Tired

Today's post will be relatively brief for a couple of reasons. One, I am lacking quite a bit of sleep, so if I sit here too long, I may drift off. We learned last night just how much energy that kids can get from energy drinks and caffeinated beverages. Even though lights out was at 11:00pm, there were still guys awake and talking/giggling/passing gas/throwing stuff at 1:00am. Needless to say, their youth pastor is a little grumpy this morning. It was fun waking them up, though! :-) The other reason is because I need to visit two groups today, Corn and Soybean. I have already done my shopping for the day, though, so that gives me a little more time in the afternoon.

Last night we attended a great church service at the Holy Trinity World Outreach Mission. It was just like La Croix, except completely different. What we attended was what they call their Wednesday night Bible study. The topic was parenting, and many of the students expressed that they wished their parents were there to hear it. :-) It was interesting to have members of the congregation raise their hands with questions or comments. Many of us wondered what Pastor Ron would do if we did that at church on Sunday morning. Now that could be fun! God's presence was very evident in that service, so we were glad to be a part. Tonight we are having a cookout at the Craft Brothers Warehouse. The Craft Brothers is a construction company that focuses on remodeling houses. One of their warehouses has a stage and seating set up for concerts/worship gatherings/whatever. I have encouraged our worship people to lead us in a time of worship. There is also a very cool prayer room that students can use while we are there.

Last night, we had our team break up into small groups again for church group time. I think this has been very good as it has allowed many students to process a little more. I would encourage parents to help their kids process even more when they get home about what they experienced and how it has affected them. But before we broke up, we asked a few questions in the large group, including, "Do you feel like you are making a difference?" It was neat to hear many of them respond that they did, but also to hear the honesty of a couple who said that they didn't feel like they were making much of a difference. I encouraged them that they might not see the difference that they make by the time they leave, or ever for that matter, but that they are making a difference in people's lives. It's not about what we get out of the experience, but what we give.

A couple of stories. I think they're all funny today...not that inspiring stuff isn't happening, but it's what I have to work with today:

• Nate Nall noticed at his work site that the sink in the bathroom made a sound when you turned it on. I noticed it, too. When he came out of the bathroom, he asked me if I heard the sound the sink made. I told him I did, and he went on to point out that if you turned it a little further, it made a minor chord. Who would notice that except Chris Nall's kid? He also noticed earlier in the day that the reason the alarm at the nursing home was so annoying was because the two notes were only a 1/4 tone apart from each other.
• Derek and his team have been doing such a good job tutoring, but apparently he had a bit of a brain block as he wrote equations on the board. He wrote, "1+1=2 2+2=3."
• Danny, who is a plumber by trade, was suggested by someone during our leader time to do some plumbing. He made two comments that put us all on the floor with laughter: "My name and poop go hand in hand," and "As long as people poop, I can eat." On a more inspiring note, he mentioned to me that he was going to come back down here by himself and on his own time to help a ministry with their plumbing to save them hundreds of dollars. What a great guy and a great add to our team!
• There has been a drought in the area, and there are watering bans in Birmingham. Some of our group got to talking with some ranchers that were lamenting the lack of water. They encouraged them by telling them that their youth pastor - that would be me - brings storms with him wherever he goes. (They didn't tell them that I usually bring tornadoes, too) And at one point, it looked like it was going to rain, and there was a loud thunderclap, and many of the students shouted, "Fitz!" It's good to be known for something, I guess.

My wife will be glad to know that I played Scrabble - our favorite game - with Anthony, Derek, and a gentleman at the nursing home yesterday. It started off well, but before long, nonsense words were being played left and right. But that was OK because we were all in on it, including the gentleman we played with. We all had a great time! While we did that, the other guys visited and the girls painted ladies' nails. They were styling when we were done with them! I also had the opportunity to tell a couple of the ladies about how my grandpa used to make jewelry for my grandma because one of the ladies had a bracelet that reminded me of the stuff he used to make. They all seemed very impressed that he did that just for fun and for her.

There will probably not be a posting tomorrow as we pack up and leave pretty early. I will try to wrap up the trip from Memphis or when we get home. We will also ask the students to write a brief testimony about the trip and will try to post them soon. Be looking for those in the near future. I am off for B.E.A.T. now, and then to Kids Club. Have a great day, and check out the pics. See you soon!