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!"