We're Home!

Around 6:30 Saturday evening, four vans of very tired people pulled into the church parking lot. The sight of loved ones energized everyone to jump out of the vans for hugs and kisses. It was hard to tell who was happier - the people waiting for the vans or the people in the vans. We got the vans unloaded as quickly as possible in the heat. After prayers, scripture, and a few remarks, the group disbanded to go to their own homes. Yeah - our own beds and showers. Life is good!

It was a privilege to be a part of the 2011 Leawood UMC Youth Mission Trip. We look forward to sharing details with our family, church family, and other friends. It is not too late to buy a share so you can attend our shareholder's dinner on Sunday, July 31, 2011 from 5pm to 8pm. You will have a wonderful meal and be entertained by a video presentation of the week. We look forward to serving you dinner and memories.

The 2011 LUMC Youth Mission Trip Participants

Saturday, July 16

We are on our way home now. Friday found us up early to pack the vans, clean our rooms, help clean up the campus, and then head out. We got on the road about 8:30 and headed to Chicago. When we arrived at Gary UMC in Wheaton, the first voice we heard belonged to Sandra Sagehorn, a former LUMC staff member. She gave us a warm greeting and joined us for lunch and then lead the way to the Wheaton train station. We took the Metra into Chicago, took the L to Roosevelt Station, and walked to the Shedd Aquarium where we spent the rest of the afternoon watching the animals and the dolphin show. We then hopped the water taxi over to the Navy Pier where we were greeted by Mike and Vanessa Coffey. The group split and went to various restaurants for dinner and then off to shop and enjoy the rides and music. We took the bus back to Ogilvie Station where we just missed the 9:40 train back to Wheaton. We kept ourselves entertained and then put a sleepy group on the train. It didn’t take long for the everyone to get to bed!




We are up now and sleepily trying to get ready to reload the vans to finish our trip home. We will make it back sometime late this afternoon. We all look forward to seeing our families and sleeping in our own beds.

Thanks for your support,

The 2011 LUMC Youth Mission Team

Jay

It is late Thursday evening - or early Friday morning. I'm not really sure which. Jay has been really busy getting to know all the youth. For those of you who haven't met our new Youth/Children's Ministry Director, here is a picture of Jay before we left LUMC.


It has been six days, so we wanted to share a picture of Jay now.



There is a story to share - and for the price of a share, you can hear and see the story. (Shameless plug.)

Thursday, July 14th

We finished our crew assignments today. It seems like all of the crews accomplished more than they expected to get done. Smiling faces are evident all over camp and Grand Rapids. Look for more pictures and comments to be posted after dinner.

Pictures - Random Order

This is a first attempt at posting pictures and they didn't load in chronological order - but it is a start.

The gray shirts are our arrival at Kuyper College and the red shirts are our departure from LUMC.

Garrett and Peter rock the house during morning and evening devotions. (Not pictured - Jeff).

Mac arrives at the airport and Katie conducts the ceremonial stripping of the electronics.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

To answer a question from the comments: Jack – no, Jeff hasn’t wrecked the van. Please talk to your wife.

Today was another busy day. All of the kids are working very hard. Chloe, Annie, and Julie and the rest of their crew removed tile and installed new. They enjoyed putting scriptures and pictures on the bottom of the tiles before putting them down. Shannon, Peter, Janet and the rest of their crew really touched their homeowner by cleaning her kitchen even though it wasn’t on the “official” list of tasks. She is disabled and wasn’t able to keep it up. She felt so blessed by their presence. Katie, Mac, Barb and the rest of their crew continued cleaning the school. The carpets are really looking good! Alex, Jenna W, Jenna F, and Sherri and the rest of their crew unloaded a truck of donated goods, broke down boxes, sorted recycling and then went to Culver’s since they were working in the hot sun all day. Garrett, Melanie, Jeff and the rest of their crew removed a railroad tie retaining wall that was 4 feet tall and 50 yards long. Jeff broke the handle of a shovel and managed to whack himself in the face with it. There was no blood and the mark is not permanent. His good looks remain. David, Mara, Jake, Leslie and the rest of their crew spent time in a ginormous freezer at a food pantry. Chase, Danny, and Linda continued at the Thrift Store. Chase got to work the cash register. Linda found her missing phone. They are one day closer to their fashion show.

Reports on the rest of the crews will follow tomorrow.

Jay led our devotions this evening after a powerful service. The group shared many thoughts and feelings. They are growing closer to God and to each other. It is proving to be a powerful week.

Your 2011 Youth Mission Trip Participants

Tuesday, July 12 – 2nd Edition

OK – forgot to include a few things about the day.

We had our youth devotions on the beach. As we headed away from the water to find a place for devotions, we found that God gave us a rainbow. It was reassuring to see the sign of His promise to us. As we finished our devotions, the urge to sing came upon all of us. As the first verse of Amazing Grace ended, the police siren went off to tell us it was time to leave. Another sign from God.