but it sure was. At least so far. Please be praying for Alyssa as she is still in quite a bit of pain today.

I didn't have much interaction with the work teams or leaders as a result of the aforementioned adventure. I did get to hang out with Tammy's group for a little while, though. They moved to a new site, Over the Rhine Community Housing. This is a group that provides low-income individuals with affordable, quality housing. They own 95 buildings with 220 units total. The girls were going to work outside, but since it was raining, they were taken to a warehouse/garage to clean and organize. When I got there, it seemed like they didn't have very much direction, as they couldn't really tell me what to do to help. I didn't like that. But none of them seemed bothered by it. They cleaned and moved stuff around with joy. They are much better at serving with a sense of joy than I am.

Another change has been with Lexi and Julia. Yesterday they stayed at the church to help paint. While that and the weeding has been OK, Tanda has sensed that maybe they would like some more interaction with some of the other students. I though at the beginning of the week that just having two students in the one group wasn't the best set-up, but we went with it. But today, with Alyssa staying back and one other student from another church going to a different site, we had the freedom to send Lexi and Julia out to City Cure to play with kids with Kristy's group. They seemed pretty excited about it.

For last night's evening activity, our group visited Tabernacle Baptist Church, then came back for club and church group time. I'm not sure what happened, if God was working on some students or if there was something else going on or what, but there were a few of our students crying. When they were approached and asked what was wrong, they didn't say anything. So please be praying for our students with this situation in mind. I don't know how to ask you to pray, because none of us adult leaders know really what is going on, but God does. So lift them up. I will keep their names confidential to protect them, in case they don't want it known that they were crying in front of everyone.

I'm going to go now to see how Tanda is doing back at the church (she stayed back to paint) and then will eat lunch and head out to City Cure to play with kids again. Darn. :-) We look forward to seeing you all soon. Don't forget to check out the pics...

Cinci Day Three

We are officially past the halfway mark, and it's starting to show. The students that were so gung-ho the first day were a little less so yesterday. As Tanda said, "These kids are working so hard. I know my daughter (Lexi) has never worked THIS hard before." But as tired as they are, they continued to work hard with a very positive attitude. That's what we like to see. But this morning I definitely noticed the fatigue setting in on some of their faces. That's to be expected.

There's not a whole lot new to report today. Many of the reports were very similar to the reports from the first day: we pulled weeds, we separated cans of food, we played  with kids, we cut down honeysuckle. Not a whole lot of new information from the work sites. There are new pictures from City Cure - Kristy's site - which is where I ended up yesterday. I got to play basketball with Devon and get shot by Super Soakers by VonVon. It was so rough! :-) There was also a Mike Mike at the site, so Kristy started calling me Fitz Fitz. The girls there are doing such a great job being totally interactive with the kids and focusing on them instead of on themselves. I did get to meet Gordon, the youth pastor from the church that does this program. What a trip! He is this hip, street, late 40's white guy who pours his life into these little kids. He blew in to give a short talk about repentance and then took off to another site. But during his talk, he looked at me and said, "You're God!" It was a little shocking. Basically he 

was asking me to pose as God for an interactive demonstration of repentance. I've never had someone call me god before. It was unnerving.

We broke early from our work sites yesterday because our evening activity actually took place in the afternoon. We went to the Freedom Center, which celebrates the Underground Railroad in America. The layout of the museum wasn't nearly as user-friendly as the Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham, but there was a lot of good information, interesting displays, and informative movies. The two things that stood out to me were:

• A box that a slave enclosed himself in to ship himself to Philadelphia - free territory. The box was only 2'8" x 2'8" x 3'0", and the man was 5'9" and 200 lbs. I thought about how terrible his situation must have been to put himself through that to be free.
  
• 
• A piece of artwork that showed various aspects of the slave trade. One of the images showed a black baby being sold at auction and being taken away from his mother. Now that I am a dad of small children, that image hit home even more forcefully than it may have otherwise.

After dinner we had some extended free time, so I took our crew to experience Graeter's Ice Cream, my personal favorite. I don't think it disappointed at all. There is definitely much ice cream being consumed on this trip!

We had our normal club experience, which reminds me of a great comment by Rachel. Someone was complaining a little bit about club, that's is not as big and flashy as they may be used to with The Porch. Rachel said, "They put a lot of work into it, so I think we should be grateful." I gave her a high-five and praised her for her attitude in front of several other students. But then after club, we had a powerful church group time. We covered our work days, which got the normal kind of comments, but then when we started talking about the Freedom Center, things changed a bit. The air got a little heavier as we experienced something pretty serious and sobering. Several kids mentioned feeling very sad as a result. There were tears shed by students and SIMYs alike. I then took the opportunity to encourage them to not simply be sad about what they saw but to get angry. I pointed out that a lot of times, we get sad when we see something like that, but in a day or two, we're not sad anymore. But when we get mad, it tends to burn in our belly until we do something about it. I want our students to get mad about issues of injustice and slavery and poverty, so much so that they are determined to make a difference. God is working to make things right in the world, and he wants to use us. So let's let Him. Will we rid the world of slavery or poverty or racism? No. But can we do our part to make a dent. That is what I hope our students will do.

**Apology alert: Before you hear it from your students, I wanted to let you know that I used some strong language during our discussion in church group time. I used two phrases in particular that may offend. One, I told them that I wanted them to get 'pissed off' about the things in the world that aren't right. Two, I quoted the movie Network in saying that I wanted them to have the attitude of saying, "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!" If this offends you - or if it offended your child - I am truly sorry. My goal was not to offend, but to emphasize how bad these situations are and how badly God wants to work through them to make a change. I hope you understand.**

I think that's about all for today. Don't forget to check out the pictures as there are new ones. And I bought a new camera yesterday, so after today the pictures should be much better. I will close with two funny comments:

• Someone used the word 'esophagus.' Alyssa asked if that was a vegetable.
• This morning before devo time, Ellie asked me, "Can you say 'tutti-frutti' when you hiccup?" I told her that I honestly have never tried. She said, "Its really hard." And I truly think she knows from experience.

Cinci Day Two

Well, it's the beginning of day two, which means this will be a report on day one. I know, it's confusing. But try to keep up. :-)

Yesterday was our first day at our work sites. Suffice it to say that our students worked hard - sometimes at jobs that they didn't really know why they were doing it - accomplished much and all with a great attitude. You parents have done a good job of raising your kids with a good work ethic and great attitudes, even if the circumstances are not the best. Mad props to you!

After I finished blogging and uploading pictures yesterday to our Flickr site (BTW, there are new pictures today from yesterday), I ran to the store to pick up a few items for various people - toothbrush, air mattress, etc. - and headed over to the FreeStore Food Bank. I got there just as the work team (Ryan's) was finishing up lunch and was getting ready to watch a movie about the ministry that FreeStore provides. So I ate my lunch and watched with them. This is a ministry that not only distributes donated food to food pantries all over the area, but also helps people process their food stamps, provides hot meals for kids, and teaches people to be chefs so they have a marketable trade, among other things. The team had a great time there separating barrels of non-perishable  food into various categories: corn from beans from tomatoes from sauces from fruit, etc. By the end of the day they had separated 18,000 pounds of food. That is not a typo. Nine tons of food they separated! WOW! What a great job! And they had a lot of fun doing it, too. I think they are feeling it today. They will be there again today, then off to a different site. And just a side note, he guys in Ryan's team now refer to him as 'Dad.' (and me as the evil stepdad)

Tammy's group went to Eden Park yesterday. She said the park was beautiful, but they went into the woods and helped tear down some honeysuckle and other plants that would be damaging to the other plants around them. It would have been natural for the students to whine and complain for not being able to do something that may seem more mission trippy. But Tammy said that their attitude was great, that she heard not one grumble. And many of the students came back feeling pretty good about themselves about the work they were able to accomplish. And they said that there were no bugs and they were in the shade. Must have been a God thing. And also, apparently our friend Sergei has a good singing voice as he serenaded the group from the pavilion. He is definitely the kids that everyone will be talking about when we get home!

Tanda's group helped weed a couple of neighborhood gardens. The first one was for kids to help them learn about stewardship, but they only encountered one kid that day, Cameron. Then they helped weed another garden, the food from which was distributed to senior citizens. Tanda had a great time, but I think Lexi struggled a bit since it seemed like they weren't really interacting with anyone. She didn't complain about it; just a sense I get.

Kristy's team went to City Cure, which puts on a day camp for kids. They were greeted by a crazy white youth pastor in his late 40's who rapped for them. An interesting greeting, to say the least. The kids absolutely loved this guy (Gordon)! And they loved on the kids in a big way! Kristy had some expectations for how our students would do, and she said they far exceeded them. Gordon had set the groundwork by telling them that they were not to be talking with each other, but instead to be interacting with the kids that came, and our students jumped into that task with both feet. They had a ball! Kristy said that Mikayla probably had more fun than even the kids that came to the camp. She also said that it was neat to see some of the quiet kids come out of their shell, and the clique-y kids be not so much.

During our team leader meeting each day, we go around and report how our day went. When it got to be Ken from Michigan's turn, he had a stern look on his face as he said, "I had a terrible day." We were on the edge of our seats to hear what went wrong. He went on to say, "I had to play laser tag all day. It was awful!" We absolutely cracked up! He totally set us up. But he went to go on to say that there was a kid that came that was in a wheelchair who had never played laser tag before, so Ken pushed him around the course while he worked the gun. They both had a fantastic time, and they came in the top 10. Fun stuff!

Also in the leader's meeting, Nikki told us how important youth leaders were in her life and spiritual development. It's always good for volunteers to hear that, so I'm glad she shared her heart.

Last night for our evening activity we walked across the Purple People Bridge. We started on the Kentucky side, walked across to Cinci, and then back again. Before venturing into Newport on the Levee for ice cream, we stopped to pray for the Cincinnati. This was cool, but it's also a little discouraging for me - the youth leader - to see how hesitant our kids are to pray out loud. I'm not sure yet if there's something I need to do differently, but it is something I have noticed. After praying, we went into Newport and the kids got hopped up on sugar: ice cream, sno cones, candy. It's a very nice little shopping and eating area. The kids don't know it yet, but we will be returning there on Friday for our fun activity: The Newport Aquarium.

Club last night was a mix of the silly and the serious. It started with a fashion show. Youth Enterprise is a ministry connected to YouthWorks that makes and sells t-shirts and pours the money back into the ministries. The YW staff pushes the shirts all week, so last night we had a fashion show, of which Ryan, Tammy and I were a part. It was very silly! You can see the shirts we modeled on Flickr. Later during club, Alicia shared from her heart and life, a life of alcohol and drug consumption from the time she was in 6th grade. She continued this lifestyle until last spring ('07) when she lost three close friend to death. This helped to serve as a wake-up call that she needed to get right with God, which she did. I hope and pray that the kids were listening and that this story will come to mind when the face similar temptations as they pass through these teen years.

I asked everyone where they saw God in their days. We had many various responses. I then told them that I saw God in how they served and with their attitudes. It is exciting for me to see so many of our students allow themselves to be used by God to be a part, an instrument for what He is trying to do in the world to make everything right again. In closing, I read the lyrics from Remedy by the David Crowder* Band. I will leave you with those lyrics, and also remind you that we will be going to the Freedom Center today. Please pray that the students take this time seriously and allow it to open their eyes to injustice still in the world today. Thanks, and here are those lyrics I promised.

David Crowder* Band - Remedy

Here we are

Here we are

The broken and used

Mistreated, abused

Here we are

Here You are

Here You are

The beautiful one

Who came like a Son

Here You are

So we lift up our voices

We open our hands

To cling to the love

That we can't comprehend

Oh, lift up your voices

And lift up your heads

To sing of the love

That has freed us from sin

He is the one

Who has saved us

He is the one

Who embraced us

He is the one who has come

And is coming again

He's the remedy

Here we are

Here we are

Bandaged and bruised

Awaiting a cure

Here we are

Here You are

Here You are

Our beautiful King

Bringing relief

Here You are with us

So we lift up our voices

And open our hands

Let go of the things

That have kept us from Him

He is the one

Who has saved us

He is the one

Who forgave us

He is thee one who has come

And is coming again

He's the remedy

Oh, I can't comprehend

I can't take it all in

Never understand

Such perfect love come

For the broken and beat

For the wounded and weak

Oh, come fall at his feet

He's the remedy

He's the remedy

So sing, sing

You are the one

Who has saved us

You are the one

Who forgave us

You are the one who has come

And is coming again

To make it alright

Oh, to make it alright

You're the remedy

Oh, in us

You're the remedy

Let us be the remedy

Let us bring the remedy

It's Cincinnati's Turn!

We made it safely to Cincinnati in about the amount of time we had expected. We would have been there quite early, but then the post-lunch potty breaks started kicking in. We still got in with about an hour to spare - plenty of time to claim our space, set up our beds, and relax. The trip was fairly uneventful, and only one student - Alyssa - got a little car sick. Nothing serious, just a little queasy.

Dinner last night featured Sloppy Joes (which prompted our students to sing the Sloppy Joes song from Xtreme Camp), mac and Cheese, and watermelon - much different than the ethnic cuisine on the senior high trip. Taylor did get a little extra treat - a small piece of cake to celebrate her 13th birthday.

After dinner we had our orientations so we knew what the rules were, what the ministry sites were, and how the week would play out. We have some good YouthWorks staff this week: Nikki, our site director, is from Atlanta, and loves teens and missions; Alicia, our urban staff, is from South Bend, IN; Kyle, our other urban staff, is from Cincinnati; and Mary, our club staff, is getting ready to graduate from Princeton Seminary (smarty-pants).

After orientation we had our first club. Think mini-Porch, and you have a general idea what that looks like: we sing some songs, they do a skit or two, and we hear a short message. The theme for the week is 'Jump', as in, there are some things that God will call you to do that require more than taking a step of faith, they require more like a jump of faith. Last night we focused on Mary's jump of faith as she said yes to God who told her that she would give birth to Jesus. Judging from the conversation we had after that during church group time, many of our students are taking a jump this week as they expressed nervousness about this week. I asked them all to come up with three word to describe how they were feeling about this week. Here were their responses:

• Cory: Very, very nervous.
• Casey: Ecstatic. Happy. Thankful.
• Riley: Nervous. Confused. Excited.
• Kristen: I am excited.
• Meredith: I am unsure. (and yeah)
• Candace: I am excited.
• Taylor: Ready, but nervous.
• Kelsey: Nervous and Excited.
• Ellie: Excited. Disoriented. Prepared?
• Mikayla: Nervous. Excited. Thankful.
• Alyssa: Excited and nervous.
• Tammy: Thankful. Way excited!
• Ryan W.: Nervous. Excited. Expectations.
• Ryan L.: Anxious. Excited. Flexible.
• Houston: I don't know.
• Tyler: Super, uber-excited!
• Tanda: Unsure. Grateful. Ready.
• Lexi: Anxious and tiresome.
• Julia: I'm extremely excited!
• Fitz: Uncertain. Sad. Jazzed.
• Kristy: Grateful. Hope. Distractions.
• Morghan: Straight up ready.
• Rachel: Excited. Expecting. Uncomfortable.
• Larissa: Excited. Scared. Nervous.

I will let you follow up with your own child to find out why they picked the words they did.

This morning, the students learned what work groups they would be in and who they would be with and what they would be doing. Here is what they learned:

Kristy's Group (each team has a creative name, but I forgot to write them down)

Job: City Cure (working with kids at a day camp in the Over the Rhone community, where 95% of the families live below the poverty line)

• Kristen
• Morghan
• Kelsey
• Alyssa
• Candace
• Mikayla
• Taylor
• Larissa
• and students from other churches

Ryan's Group

Job: FreeStore Food Bank (sorting food for a food distributor that distributes 10 million pounds of food donations each year)

• Houston
• Tyler
• Cory
• Ryan
• and students from other churches

Tammy's Group

Job: Eden Park (helping park managers to clear out some overgrown plants)

• Meredith
• Rachel
• Riley
• Ellie
• Casey
• and students from other churches

Tanda's Group

Job: Neighborhood Gardens (help maintain some gardens owned by a not-for-profit organization that uses the gardens to help teach stewardship and finances to at-risk teens)

• Julia
• Lexi
• and students from other churches

Speaking of other churches, we are spending the week with teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Buffalo, and Michigan. I don;t feel so bad about the length of our drive after hearing some of their stories.

Tonight our evening activity will be to walk over the Purple People Bridge into Newport, KY. It is the longest pedestrian-only bridge in the U.S. connecting two states. But the evening activity I'm really excited about is going to the Freedom Center tomorrow. It celebrates the underground railroad. Knowing how moving the Civil Rights Museum was for our students in Birmingham, I expect much of the same from this.

A couple of random notes:

• We now know the kid that everyone will be talking about after the trip is over: Sergei. He is an extremely extroverted 6th grader from Wisconsin who was adopted from Russia when he was two. He is a trip!
• Ellie got to sleep with Pinky last night, a stuffed pig. Not sure why.
• When we did 'Yea God's last night (an opportunity to praise God for what he's doing), Kyle introduced the 'Yea God Orb.' Someone said, "Orb?" He said, "Yeah. It's spherical." OK, it's not funny in print, but it was quite funny live.
• When we were getting a tour of the church, I saw a stained-glass window that featured Jesus with a turtle at his feet. I pointed this out to Ryan as being odd to me. He said that maybe Jesus was slow. I said, "Jesus wasn't swift of foot." Again, probably not funny in print, and I normally don't brag on my funny comments, but Tammy made me include this.
• Cory was bragging about how he put his lunch on top of the ice pack in the cooler so he would have a cool lunch. Tyler said, "I told you. That's a first-aid kit. It won't keep your lunch cool." Funny!

I am off now. I will upload some pictures to our Flickr site. Please forgive the quality as our camera doesn't do well indoors. And then it's off to Wal-Mart to pick up some stuff and then to the FreeStore Food Bank. Thanks for reading and for allowing your child to come on this trip with us.

Chicago Testimonies, Part 5: Eddy, Zach, Drew, Curtis, Morgan, Sydney

Thanks, Thanks, Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this team and shared this incredible week with everybody. My prayer and hope is that we use what we learn here in Chicago back in our city and try to be a blessing to those in need back home. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen out here but I learned that I have to learn the Bible and really try to put God first in everything I do. I enjoyed getting to know Danny and the kids in my group. They showed me a lot. Thanks again and I hope that I can be a part of this ministry back home. I wish I would have gotten to know you a bit more.
-Eddy Casasola

This week has given me a lot, most of which I didn’t expect. From coming on a trip to getting out of the house for a week to not really wanting to go and it maybe would have been easier to stay home and sit in my undies til 2pm (honest) to sticking it out without my normalnality (cell phone, iPod, Sportscenter, MySpace) to being touched by people in need, kids that I would never have met before and they helped me realize that I was the one in need.
-Zach Moyers

I’ve read this verse every day for months and I think I ought to share it: Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. – 1 Cor. 13:4-8 This sums it up for me.
-Drew Nall

I learned a lot about myself during the mission trip. I learned that I need to have more patience. I also learned that even if nobody notices something good that you do, God notices.
-Curtis Mathson

During my stay in Chicago this week I experienced many mixed emotions. Sometimes I felt happy to be there, which was most of the time, because I knew we were doing such great things. Another part of me felt so thankful for everything I have, which is so much more than the children we worked with had. Normally, I’m always wanting more, the more expensive name brands I owned the better. Since my time serving in Chicago my relationship with God has grown to the moon and back. I’ve always had a strong relationship with Him, but it is always growing.
-Morgan Bean

This week while walking around Chicago, I learned that on the streets, seeing every person walk by, are made different but all by the same God. If they’re homeless, poor, rich, you should not put them into your mind as a person of a lower standard than yourself. I learned not to be scared if I am approached, because most times, all anyone wants is to talk to someone or simply say hi. Never once put your head down and walk on or ignore someone by looks. Just think, would that be how you would want to be treated?
-Sydney Ozbun

Chicago Testimonies, Part 4: Miranda, Matt, Jacob, Cori, Hillary

I’ve had a great week. I’ve met so many people that are so great. Everyone has made this week so easy for me. At first I thought I would have a hard time getting to know everyone but it was the total opposite. Not only did I meet all those people from the church but being able to spend my week with those precious children was life-changing. Something as simple as colors made them so happy. It made me realize I wish I still had that mindset. To be so happy about such a simple thing, and to see the smile on their faces was one of the best feelings in the world…I think today the older people get the more visual we become, and when it comes to God I can’t be that way. I need to have the simplicity and faith that those kids have to become closer to God. I think the kids helped me with this. The funny thing is I came on this trip expecting to help these kids and to help make their life a little better. What I wasn’t expecting happened. I started talking more, I prayed out loud, I became closer to God. What happened was that these kids changed my life for the good. I thank all of them for teaching me what is important in life. This trip has changed me and guided me on the direction that I believe God wants me to be on…P.S. I just want to thank everyone that made this trip possible. The leaders and CSM staff were awesome and I enjoyed spending the week with them. Without them this mission wouldn’t have been possible. So THANKS! I love you all!
-Miranda Middleton

I had an amazing time this week! Working with the kids showed me that they didn’t have a very good home life and they really attach onto anyone that shows them love and compassion. They changed my life on this trip and I want to take that to Cape and work with kids and making their lives a little better. I know that there are the same things in Cape that I saw in Chicago. I never noticed any homeless or needy people in Cape, but God has shown me how bad it is all over America and how we can help.
-Matt Griffith

This week has been awesome. It has helped me with many things like:
• Working with little kids
• Approaching new people
• Talking to people
• Speaking publicly
And it has also helped me spiritually. Some things I wished we would have done would be having worship (singing) and just talking more about God. This trip is definitely going to have an effect on my life in the future, not just this week.
-Jacob Gentry

This week at Chicago has definitely changed me. Last year I said I wanted to do something after but I didn’t have my heart in it. But this year I really mean it. When I get back I’m gonna get involved in anything I can. Right before the mission trip the dedication for Pastor Thomas’ house went on. It was great for me to have that experience right before the trip. It got me really excited and ready. I’ve realized that kids that don’t have a good home life are definitely what I want to help and work with. I’ve become so close with all the people in my group and with everyone that came. I hope we continue to do stuff as a group and stay close. This trip was really eye-opening and showed me how hard life would be if I was homeless. I’m very thankful for my family and for everything I have. I’ve noticed that I take a lot of things for granted. I hope I can change for the better and live my life for God.
-Cori Shockley

This trip has changed the way I view everyday life. After meeting the kids at Casa Central, I am more appreciative of what I have. Since a lot of the kids come from brokenness I’m thankful my parents are still together and love me. Meeting the people on the streets and the people at the soup kitchen was pretty cool. We might have been an answer to someone’s prayers. I was very nervous about this trip, but it was a lot of fun. I plan to go on more trips in the future. It has given me a way to help out. It has also helped get more connected with the youth group. It let me see a different Chicago.
-Hillary Caldwell

Chicago Testimonies, Part 3: Anthony, Meredith, Nate, Michael, Blake O.

This week has been an eye-opening experience. I’ve learned that I’m so blessed with my home life and parents. Without my parents I would not know where I would be in my walk with Christ. This trip has reignited my walk with Christ. I need to pray and outreach more and read my Bible more. I’m excited to shine brighter for Jesus and not hold back anything!
-Anthony Watts

In Chicago I have experienced prayer. I finally got the nerve to stand up in front of others and speak to God in front of them. It was very nerve-racking but I did it. I can now handle praying before dinner inn The Porch and other places when I have the chance. As well as others I’m extremely sad to leave the children. I fell in love with them. I hope that as they see these volunteers coming in each week from different youth groups, that they will begin being active in a youth group and serve God. I pray that they make wise choices for their future. I have also experienced confusion, and a lot of it. Ever since doing the devotions in our folders and reading about Chicago, I have wondered why God puts people in the places of hunger, poor, and the homeless. I want to fix it so badly. So What?? I want to continue to pray for the children, the hungry, the poor, and the homeless. I will pray that God’s hope and love surrounds each and every one of them. I will try to do my best to touch the children and adults lives in Cape. I hope that God will open my eyes and lead me into situations where I can spread His love to others.
-Meredith Grissom

This week has been amazing! God really spoke to me this week and it was awesome to get to know and bond with the people in our youth group. This week God showed me that we are truly His hands and feet, literally our hands and feet, God is working through! He showed me that I need to drop my pride and be real and authentic with everyone and God. He also showed me / helped me learn to keep a sharper eye to watch out for false prophets, people who say but not live the word of God, and to test / question everything. He has strengthened me to fight the good fight and He has given me a greater hunger and thirst for HIS WORD. PRAISE GOD! HE IS GOOD!
-Nate Nall

I learned that we must hope to work together, no matter the differences we have. Love each other, help the needy, worship and pray for problems we face.
-Michael Denmark

Chicago was a life-changing experience for me. I have never felt God’s presence as much as I did while in Chicago. The feeling was amazing. While in Chicago, I had so much fun with the kids and the homeless. It made me feel so fortunate and I am very grateful. Overall, this trip truly changed me and my fire for God has never been greater. I hope to bring this feeling back to Cape.
-Blake Ozbun

Chicago Testimonies, Part 2: Sydnei, Kylie, Kara, Myles, Blake K.

When I came to Chicago I cam to make a change for not only myself, but for Chicago. I really found God this week, not only in preaching, but in people I never thought possible. I spent every day at Casa Central, and I really made a bond with a girl named Janise. She’s the most amazing kid ever. She gave me hope, to never give up. When I had to leave, and told her I was never coming back, I started crying harder than ever. I realized God was telling me that was my path. I may never be able to change the whole world as spreading God’s word, but I’m sure going to try my hardest. As I leave Chicago, I’m leaving a huge piece of my heart not only to everyone I helped, but to Chicago itself. I’ve learned more this week than my whole life following Christ, and I’m never going to forget this trip. And I thank God for giving me this chance to learn from Him.
-Sydnei Lemmons

The main reason I loved the mission trip this year is because I love a challenge. There is no better feeling to me than getting my hands dirty, digging into a situation that I’m passionate about, and stripping away all of my “uncomfortable feelings” or “boundary zones.” Even being in situations that need Jesus so much, I can’t help but to love Him even more. Last year in my mission trip to Birmingham I took away a fire lit in me to shine Jesus’ light to the world. This year I feel like I used that fire to challenge myself to shine Jesus’ love the best I can and trying to strengthen my relationship with Him. While playing tag with kindergarteners, feeding the homeless, losing bingo with senior citizens who spoke little English, building friendships, and even being a part of a chicken riot, Jesus helped open my eyes to what needs to be done in this world. He helped me break previous stereotypes and humble me, gave me a huge reality check and too many blessings to count. However, the thing that I realized the most this week is how active God is in my life. He loves me and all these people in Chicago and everywhere in the world. Every aspect of my life is touched by Jesus and I know He is actively working in my life.
-Kylie Goodier

To put everything I took out of this week in one perspective, my own, when so many more are involved is hard – I don’t know where to start. Do I start with the love of the kids? The hope of those on the street? The acceptance of the community? Or the realization that our week of help did benefit some, but it’s not enough? We could stay the entire summer and not do enough. Plan A never works, as I very well learned this week. But through our changed plans, I learned to see the impact and influence of God’s work, through us, in the what appears to be small situations and know that I cannot see the full effect of His work. The enthusiasm and joy on the children’s faces when they saw us for the second time reminded me of how I should view Jesus every time I see Him. “Everywhere you go, I go,” so said one child to me. Everywhere I go, Jesus comes – He will never leave me alone. And just how I carried kids as they tired, God carries me as I live, showing unconditional love. Faith, hope, and love were three outstanding themes this week – 1 Cor. 13:13.
-Kara Goodier

The trip to Chicago was amazing to me. It was a huge life-changing experience for me. I loved working with the kids and cleaning up WE CAN. Becca was a great leader. This was probably my most serious I have ever taken a mission trip. My relationship with God grew so much and it’s on a very big high right now. Overall this was a great experience for me and others.
-Myles Edwards

This week has been an amazing, eye-opening experience. Last year was great, but this year absolutely changed me. I definitely didn’t really expect much out of this mission trip based on stories I’d heard saying that the 1st mission trip is always the best. This mission trip helped me be more compassionate and sympathetic to homeless people, since I got to be “homeless” for a night, which was not easy to do. I’m definitely going to be looking for opportunities in Cape to continue the work only made possible through God that began here in Chicago.
-Blake Kidd

Chicago Testimonies, Part 1: Matt, Taylor, Shelby, Lauren, and David

Working with inner-city kids showed me how much love can change people. I was only with these kids for five days and the bonds we made formed quickly and became strong. These kids hunger for love. This is a great model for what love does and how much love is needed.
-Matt Leimer

I had an amazing time on this trip. It really changed my perspective on homeless people. I used to think that all homeless people were just lazy and druggies. But they do want to change. And the little kids are so eager to be loved, and it opened my eyes about how much I can do by just visiting a child less fortunate than me.
-Taylor Quade

I have been on two mission trips before this one and none of them have ever hit me like this one. I can already see the difference in myself! Every mission trip I have been on I always think I will be building a house or something like that and I never do and it always bugged me but I finally got to build something! I got to build relationships with everyone this week and I will never forget this trip because everything I learned this week will go home with me and be put into my life.
-Shelby Halter

Convincing myself after four mission trips that not moving mountains while on the trip is okay. Over the week I struggled with this idea immensely; I did not understand how I had not had that one truly motivating moment that would redirect my life back to Christ. But now that I am looking back over my trip I realized: It is my responsibility as a Christian to keep my life focused on Him. So, my prayer is – and will remain to be – that even after I leave a constant “Christian atmosphere” I will keep my focus on my Father. I appreciate every obstacle I faced and hope I can use them to grow and mature in my relationship with my Provider.
-Lauren Kalb

This week was an amazing experience. This week I really came closer to God. It was the first time I have really read the Bible and prayed seriously and aloud. This week was definitely a heart-changing experience and I feel like I actually know God now. Two weeks ago I accepted God for the first time at Young Life camp because before that I kinda just faked being a Christian. So I think this week was the start of something amazing that’s going to happen in my life with God.
-David Watts

We Have Wi-Fi!!!

Right of the top, allow me to apologize for the blog silence. After two days of being able to connect at Starbucks in the mornings, all of a sudden they switched out their equipment and I was unable to get online at all yesterday. It was looking like more of the same today, but the barista here - Brittany, who happens to be a part of an eight-month-old church plant in the area - was able to connect me on the North Park network. WOO-HOO!!! This may be the last post until after the trip is over, however, since we leave tomorrow morning and I will not have a chance to post then. I wish I had been able to post more this week, but stuff happens, right?

Some of you read a little about The Immersion experience that some of our students have had (the others are scheduled to do it today). I gave a very brief and uninformed description of it (I say 'uninformed' because I have not done it). I understand that some of you have expressed concern about this activity. Allow me to say that I would never willingly or knowingly put any of your kids in harm's way. If I had thought this activity was unwise or unsafe, I would not let them do it. That being said, my knowledge of it is still limited, so I asked a few of the people that have done it to share with you about it. Here is what they had to say:

• Shelly (SIMY): It was awesome - students felt it was reassuring and made the city more inviting. Leader was present, students felt they were more in charge and had a wonderful experience learning about public transportation. They enjoyed getting to know the people and finding out about Chicago. No begging but asking to work to get a better meal. They worked together to become closer. They wanted more time. Very safe area they sent us to. No one ever felt like they were uncomfortable. Great experience. Our group is still talking about it and loved the experience.


• Chris (SIMY): The Immersion into city has been an experience that I believe will have an everlasting impact on my life as well as the students'. We traveled on public transportation to one of the most prominent neighborhoods in Chicago along the Magnificent Mile, where we played out the scenario of being immigrants new to the Chicago area. With only two dollars for the each of us (Kara, Miranda, Blake O., Myles, and myself), we were to find dinner and places that a family would stay. Dinner did not come easily. Outside of the "Dollar Menu" at the McDonald's, it would be relatively impossible to keep a family fed for two dollars per person. The five of us were able to split two hot dogs, fry, and a bag of chips. Least to say that none of us felt fulfilled after that meal. Along with the search for food, we talked with several people who informed us that most of the shelters for the homeless had closed down in this area. It was brutal reality that slapped us in the face. The overall "Immersion into City" was an excellent experience that opened all of our eyes and our hearts. The need for help in this city is growing which made us become more aware of places even closer to home, if not home.


• Anthony: When we did the Immersion activity, we were given $2 for lunch/dinner and they gave us a transportation pass to get around on the L train and buses. We were supposed to act like teen runaways. The activity was an amazing experience! I'm so glad we were able to do this. They sent us to very good places and if we were getting too off-track the leader would tell us. I've learned that being homeless in Chicago is very, very hard, and to get a job and pay for an apartment is almost impossible for them. In my opinion it showed us the real world and showed me how spoiled I am. In no way was I worried or concerned about where we were. Kids younger than 9 are out on the streets...so I see no reason we can't do it for 3 hours.

If you had concerns as a parent, I hope this sets those aside. If not, I would ask for your trust in this venture, and for your patience to not pass judgment until you have heard a first-hand report from your own child. Thanks!

On Wednesday, I had every intention of leaving the apartment (finally) to go to a ministry site, since my illness had kept me cooped up. However, Derek woke up with a bad headache and stomachache and he couldn't go. Thinking it unwise and unsafe and a potential threat to my job as a youth pastor to leave him behind by himself, I stayed back to hang with him. If he woke up and started feeling better, I would have taken him to his site, but he didn't wake up until his team returned that afternoon. So I got some reading done and got to know my bedroom even better.

That evening, we went to Lou Malnati's for deep dish pizza. The story behind this place was interesting. It is a chain of Chicago-style pizza, and a pastor who started a church and was doing ministry in the Lawndale area (a rough part of Chicago) asked them to open a shop there. They were hesitant, but eventually gave in, and now all of their proceeds go to this church and its ministries. Pretty cool...and yummy! It destroyed my stomach, but that's OK.

After dinner we went to the Chicago Food Depository. This is a huge warehouse that supplies food to all of the shelters and food pantries in Chicago (a LOT of them). Our students would be helping to fill emergency food boxes. The work required wearing long pants, which Derek didn't have. I didn't find this out until we were there. I wanted him to work and not sit this out, too, so I asked him what size pants he wore: 32". I told him that he could try trading with me and I would sit out. The problem: I wear a size 35". We went to the bathroom and managed to trade trousers. I haven't put on size 32" anything in a LONG time! Let's just say it wasn't helping my upset stomach at all. but Derek got to work, so it was worth it. Our crew packed 847 emergency food boxes, which I think is pretty good!

That night I met with a different group for debriefing. Here are a couple of nuggets from that conversation:

• Matt - he shared about being scared about not taking this experience home and having it make a difference


• Danny - he was very vulnerable about his life and about how your positivity or negativity towards someone else can affect someone for a very long time


• Hillary - she expressed being very thankful for the foundation she received by her parents sending her to and being educated in a private Christian school


• Nate - he said that is not thankful enough for the blessings he has every day


• Sydnei L. - she said that this experience has made her want to bring God to these people


• Cori - she talked about wanting to bring hope

It was a great conversation, and I challenged them to find a way to take it home, that it's not enough to have a great week and that's it. I would encourage you parents and SIMYs to help fan the flames in their hearts when they get home so that they don't burn out.

Yesterday, I finally made it to a ministry site. WOO-HOO!!! I went with Team Wrigley to the Circle Rock School, an almost year-round school. Our students were helping to tutor and teach in the classroom. The environment was very strict, which I had a difficult time with. Windall said he had the same thought at the beginning of the week, but he (and I) realized that it was probably exactly what these kids needed...and it worked! I helped tutor the kindergartners with David and Kylie, the first-graders with Shelby and Meredith, stopped in to see Jacob and Matt (they weren't given much to do, unfortunately), listened as Lauren, Zach, and Windall read stories, and heard stories from Karen about how she was able to teach science to the fifth graders. Our group did some great work! And the students really latched onto them. It was neat to witness.

After a short jaunt to the beach, everyone that is serving with CSM - about 175 of us - gathered on the North Park campus for a time of games and tacos. We hung out and ate and played together. It was very fun and to see that many people that came to the city to serve. After we ate we went into the chapel for a time of corporate worship and we listened to a speaker from the city. Then our team grabbed a section of lawn to debrief. I posed the three-part question: What is the thing you experienced/did this week that captured your attention? How did it make you feel? So what? There were too many great responses to remember, and I wasn't jotting them down, so you'll have to ask your child about that. But one thing that stood out to me was what Morgan said. She talked about how she has had to break out of her comfort zone this week in the sense that she is interacting with kids so different from her in the sense that they haven't received nearly the same amount of care that she has received. And she ended by saying that she is concerned about being "just another person that leaves" out of the life of these kids. It was heartbreaking. I don't know what to do with that. The best thing we can do, as Lauren pointed out, is to continue to be involved in their lives by continuing to pray for them. Good words.

After the debriefing I had two really good conversations with two students who are really being affected by this trip and what God is teaching them and showing them through it. They were pretty personal, so I won't divulge the details here, but I would again strongly encourage parents and SIMYs to ask questions and talk with the students when they get back. Don't just ask how the trip was; ask them how they were affected by it and what difference it will make in their lives. Then look for ways to encourage them along those lines. If they tell you that they want to grow closer to God, help them find resources to do so, and ask them how it's going. If they say that they want to serve more at home, help them find serving opportunities. They need your help to bring it home.

A side note: If I never again hear the words "El conejo!" or the song "Mmm, Bop" again, it will be too soon. You can ask what that means when you pick your child up on Saturday.

There will be more pictures uploaded soon. Keep checking back. And we look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

An Interesting Day

Much of what will be reported here today is information that came out of our debriefing last night, since I didn't have any first-hand contact with any of the ministry sites and had very little one-on-one time with any of the team captains or SIMYs. Probably the most noteworthy event that I did hear more about than a simple summary at debriefing time was about a man known as Pastor Ross. Apparently he is a homeless guy that is a regular at the food pantry where two of the groups served last evening. He calls himself Pastor Ross despite having no church affiliation whatsoever. When he came into contact with our students, he gathered them around and chose sections of Scripture for them to read (he knew his Bible quite well, it sounds). He then called out some of our students and one of the CSM hosts and challenged them about certain areas of their lives, in a somewhat prophetic manner. I say 'somewhat' because there was much debate about whether what he had to say was truth or something else. What he said and his techniques really shook a couple of the kids up, but our SIMYs have done a really good job of talking with them about truth and about testing his spirit against God's Word. Again, be thankful that we have such good SIMYs working with your kids on this trip.

Last night at debriefing we had a time of worship, as requested by some of our kids. So Anthony, Kara, Kylie, Nate, and Lauren led us in a few songs. That was great to just sit in the grass on the college campus and sing to God! Then each team did a 'Slideshow' for their debrief. They each posed in three still frames - like miming - while one person described what happened. Here is what I attempted to scribble about what they did and experienced:

• Team Gino: They painted the windows at WE CAN to get ready for the kids to show up next week (see the pictures at the Flickr site); they got a break in the afternoon, so were able to take a two-hour nap; they played Bingo with some very competitive seniors; and they ate at an Algerian restaurant (which they said was very good).


• Team Sears: They were at Casa Central, a ministry to Hispanic kids in the city, and they played Land Shark with the giant parachute; they served at a soup kitchen; and Pastor Ross had them read from various portions of the Bible.


• Team Wrigley: They helped at a school, tutoring and working with kids, and there was some debate if Shelby yelled at the kids or not (Shelby said she didn't); they had reading time with Windall; they did Meet a Need (they are given $5.00, and their directions are to get to know someone on the street, find out a need that they have, and try to meet it), during which, they bought someone some fried chicken, which caused a fight with some others that did not get food (some of the students were pretty spooked); and they also served at the soup kitchen where Pastor Ross was.

Then there was a more in-depth section to the debriefing, where a couple of people from each team shared about the experiences. Here were a couple of the nuggets:

• Aaron (one of the CSM hosts) shared how Pastor Ross called him out on pride, and how that was a struggle for him, even in that instant, not wanting to look bad in front of the students.


• Nate was still trying to make sense of the things that Pastor Ross said to him.


• Eddy came across a homeless guy who told him that everything he needed in life was in his shopping basket, to which he wondered, "Could I still have that hope [if in the same situation]?"


• Anthony, as a team captain, felt like he needed to be the go-to guy, but ended up realizing that things would go better if they worked as a team and he sacrificed himself


• Kara had been feeling bad that they weren't getting to work with kids, and could have been discouraged, but she saw in the end that they were making a difference


• David read from Luke 14:12-14, and pointed out how in his life a lot of times, when he does something nice for a friend, it's so he can get something in return, and how selfish he can be, and that serving the poor is unselfish and where he needs to be


• Kylie, while experiencing some scary situations, realized that she can't avoid the reality of suffering

One final note that has nothing to do with the mission trip, per se, but that stuck out to me. I ventured out of my quarantined area to read in the sunshine in front of our building yesterday. A short time later, some kids from another church came out and played Frisbee around me (nearly hitting me in the head a couple of times). As they played, one of the other kids threw a soccer ball up and hit the Frisbee in mid-air, to which another kid replied, "That's awesome!" Really? Two toys hitting each other in the air is worthy of awe? It's a phrase that I overuse, too, so I am critical since I am also guilty. Shouldn't that phrase be reserved for things that really make us stop and take our breath away, things that are of God? I think so. And that being said, I really think that some of the things that your kids are experiencing and doing this week are truly "Awesome!"

Photo Update

Just wanted to let y'all know that the first batch of pictures is now available at our Flickr site. Enjoy!

And...We're Here!

I know what you're thinking. Haven't you been there for a day and a half already? What's the deal? We are concerned parents and SIMYs and want to know what is going on with our kids. Well, a serious flu tends to set one back just a bit, and since I had one yesterday, I will use that as my excuse. So I'm sorry for the delay in updating, but please know that the cause is justified. Let's just say that I didn't leave my bed for the better part of 32 hours. No fun. But today, I am at least mobile enough to find some wifi to give you some updates. They may be sketchy since I haven't had much of an opportunity to interact with the teams, but I'll do what I can.

We made fantastic time getting to Chicago...at least until we hit Chicago traffic, that is. We started off the day leaving Shelly behind with the cargo van to bring Morgan late. Apparently there was a breakdown in communication and she didn't know what time we were leaving. She felt really bad about it, but it was no sweat. They caught up to us at lunch time. I do think we set an all-time La Croix record by going at least 3 1/2 hours without a potty break. That certainly was better than last year when we didn't even make it out of Cape without having to stop, or whenever we take a staff trip and can't even make it to St. Louis without stopping. Then when we got to just outside of Chicago, we called the CSM folk and told them that we were going to be there early, not taking the Chicago traffic into consideration. It turned out that we got there just on time. Overall, a really good trip up.

After getting our stuff put away in the appropriate apartments (we are staying in campus housing for North Park University - not the nicest pads in the world, but a lot better than some of the places we have stayed in for mission trips) and getting oriented, we went out to dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. That is one of the features of CSM - they let you experience the culture by eating some of the cultural foods (one or two groups ate at an Ethiopian restaurant last night). For dinner that first night, we ate huge bowls of soup with either chicken, beef, or tofu, some spices and vegetables, and the biggest ball of noodles I have ever seen (I will try to have pictures uploaded today). It was pretty yummy!

After dinner we went on a prayer tour of the city. This was really good not only in the aspect of being able to pray for various aspects of the city - racism, poverty, homelessness, gentrification - but also in the educational aspect. As we drove through the various neighborhoods in the city, our host would give us pertinent information and history about it, such as the great disparity in income between the African-Americans and the whites, or the difference in graduation rates, or how white flight has affected certain areas. I think it was really good for our students to hear this information before setting out to serve so that they were better oriented with some of the problems and issues. (One side note that came out of that and our debriefing for that night was the unconfortability our students show with praying out loud. That's just a youth pastor concern, I guess.) After that, we debriefed the experience with our hosts and settled down for the night. A good first day.

I went to bed on Sunday night feeling a little queasy in my stomach, and woke up feeling very achy and fevery. What a great way to start out the mission week! So I hung back while the teams left in the morning to serve. It is a great feeling to know that I have such capable people with me that I can be laid up and not have to worry about whose hands our kids are in. We have such great SIMYs with us who love to serve and love your kids. Know that they are well taken care of.

I didn't get much of a report from day one since I was in bed, but everyone I talked with seemed to have a good day. We had one group set up a thrift store for an organization. Chris said that he wished that they had taken a before picture so we could see the difference that we made. I guess that means we did a good job! A couple of our groups played Bingo with some senior citizens at nursing homes. Apparently, some of the women at these homes were pretty cutthroat about their Bingo. Team Sears served at Casa Central and played with kids. Some of these kids were pretty rough; Derek got cussed out a bit. But they still had a good time, and were looking forward to playing with the parachute today that Nate brought. And Team Gino was the first team to experience the Immersion. In this experience, each team member is given $2.00 for dinner, and they have to try to come up with more. The goal is to help them know what it feels like to be an immigrant or runaway teen in the city. So they tried everything: begging, selling hoodies, offering to work at a bagel shop, and offering to sweep hair at a salon. The ones I talked with said that it was a really great experience. One of them said, "Begging is not as easy as it looks." I think it will be something that they will never forget. The other two teams will have their Immersion on Friday night.

There's not a lot else to report today, but hopefully now that I am somewhat mobile (I'm still not going out to a site today - I'm not close to 100% and am using today to recuperate) there will be more to come. Again, I will try to post pictures today or tomorrow morning at our Flickr site. And to close, here are some random things seen and heard:

• On the van ride up, Sydney Ozbun found one of those little individual flossing tools in the van. We were all pretty grossed out, but not nearly as much as when she actually used it to floss when I offered her a nickel. You would think she would have been the one to get sick. I still owe her a nickel...
• Someone in the van said something about a loofah. Meredith said, "Loofah? Isn't that when a Jewish boy becomes a man?" Yes Meredith, and a bar mitzvah is a sponge that you use in the shower...
• I told the people in my van that we would not be having corporate worship every night like we did with YouthWorks. Someone asked, "What will we do?" Morgan said, "We'll have to tolerate each other, that's what we'll do!"
• It looks like Derek and Taylor have some cleaning to do as it appears they emptied the contents of their stuffed animals on Shelby's bed...
• Chris called me this morning to let me know that Drew said, "I could die with a snow cone in my hand and I'd be happy."

Parents, thank you again for allowing us the opportunity to take your child(ren) to this strange world to serve Jesus by serving people. Pray that they can make a difference, and that a difference will be made in them...

We Leave Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, 27 of our high school students and seven of our SIMYs will depart at 8:00am for Chicago. There we will be serving with a ministry called CSM - Center for Student Missions. Our students will be broken up into three teams: Team Gino, Team Wrigley, and Team Sears (yes, I named the teams - how creative, eh?). Each team will follow a different schedule and will serve a variety of ministries, from working with kids at Casa Central, to cleaning up a ministry site that serves children the rest of the summer (WE CAN), to working at a year-round school, to working in nursing homes and serving at homeless shelters and food pantries. One night we will have a cookkout and worship concert with all of the rest of the students serving with CSM in the city (around 170, if memory serves me correctly). And I'm sure there will be some surprises thrown in. I am excited to see how this week turns out as we are serving with CSM for the first time (in the past we have served with YouthWorks). I sense that this will be a more challenging trip for a lot of us. Stay tuned to this same Bat-channel for updates throughout the week...

Go Team!

Three days ago, we gathered our two youth mission teams for a day of teambuilding. Our senior high met in the morning, and our junior high convened in the afternoon. I started off the day feeling really ill, but that went away pretty quickly. Our teams worked very well together to accomplish the various tasks: passing everyone through the Metro Spiderweb, filling a huge hole-filled tube with water, carrying a large pole while keeping it upright, and moving some toxic waste. We had so much fun, and most everyone got pretty wet. Check out our pictures here.

30 Hour Famine 08

Just over a week ago, we completed our annual 30 Hour Famine. It was a tremendous success! The only drawback was the weather. Thunderstorms blew in preventing us from sleeping outside in a homeless simulation. Bummer. But other than that, things went great! Our students did a fantastic job of not complaining of hunger or anything else - much better than I would have done at their age. They served hard cleaning up trash in Cairo, IL, an area that has been hard hit with poverty, crime, and white-flight. And to top it all off, they brought in over $7,000.00 to feed and care for starving children in developing countries (this year's funds were directed to primarily Malawi, North Korea, Sudan [Darfur region], Kenya, and Swaziland). That would normally care for 19 children, but thanks to a matching grant by the U.S. government, that money was quadrupled, which meant that our students helped save the lives of 76 children! I have read in many places that this generation of students is looking for opportunities to change the world - these students are doing just that!

Click here to see pictures from the event.