Our first day of service

Today was our first full day here at Youthworks so we had our first opportunity to go do our work projects. We were split into many different groups, and the types of projects varied a lot. We sorted and cleaned in the Salvation Army warehouse, we played with kids in a summer reading program and painted fences at a retirement village, we helped run a Kids' Club for over 100 kids, we painted for a man with cancer and helped a woman celebrate her 90th birthday by working on her yard. We were struck by many things today. The kids were so excited to see us. The old woman prayed a beautiful prayer with the group. The man with cancer shared his faith story with tears and strength. And the work in the warehouse was hard but a great help to the Salvation Army ministry. 

After work projects, we got to tour a coal mine and learn about the culture and history of the coal mining town. 

We finished our night with CLUB time talking about our brokenness and how God forgives us. Luke 18:9-14 is the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. We talked about how we are all broken and need forgiveness. 

We made it!

After a harrowing but beautiful last 65 miles from Charleston to Beckley on the toll interstate, we made it! We are staying in an old elementary school which is now used by Head Start during the school year. Our bedrooms are air conditioned...thank goodness! 

We had a couple quick trips to Walmart to pick up those "forgotten items." And then we had a great supper of pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, and salad. 

After supper it was time for orientation and CLUB time where we worship, sing, learn about God and celebrate where we saw God today. Our scripture tonight was Luke 19:1-10 which tells the story of Zaccheus. Our staff person, Noah, said Zaccheus climbed up in a tree to see Jesus and the kids have jumped on a bus and driven across half the country to see Jesus. We also talked about how Jesus accepted the undesirable as desirable and asked if we can be accepting like Jesus this week. 

We have been put into work teams and tomorrow we head out to our first day of helping. We are all very excited and a little nervous about it! More to come about that tomorrow... 

A day in Chicago

Navy Pier in Chicago has a Ferris wheel, shopping, food and a beautiful view of the lake and the downtown skyline. We spent a few hours exploring the area today. 

Then we made our way to Wrigley Field for the Cubs game. That stadium is quite an experience! We watched the Cubs lose a close game to St. Louis with 32,300 other fans! 

We finished the evening at Ed Debevic's where we were treated terribly and entertained by our waiter, Ziggy. We also celebrated Katie Edgar's 18th birthday with song and gifts! 

We had a blast today, and we were pleasantly surprised by all the support we got from people asking where we are going and why. Tomorrow we have another 10 hours to get to Charleston, WV. We are thankful.

And we are off...

6 a.m. came early! We loaded up our fancy bus with our two drivers, Kent and Kenny. Pastor Roger led us in prayer and our families saw us off -- some were tearful, some were a little joyful, and all were prayerful. It is a beautiful day to drive, and we plan to be in Chicago tonight. 

Commissioning Service

We gathered this evening for our commissioning service. It's funny that the text for the evening was all about the disciples who were sent out with no purse and no sandals, since we were asked to bring our packed bags this evening, if possible. (Luke 10:1-11, 16-20) It is a great group of kids heading out on this trip with 7 faithful, patient adults. Our destination is in West Virginia where we will work with the YouthWorks organization to do our mission work. We don't know exactly what our jobs will be yet, but do know there are homes to fix and kids to love. We are thankful for all the people who joined us at worship to it to pray for us. We feel very supported!

Tomorrow morning we load the bus bright and early at 6 a.m. Our first day will take us to Chicago. We will post pictures of our departure in the morning.