More Houston Testimonies

I went on the mission trip to serve and learn, and I did learn but not the things I thought I would. Instead of giving me some new insight about His heart for people or the world, God revealed things inside of me. I learned that I had been serving as a ‘favor’ to God, as if it was out of my own goodness that I was able to serve. Then it hit me that God doesn’t really need me at all. He could care for this world without me, but it is His delight to let me take part in His plans, to use my life and to use me. It is an honor to serve Him. It is through His goodness and His love that I am able to serve. I also found He showed Himself to me just as much, if not more, than I showed Him to others through serving. -Rachel Beise

Every mission trip stands out in my mind for a different reason, and each seems to carry a special theme in my life and relationship with God. Last year in Chicago, I was extremely moved in my faith and perseverance. This year in Houston, the theme for me was interaction and dedication. Interaction with the people in my team, the people that we volunteered with, the people we volunteered for, and interaction with God. Team Nasa--led by Jeffery (a.k.a. captain jeffery pants)--bonded extremely well, and we were able to utilize everyone's different personalities to achieve an extreme amount of connection and servitude to the people we were helping. My interaction with God was zeroed in on through devotions and prayer partners, and through seeing the many small miracles and moments that God blessed us with during our trip. Dedication came into play when I began feeling like we weren't needed in a few of our sites. I had to think through what i was doing and realize that I was still helping...even though I couldn't see the end result, there still was one. Even though sorting medical supplies was dull and confusing...I was helping save someone's life. And through the week I felt I became more dedicated to God, more open to sit down and spend time praying and staying focused on Him and His plan for me.

Through the joy on the kids' faces, writing our own Psalms, eating some amazing icecream, putting together hundreds of sandwiches, leaping over van seats to deliver lunches, working on fractions, dancing the macarina, huge water walls and God moments, amazing debriefs (with my group and with Dawn and Karen in a parking lot :) ), an intense case of hives, and some touching conversations, I found myself drawn even closer to the love and comfort of God. This week left me in awe of what He can offer to us if we just remain open to Him. -Kara Goodier

Another Testimony

This is a special story of mine
It's about my mission trip to Houston in 2009
I left home wondering how the week would go about
And i came back changed, there is no doubt
God has opened my eyes completely
This trip was amazing and was placed in my heart deeply
I met many people with completely different lives
Some young, some old, some with husbands, and some with wives
There is so much I didn't notice, sitting here at home
All people need is something simple, something like love or maybe even a comb
There was a lot of brokeness I noticed through people's eyes
I found it difficult meeting new people, and in the same day we were saying our final good-byes
God showed me something different every single day
I learned about many cultures and how they do things their own special way
This is just a glimpse of what I had seen throughout the week
I ended the trip with joy in my heart but also with tears streaming down my cheek.

-kelsey fellows

Some Houston Testimonies

Here are some testimonies from Houston, with more (hopefully) to follow:

"The best part of the mission trip for me was my group. I got to know the people that I served with a lot better. To be around people so full of joy and love for an entire week non-stop is awesome. They were a blessing to me. God wins!" - Drew Nall

"When I think about the week in Houston, the lyrics, "...our God is an awesome God," come to mind. Houston really proved those to be true. It opened my eyes to the homeless. It made me realize that they are people too. They are just like us. This trip brought to mind the fact that I could become homeless too. Most of them became homeless overnight. Going to Salvation Army was amazing. The guys that live there were so happy that we were there. They each greeted us & asked where we were from or how we were doing. My team, Shell, went to a place called Open Door. We talked to a man who had only been there a month, but you could tell he was on fire for God & turning his life around. That was a great thing to see. A few days later we went to a place called Ujima, the kids that lived there were so full of life and loved playing. Our group decided to play water games, since it was so hot. I got soaked & got a bad sunburn, but I realized I got that sunburn for God, while showing his love and serving him. That day was the best day of the week for me. Houston was hot, sticky, humid, & full of bugs, but most importantly it was a place full of hope, impact, & love." - Hillary Caldwell

"Houston was a lot of things. 1. Hot. 2. Long Drive. 3. A blessing. But what stood out the most was the appreciation of people's faces and knowing that helping out for just a couple of hours lasted a lifetime. There is nothing more than the feeling of being fully satisfied by working in several ways for Christ. But even if I was satisfied enough, there is always the want & need to do more. Houston was awesome, I can't wait for next year. GO TEAM NASA!" - Sydney Ozbun

"I think the image that will stick in my mind for a long time is when we were at the Operation Hydration. It was me, Casey, Dawn, Taylor and a few other people. We couldn't really find any homeless people that didn't already have water. So we were just walking around. and we see this man sitting on the ground. We go over and Dawn asks is he wants some water and he says yes. We give him some water and then Dawn asks him a couple more questions. She then asked him if we could pray over him. He says sure and Casey starts praying over him. I start by only putting one finger over him and then I eventually put my hand over him after I realize that even though he's a homeless person and he's dirty and kind of smells, he's still human. He's not some kind of disease. He's not a fungus. And he's not some rag someone threw out in the street. He's a person and he has thoughts and feelings just like the rest of us. So I got over my personal feelings and just let the Holy Spirit come in me and pray for this guy who has made mistakes in his life and who has sinned just like the rest of us. That image of him crying as we prayed for him and just told God to help him out will remind me that homeless people are just people who are homeless and have made mistakes that we could make ourselves in the future. That image made me realize that nobody is better than anybody and we are all equal." - Megan Stone

"Houston was my first mission trip. I was really scared because I didn't know what to expect. I had an amazing time & I'm so glad I got to come. One image that is in my mind is a guy at the Open Door Mission. He was graduating from the nine-month program. As I was talking to him, it was just like talking to my best friend. I had an amazing time. Toward the end of our conversation he told me, "Never give up. God is always going to be there." He just went on and on about it. This guy impacted my life more than I probably helped him. He taught me that they just don't need prayer, we also need prayer. I really enjoyed this week & God has taught me so much! I can't wait to see what other things he has in store for me! God is awesome & incredible!" - Whitney Bramlett

"This mission trip was very impactful for me and I learned a lot about myself. I appreciate all that CSM and all the SIMYs did for me. They helped make this trip worthwhile. I thought filled me with so much wisdom throughout the whole trip. My group had a lot of fun. We had a lot of leaders instead of followers on my team and it made my job a whole bunch easier. I really connected with God on this trip and I felt I opened up to God a lot and let him come back into my life. I hope to make this trip meaningful and be able to to bring it back to Cape. Thanks again!" - Myles Edwards

God was at work this past week. Pray that God continues to work in and through the lives of our students.

Houston, Day Five

It's weird. About an hour ago, I asked some students if they felt like we had been gone a week. The general consensus was no, that time has flown by. I really miss my family and being home in my recliner, so it has been good that time has moved along quickly.

After blogging yesterday and eating lunch, I headed out to William Booth Gardens with Team Port, the only team I had not gone to a ministry site with yet. This is a nursing home and our job was to facilitate Bingo. If there was ever a job that some of these students were made for, it was this one. Particularly Molly Turner. She was absolutely in her element calling out the bingo numbers, while mixing in random jokes and statements. Here are some of her highlights:

• If you are wearing hat and you win, you have to wave your hat around while yelling, "Bingo!"
• Why did the orange stop running? It ran out of juice.
• (After calling N-40) 40 chickens in the hen house.
• If you win, you're not allowed to hit your neighbor.
• Two muffins are in the oven. One muffin says to the other, "Man, it's hot in here." The other muffin said, "EEK! A talking muffin!"

She was absolutely hilarious! A couple of the residents were pretty funny, too. And Tom was a trip trying to keep up with as many as eight cards. We had quite a bit of fun there.

We were running way ahead of schedule at this point, so our host took us to Canino's Marketplace. This is where Nate bought the ultra-hot peppers. There were all sorts of fruits and vegetables and spices in this partially open-air market. Many of the students dropped some money here, including on some more of the peppers. I opted for the dried pineapple, myself. We then went across the street to a Mexican bakery - more money spent. Then next door to a spice store. Man, did it smell good and strong in there. More money dropped. I'm not sure that everyone will have money for food on the way home. I hope their peppers and pastries will tide them over.

Not that we were hungry anymore, but we went to Shahnai - an Indian buffet - for dinner. The food has not disappointed on this trip, that's for sure. That was the first meal I've had this week that I walked away uncomfortable from due to the large quantities I consumed. The couple that is watching the Holman kids this week met us there. Chris decided that he was going to try to get Matthew to eat one of the peppers (despite the fact that many of told him that we would kill him if he did). In trying to convince him, Chris said, "They're not that bad. They're not any hotter than tobacco sauce." I think he meant Tabasco, but if not, I never want him to fix me food.

When we got back to the housing site, some of the students played a game that should be banned. They were spitting grapes through the air to the next person, and if you missed it when it came to you, you had to eat a hot pepper. I told them that if they experienced any physical problems from eating the peppers in the middle of the night, they were to not bother any of the SIMYs. They should simply go downstairs and die quietly. Hey, they brought it on themselves, right?

Last night, we had our first Team Captain meeting at which everyone was present. Everyone's schedule has been so different that it has been hard getting everyone together at the same time, so it was good to get these eight students in the room at the same time. Here are a couple of the things I heard from them:

• Team Astrodome made 762 sandwiches at Kid's Meals. These sandwiches are packed with a juice and piece of fruit and delivered to the needy children of the community. That's 762 kids that will get a free meal!
• Kara mentioned that Chase and Brett climbed a water wall at the park they debriefed at (not allowed, BTW). But after that, she had a good time just sitting by the water wall singing worship songs by herself.
• Several of them expressed that many of the students found the devotional that we did that morning to be very meaningful. We had them write their own psalms, which allowed them to connect in a way that a group discussion may not all the time.
• Nate mentioned that he felt the most sense of community on this trip compared to other mission trips he had been on. His group is getting along really well. They had a somewhat difficult relational day the day before, but he felt like yesterday was a recharge day. He said, "I really love these people!"
• Casey noted that she has seen God really working on Madison this week. She seems to be opening up to people in a way that she normally does not do, and she seems really happy.
• Rachel that it was cool to see how Whitney was really impacted by how she was able to impact the lives of others. The two of them greeted and handed out silverware to over 400 people coming to a shelter to eat. She noted that Whitney is great at drawing people into conversations and has been very comfortable praying out loud.

Bottom line, I know God is really working through the lives of our teenagers, and I believe that He is really working in their lives, too. And this is the point. This is why we do mission trips: so we can make a difference in the world and so we can provide an opening for God to mess up the lives of our youth.

This morning, I had the opportunity to go with Team NASA to Kid's Meals. We were lunch / sandwich-making machines. We packed several hundred lunches and made close to 1,200 sandwiches. We also were able to deliver many of these lunches. I made sure to remind all of us that each of these lunches / sandwiches represented a child who would have a meal that they normally may not have had.It's important to keep perspective.

Thank you for your prayers this week. I will try to blog one last time from Texarkana, but it will depend on the availability of wi-fi. If not, I will do one last summary when we get back. Don't forget to check our Flickr site, as there are even more pictures to view. Thanks again!

B'ham Update - Homeward Bound

Angel texted me this morning to tell me that they got on the road at 9:15am...and promptly got a flat tire at 9:17am. So while Danny and Steve took care of the flat, the rest of them took the students to McDonald's. Their current ETA, according to their GPS - which does not factor in lots of potty break for small bladders - is 4:30pm. So they will probably be in around 6:00pm or so...

A Story from Sydney

I forgot to include this in my earlier post, so here is an experience from Operation Hydration that Sydney (far right) thought was cool (in her words):

"Me (Sydney), Karen the Brave, Tyler, and Nick walked up of course with water in hand, to a bunch of (3) guys. That quickly narrowed to two. Steven and Syneca. Steven was born in Oregon and made his way to Houston because of a bad marriage, and he lost his job. He was thankful for the water and Karen the Brave prayed for him. Next me, Hillary, Tyler, and Nick started to talk to Syneca. Syneca was very open to anything and was more concerned about what our dreams and goals are for the rest of our adulthood than himself. So we proceed to tell him. We told him how we took a test that would determine what job would be best for us and when we told him, he cut us off mid-sentence and told us not to listen or care about what a test tells us but what we dream of doing and what we want to do. He was very thankful that a group of kids would just take the time to hand out water and talk to him. He is/was impressed and proud of our church group. And so are we."

Houston, Day Four

We have passed the midway mark of our mission trip, and so far, so good. It has been a great week thus far. Granted, it has not been without its hiccups along the way: minor injuries and illnesses, relational dynamics, and the oppressive heat (have I mentioned that it is HOT?!). But all in all, it has been a great week. And this is not just me saying this. I have heard from a number of SIMYs and students saying the same thing. So if you are a parent reading this, know that your son or daughter is serving well, learning lots, and having a great time while doing it.

After I finished blogging yesterday, I headed out to Yildizlar to have a Middle Eastern dinner with two of our groups, Team Shell and Team Port. Most of the students opted for the chicken, but we SIMYs who know better got the lamb. It was so yummy! The chicken came with some kind of garlic dipping sauce. I have never had anything that garlicky strong in my life. Tyler ended up eating a whole forkful of of because someone offered him a dollar to do it. (I won't mention what he ate later for a little more money. You'll have to ask him about that.) Next door was a TCBY, so Windall - The Silver Fox - bought a cone for his entire team. It was $.99 waffle cone day so we came on the right night. That $.99 included up to three scoops! If we had a TCBY in Cape with that kind of deal every week, I would be a much fatter man. We got back early and were able to shower and chill for a while before the other groups returned. That was nice after the late night the night before.

When the other two groups returned, Nate came in to the common room with a plastic bag with something in it. He called everyone around him and produced these tiny peppers called chile patins (apparently about 10x hotter than jalapenos). He passed them around telling everyone that they were really hot. Several of the students - and none of the SIMYs - tried them...and were not happy that they had. There was lots of screaming and running to get milk, water, ketchup, or anything that would make the burning stop (the picture of Molly above is from this incident). Nate explained to me that they had an immersion experience at a Hispanic market where they had to look around and sample foods. One of the Mexican men gave these peppers to him and told him that they were 'muy caliente' (very hot). Nate looked at me and said, "It's the hottest thing I've had in my life. You want one?" Who in their right mind would say yes to that? Then Will came in and said, "I ate three of those little green things. I cried a little bit." I was on the floor from laughing so hard! I can tell you this much - if I end up at that same immersion experience, I will NOT be sucked in to trying those peppers. More hanging out after that, followed by an impromptu concert in our stairwell, then off to bed.

Team Shell had a cool experience yesterday at the Urban Plunge. After talking with a homeless man, they prayed for him. When they were done, a woman walked up to them and said that she wanted them to pray for her, too, and she bowed her head and waited. So they gathered around her and prayed for her, too. What a great thing for them to experience! They also got to get soaked at their afternoon site - Ujima - playing water games with kids. It started out as dodge sponge, but ended up as people throwing buckets of water on each other. And Tyler was proud about the fact that he got to show a kid how to punt the football.

Team Port also had fun playing with kids yesterday at a different Ujima site. They are a little banged up, though. As mentioned yesterday, Shelby is working off of a sprained ankle. That meant that Myles carried her for a good part of the Urban Plunge. That, combined with the fact that Myles fell off a skateboard trying to show a kid some tricks, means that he has a sore back today. A couple of people in their groups were impressed by what one of the singers at the Harbor Light had to say to encourage them. He told them to be "cunning as serpents and gentle as doves." I'm not sure that they recognize that quote is from the Bible, but I'm glad that it made an impact on them. The other quote that Molly heard a few times that she really liked when she asked the homeless people how they were, they would say, "I'm blessed by the best and praying for the rest." Cool.

Team NASA has the opportunity to meet a need for a man yesterday. They saw him holding a sign that said that he needed diapers and formula for his baby. They talked with him and found out that he recently got laid off from his job as a roofer. So they went to the store and picked him up some diapers and formula to meet his need. He was very grateful and humble about their generosity.

Team Astrodome shared with me that they had the opportunity to cut up some wild boar. They described it as a sinkful of bloody meat...with eyelashes. I'm grossed out, so I'm moving on. They also shared that their debrief times have been very good, with people really sharing about what has been going on. Rachel also pointed out that people are really coming out of their shell and are willing to pray out loud which they weren't willing to do at the beginning of the week. That is exciting to hear!

Kara (Team NASA) mentioned last night that she feels like God is really speaking to them this week and showing them what their lives could be. That was really evident at the Salvation Army. Here were men who had to turn to Jesus to literally save their lives. He was truly their Saviour. And it could totally be seen in the joy that they expressed. This is so cool for our students to see! Sometimes I feel like teenagers are impervious to the kind of stuff they witness, but they are just a few bad choices away from being right where these men are. I hope they realize how much they need Jesus to help them to not only save their souls, but their whole lives as well.

That's all for today. More pictures have been uploaded at our Flickr site - check them out! And keep praying for our students as they make a difference in Houston...

Birmingham, Day Two

Well, I've finally made it to a point where I can blog - but only for a little bit...I wasted much of my time uploading photos...so check out our flickr site...I've uploaded as many as possible over an hour and a half of VERY slow connection.
Our teams are all doing fantastic - and I promise that even if I have to blog after I get home, I will share with you some great stories...but let me give you a few updates about what's been going on:

Team Sweet Tea - JT, Morghan, Taylor, Larissa
They have people from the other church in their group as well - they spent the last two days in Kids Club working with underprivileged children. They've had a great time, but because there were alot of kids, they had a hard time connecting with them...but the second day was better. In fact, I think Larissa may have a new boyfriend. Unfortunately, he's six.

Team Botanical Gardens - Vicky, Hollie, Riley, Grayson, Ashley
They also have kids from the other youth group in their group with them. They have spent time at a nursing home visiting with residents and have also spent time cleaning the building we are utilizing for shelter and spent all afternoon today working in a homeless shelter type facility cleaning rooms. Riley and Hollie met Norma, one of the nursing home residents and became quick friends - and their whole team wrote Norma a card and signed it before leaving.
Ashley and Grayson had a great time tutoring kids...

Team Vulcan - Danny, Austin, Ryan, Garrett, Cody
These guys have spent a lot of time in nursing homes and have also gotten to go to Kids Club. Ryan met a lady that told him that she had experienced both heaven and hell...neat story...you'll have to ask him about it. When the boys were leaving, they had a woman tell them that she loved them...Ryan shared with us that this is the first time he's ever had an adult tell him that they love him...REALLY, Ron???
Garrett and Cody had a great time playing Bingo...and also played Wii with and made a great connection with a man named "Tiny". Oddly enough, Tiny weighs somewhere near 600 pounds...
Austin has had a phenomenal time playing with kids - he's really good at it too:-) He's so funny - I'm sure they were totally entertained with him around.

Team 16th Street Baptist - Steve, Easy, Caleb, Jared, Matt, Chylie, Dallas, Alle
These folks have been bustin' it - they've painted the outside trim on a house...and have worked really hard in some extreme heat. The heat index today was 107!!!

OK - they are telling me I have to leave now...so since I've already shared some about my team (Team Kelly Ingram Park - me, Tammy, Sarah, Rachel, Alex, Meredith and Kelsi) I'll skip more info on them today.

Check out our pics though, and I will do my best to blog more tomorrow...

B'ham Update

I just got a text from Angel in Birmingham. She hasn't been able to get to anywhere with wifi since Monday to blog or to update photos. She has had to lead a team, which she was not anticipating doing. She will try to get out of an evening activity soon to got y'all some updates. As far as I know, everything is going OK. We apologize for the radio silence...

Houston, Day Three

As I was driving with Team Shell today to do our Urban Plunge (details to come), I was listening to the radio. The weather report came on and I thought how boring it must be to be a weather forecaster in Houston: "Today, hot. Tomorrow, hot. Friday, heading into the weekend, hot. Your 10-forecast calls for hot. And now, here's Ted with the sports." Seriously, it doesn't change here. It's just hot! It's a good thing it's known as the most air-conditioned place on earth.

After blogging yesterday, I caught up with Team NASA at the READ Commission, which provides literacy tutoring for adults. However, they are taking a two-week hiatus from the tutoring, so our students are helping out in the computer lab, which is not attended very well. So they had a less than fulfilling morning as they didn't do much more than goofed around on the computers and played hot hands. After we went back to the housing site for lunch, we went to the Holt House Boys & Girls Club. What a cool place! They had a game room, library, craft room, computer lab, and gymnasium. There were a ton of kids there playing and having a great time, and our students did a fantastic job interacting with them: playing Connect Four, pool, basketball, and doing crafts. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures of the kids so you will have to use your imagination. While I was getting schooled in pool, Nate was playing Monopoly, and Clint was playing basketball, just to name a few. It was a much better experience than the morning. I'm not sure if the kids that were there were really poor or hurting - many of them had cell phones and video games - but all kids need to be loved on, and that's what our students did.

From there we went to Operation Hydration James Butte. James Butte is a park under one of the highways in Houston where many homeless men spend their days. Our task was to give them water bottles in an attempt to strike up a conversation. Some were open to talking while others were simply thankful for the water. I was with Morgan and Meredith and we had a good conversation with a man who is/was a truck driver who knew exactly where Cape Girardeau is since he passed it on the highway. There were other good conversations that happened. I have asked a couple of students to write down their experiences and as soon as I receive them, I will post them.

On my way there I received a call saying that Shelby had sprained her ankle. She still wanted to eat dinner, so Tom and Kim were going to keep an eye on it. I caught up with them at our dinner destination (This Is It Soul Food). Karen was there and looked at it and suggested that we not go to the hospital since it was just a sprain. Shelby was OK with that - as was her mom - so she toughed it out, and continues to do so. We had a great dinner of soul food: pork chops, BBQ chicken, corn, green beans, mac & cheese, and sweet potatoes. As delicious as it was, it was probably my least favorite so far on this trip as the Jamaican and Salvadoran food we had was amazing!

After dinner we went to the Harbor Light Salvation Army for a concert by their men's choir (photo above). Honestly, going in I was less than thrilled to be there. It stretched out our night and I wasn't expecting much. Man, were we blown away! It wasn't the best choir I've ever heard, but it was maybe one of the funnest and most interactive I had been to. They kept pulling people up 'on stage' to sing and dance with them, as you will be able to tell from the pictures. What a blast! We all had such a great time!

I did have to leave the concert early as Cori wanted to go to see a doctor. She has had a sore throat since before she came on the trip, and it got really bad yesterday. So we took off to take her to the hospital. We had a difficult time getting out of the building as many of the doors were now locked. We found an exit door that was unlocked, but it put us out behind the building in a completely fenced-in area. We were trapped. After checking out our situation, I found a gap in the gate that Cori was barely able to squeeze through. Needless to say, it was much more difficult for me to squeeze through the same space. Last year it was Derek's pants, this year, the gate. I need to lose weight.

We got to the hospital and got checked in. Fortunately there weren't many people there. Cori got tested for strep and influenza, and then we waited. The waiting room really filled up at that point. We came at a good time because if we had come a half-hour or an hour later, we would have waited a much longer time. We finally got called back for the results and they put us in an examining room which made me nervous, like they were going to admit her. They didn't. They told us that her tests came back negative. The doctor had to come talk to us, so more waiting. He checked her over too, gave her some prescriptions, and said that he was going to get her out of there. More waiting. Then the nurse told us that he had to go get us some stickers and then we could leave. We weren't sure what that meant, but we envisioned him coming back with a page of Spongebob Squarepants stickers for Cori. We got a good laugh out of that. It didn't hurt that it was past midnight and we were slap-happy. We finally got to leave, and as we were leaving the examining room area, there was a button to open the doors. I pressed it. We didn't figure that they would open towards us, but one of them did, crashing into Cori. She was OK, but again we got a good laugh. As we walked back to the van, I told Cori that I never expected to be walking down the streets of Houston after midnight with one of my students. She said, "I like to walk the streets late at night." I pointed out that that didn't sound really good. More laughs. After a stop at the pharmacy - and sadly, no donuts - we got back to the housing and got to bed at around 1:30am. Needless to say, we are quite tired today. She is doing better today. Not great, but better.

This morning we all took part in what is called the Urban Plunge. Basically what it is is a scavenger hunt in the city. We broke up into smaller groups and each team was given a set of instructions about what they were supposed to do and accomplish. This included such things as making note of churches that offer services to the homeless; asking various people (homeless, business person, police officer) about Houston and the problems and causes of poverty; getting a view of the city from a skyscraper and noting how different that experience is from interacting with the people on the ground; and finding out the costs of various things (a phone call to El Salvador, to cash a payroll check, get a money order - things that a homeless person or immigrant might have to deal with). It was good for the students to get this information and view of the city. It sort of puts them in the shoes of the people we are working with to understand their situation a little better.

After eating lunch in a park, I broke with the team so I could head back to get some blogging and photo uploading done, which is where I am now. I know I have more stories and anecdotes to share, but I haven't been writing them down as faithfully as I should. I will try to do better. I will leave you with these two, though (don't forget to check out the updated collection of pictures):

• At Cori's site, the man in charge was giving Cori some instructions on what to do. She didn't understand, but she had no voice so she couldn't ask. So she just looked kind of confused. The man looked at Tom and asked, "Can she hear?" LOL!
• While eating dinner at the Jamaican restaurant, we somehow got on the subject of monkeys. Ken expressed not liking monkeys. He said, "Monkeys tend to fling poo," to which Whitney replied, "That is so cool!" I don't know if she didn't realize what Ken had just said, or if she really thinks that flinging poo is cool. Who cares why she said it - it was hilarious!

Houston, Day Two

Just to clarify, some of the things you read here will not be events and statements from Day Two, since that is today. Most will be from Day One. But in reality, today is Day Four if you count travel time. Unless you are David or Rachel, then you are still in the first 24-hour time period. This sort of discussion is exactly why you read this blog, right?

Day One finished up well. Shortly after blogging yesterday I got a call from Kristy telling me that Ken was not feeling well at all. He threw up a couple of times yesterday and had "other stomach issues" as well. She wasn't sure if he would be able to eat dinner, so I left to meet them at the Jamaican restaurant - the Reggae Hut - to possibly take Ken back to our housing site. Ken said he felt fine, that ethnic food just messes with him. So what did he do next? Eat his whole meal of jerk chicken! He said it was the hottest thing he has eaten. Not wise. So he was messed up. The food was amazing! We had a choice of jerk chicken, curry chicken, or brown stew chicken and an assortment of Jamaican sodas and juices. Delish! My stomach was not doing the best either, so Ken and I opted out of the prayer tour - major bummer! - and headed back to the housing. It turned out to be a wise choice. Some of the groups got to see more of the city than was planned for their prayer tour as the city hosts got turned around somewhat. But everyone got back safe and sound.

The other two groups had dinner at Thelma's BBQ, which was described by Tom as 'slap your momma good.' They ate enormous quantities of food and Thelma herself delivered it to their tables. They had a great time, too!

As mentioned earlier, they did a prayer tour of the city. I haven't yet gotten a report of how it went, but I know it was impactful for the students last year in Chicago as they really got to know the city. Actually, Nate described it just that way this year: impactful. I hope to get more reports today.

Tom and Kim's team - Team Port - helped tutor adults in computer literacy and with their GED prep. This is a new experience for our students. They have done plenty of reading with and tutoring children, but never with adults. They helped men and women operate computer programs and helped them learn more about them. Shelby was in her element as she helped a man upload photos on the internet and learn MS Publisher. Myles also helped someone learn Publisher. Molly was teacher extraordinaire with an ESL student who was learning computer basics. She also helped a man in his 20's (maybe the same man) his alphabet. How cool is that? And according to Cori, "I had to use my brain power to help a lady with math." I guess she wasn't planning on using it this summer. :-) Some of the team members were discouraged by the few people that showed up at this site, but I know the ones who were helped were very appreciative.

Kara's team worked at Beacon yesterday. This is a very nice homeless resource center that provides meals, showers, and laundry for over 650 people a week (I think a week). They helped with assorted tasks.

A few anecdotes for your reading pleasure, some funny, some serious:

• Morgan was lauded by her team captain as being really good at connecting with people. I have noticed this about her ever since she started coming on mission trips. She is still the Peach Queen, as far as I'm concerned.
• Cori got attacked by a giant cockroach as they were sorting through some rotten food.
• Team NASA got into some serious street ball at one of their sites. Some of the guys who played with our students were impressed by Clint's skills. There was a guy there who wanted to develop a team and coach them to keep them out of trouble, but he had no money to do it and really nowhere to play. They played in the street yesterday. Myles said that we should build them a basketball court. I'm going to keep pushing him on that.
• While Team Astrodome was lost, they stopped into a Starbucks to settle themselves. They were approached by a woman with a baby who told them that she got out of an abusive relationship in Dallas and needed a special formula for her baby. So they went to a store to get the formula for her, but they didn't have what she needed. Unable to meet that immediate need, they were still able to pray with her. It made me think about the story of Peter and John in Acts 3. They weren't able to give the beggar any money, but they did heal him. Team Astrodome couldn't give this woman formula, but they gave her Jesus.
• As Team Shell drove past a gas station, there was tank out front. It was clearly an air tank. A man was there filling up his tires, and Nick asked, "Why is that guy putting gas in his bike?"
• Team Shell was working in a kitchen at one place. Casey dumped a bunch of stuff into this huge garbage disposal and turned it on to grind everything up. She didn't realize that you needed to put something over the opening and food shot everywhere like Mount St. Helens. Well done.

All in all, I think our students are having a good experience here in Houston...BTW, did I mention that it is REALLY HOT?! Yesterday was 95 degrees, and the rest of the week is supposed to be in the mid-90's. Thank God for the AC in our housing!

Check out the new pics on our Flickr site. More stuff later...

Houston, Day One, Part Two

I've been lost before, but never like I was today. I'll never know how Lewis and Clark made it across the country without a GPS. I guess it was easier since there were no roads. But that story will come in a bit...

Our trip down was largely successful. We got into Texarkana to FBC Texarkana after 9:00pm, unloaded, settled down, and were in bed by 10:30pm. It was weird - when we turned off the lights in the guys' room (the gym), they were instantly quiet. That never happens. I found out the next morning that a couple of the guys stayed up all night...but they at least were quiet. We had a rude awakening a the janitors turned the lights on in the girls' room at 4:00am and the guys' room at 6:00am. That was neat! I thought it was our guys doing it and was ready to lay down the law, until I found out it was the janitor. Oopsie! That being said, we were on the road nice and early on Sunday morning. As a result, we were able to stop and worship at a tiny Assemblies of God church. We quintupled their attendance. It was fun! And it was cool for the students to experience a different worship setting. We got into Houston at around 5:15pm on Sunday. We are staying at the Servants of Christ Parish.

After a leader's meeting, we departed for two different dinner destinations (because our group is too big to go to one). Two teams went to Dona Chela, a Mexican tacqueria, while the rest of us went to an El Salvadoran restaurant, El Patate. Can I just say, "YUM!"? One of the cool things about a CSM trip is that the students get to experience other cultures, including some of their foods. And not only was the food great - we also got to do the Macarena...twice! Fun times! After dinner, we had our orientation, grabbed showers, and headed to bed. Our accommodations are pretty cramped, and I'm pretty sure many of us guys are sleeping on box springs instead of mattresses, but it's all good. I didn't hear anyone complain about a bad night's sleep.

This morning, everyone got up at various times for breakfast and to pack lunches, had their team devotions and headed out to ministry sites. At this time, I can't give you a great summary of what everyone did today. It was a little scattered for me as I was trying to get out the door to blog and upload pictures...which didn't happen so much. After a stop at Best Buy to get a cord for my GPS unit, I discovered that the lighter in the car I was borrowing didn't work. Lovely. So I went to get David and Rachel from the airport. We decided to run to Wal-Mart or Target to pick up some supplies, which turned into a major ordeal. The roads and highways around here are a bit confusing, so we did a lot of driving and not much finding of the Wal-Mart. We finally did and got our supplies, grabbed some lunch, and I left to take Rachel to her site (David's group was at our housing site when we got there, so he went with them). That involved more getting lost. We finally showed up and Rachel and the other students in her team facilitated water games with the kids in the apartment community. It was HOT! But the kids had a great time with our students, while getting soaked. I was proud of how their whole team interacted with the little kids. I had to bail early as Izzie was feeling sick but was there long enough to be really happy about what was going on. Ken was also not feeling well, but he stuck it out. Now here I am at Starbucks...

A couple of anecdotes:

• We have decided that Brett is no longer allowed to be in charge of keys. When we were heading to our vans after our church service, Brett unlocked his van with the remote, and subsequently lost them. All of the SIMYs were out of the vans looking for them in the grass. Then Brett remembered that he put them in his backpack. Then when we arrived in Houston, he managed to lock them in the van. Thank God for AAA!
• Brett is also not allowed to be in charge of signage. I made signs for the vans. Brett got some tape to tape the sign on the inside of the window...only he put the tape on the wrong side of the paper. Fortunately I made two signs, so he had another chance...only he did the exact same thing again! I'm glad Brett is here, and not only for the comic relief.
• Houston had what he said was a great experience today. His team went to site at which they made lunches to deliver to children and families. They then went out to the neighborhoods and delivered the food out of the front window. He was sitting up front so he got the joy of actually giving the food to the people. I sense that it really made an impact on him.

I will be touching base with the SIMYs and team captains tonight and every night, so check back for more blog-worthy content. Tonight we will be taking a prayer tour of the city, which I know was very impactful for our students last year in Chicago. I expect the same this year.

Don't forget to check out the pictures we have so far on our Flickr site. Thanks, and keep praying for us, please...

Birmingham Pictures

OK - the wi-fi here is CRAZY slow...I've been trying to upload pics this whole time...and nothing. So I will try to find another option for uploading pics but it probably won't happen until tomorrow. Sorry:-(

Birmingham, Day One

Well, today is officially the first day of the Birmingham mission trip. We traveled all day yesterday - and successfully turned a 6 1/2 hour trip into a full 10 hour trip:-) Whoever said it only takes 6 1/2 hours obviously has never done the trip with 29 people.
The trip down was awesome - a little rain early on - but then beautiful the rest of the drive. We stopped for lunch in Memphis and picked up Cody House there - we should have known there would 'timing' issues when we didn't leave Memphis until after 1:30p!
But seriously - we made it to the mission site in plenty of time. We would have been EXTREMELY early if our kiddos would have had bigger bladders.
The church that we were originally supposed to stay in this week had a fire a couple of weeks ago (that's maybe an understatement, it's no longer standing really), so we were blessed to be welcomed into an old school house next door that has taken in the church family as well and is allowing them to meet there while they rebuild.
It's quite warm down in these parts - and without a beach nearby - I think we are all realizing very quickly how spoiled we are!
After dinner, we had meetings to prep us for all that's going to be happening this week and the kids were divided into their work groups that they will stick with for the rest of the week.
Here are a few of the places we'll be working:
BEAT, Church of the Reconciler, Cornerstone School, and The Foundry.

The original plan was that I (Angel) would go from site to site taking pics, making sure everyone had what they needed, blogging for parents, etc. However, once we divided into teams, it was necessary that I lead a team with Tammy to keep two leaders per site. SOOOO, I'll be depending on the info I get from the other leaders and the pictures they take to keep you completely up to date on things.
My group (Sarah S, Rachael D, Alex E, Kelsi M, Meredith C) is at The Foundry for the next two days and we are totally pumped.
There's a group called Soles4Souls that donated 10,000 pairs of brand new shoes to The Foundry's thrift store. Today we are organizing boxes upon boxes of shoes by size and style and tomorrow we actually get to help distribute the shoes! What a REAL impact they are making on showing God's love to the people of Birmingham - and the fact that we get to participate in His big plan is amazing.

Last night we had an evening devotional to discuss our hopes and fears for the week. We had lots of sharing which was great...here a few of the hopes some of our students shared with us that they have for this week (my :shorthand" method of taking notes isn't great, so I'm sure I'll be paraphrasing a few of these):
Holly - that she experiences a real connection with God
Kelsi - that we will draw closer to others on this trip
Ashley - that she will know what it feels like to serve God outside of her comfort zone
Rachael - that we will learn to serve with a true servant's heart; serving when no one is looking
Larissa - that we influence the people we come in contact with and actually make a difference.
Ryan - that he will reconnect with God
Austin - that he will remember the week and actually put it into context in his life back home - he doesn't want to forget everything he learns this week
Meredith - that we would not judge people - that we would realize that they all come from different backgrounds and that they are deeper than what we see on the outside
Sarah - that she would do everything this week with a joyful heart and be as selfless as possible while always maintaining a positive attitude.

As you can see - our students have alot of hopes for the week! They don't just come up with this stuff on their own - you all (parents) have a lot to do with shaping their minds and environment - and you are apparently doing a great job:-)

At the end of the night, we had a little time with just our group (La Croix). JT reminded all of us that we aren't doing this to get attention, but to bring glory to God. We were encouraged to make friends with the other church we are serving alongside and to make it a point to interact with the people we come in contact with.

JT also encouraged the students to journal this week..."just like when you are a kid and your parents put you up against the wall every six months and marked your growth on the wall - journaling is a great way for us to measure our spiritual growth."

Well - as you might have guessed the Foundry does not have wi-fi, which means I am currently a block up the street sitting in a Krystal blogging to you, as my girls are working their tails off with Tammy. Thus, I'd better stop rambling. I am going to upload some pics of the trip down on the Flicker site (no pics from today yet - I'll do those tomorrow...no wi-fi where we are staying).
If you make any comments on the site, I'll relay them back to the group...
Thanks! Until tomorrow...

Houston, Day One

It doesn't feel like Day One. I guess two days of travel will do that to you. But we are doing OK. I only have a few minutes until I have to leave to pick up a replacement cord for my GPS unit and get to the airport to pick up David and Rachel. It will be good to have the whole team here!...Just checked the time - I have to leave already and the photos are not even done being uploaded yet. Crud! I guess I'll be checking in later today. You can check out whatever photos have been uploaded at flickr.com/theporchlacroix. Write to you soon!

Birmingham Update

Angel asked me to let y'all know that they got to B'ham safe and sdoun. She will be blogging later today...

Houston trip is underway...Day One

I have received word that the Houston team has made it safe and sound to Texarcana - their stopping point for tonight. They will leave in the a.m. for the 2nd leg of the trip. Pray for more safe and fun travels tomorrow.
They are staying in a location where Fitz does not have wi-fi, so hopefully tomorrow he'll be able to share more.
I will be leaving with our Jr High students in the morning for Birmingham...think I'd better get some rest...it may be the most sleep I get for the next week:-)
Good night!
Angel