We have successfully finished our final workday and are ready for a little sightseeing. Last night we attended church and bible study at a small African American church in Birmingham. The worship was AMAZING with energetic gospel music, a powerful message, and a warm congregation who greeted us with incredible hospitality.
As I already said, work wrapped up today One group returned to Church of the Reconciler and Eastview Nursing Home. At eastview we sang, painted ladies' nails, and led bingo. Another group worked tutoring in the morning and then removing weeds and trees that had grown up around the church which houses Kid's Club. When they returned they were very sweaty, very dirty, but in very high spirits. Finally, a third group worked at a home for men with mental disabilities who are also in recovery. All 3 groups had another great day today.
Tonight, we are having a BBQ at a local park and have invited many of the people we've worked with through the week. We'll be celebrating a successful week here in Birmingham. In the morning we pack up and depart. It will be bittersweet for many of us who've made new friends from the other churches.
Looking at the week that has been, here are a few of the things I've heard our group say: "today, was the most meaningful day of my life," "When I walked into that room full of homeless people I was so scared, but after just a little while I figured out that they were people just like me and I had a great time with them," "after today, I know how lucky I am to have the parents I have and the friends that I have."
Finally, we know that the church is in mourning over the death of Val Knagg. Please know that our prayers are with all of you and especially Val's family. We prayed for you all last night before bed and there were more than a few tears. Val was a very special person and she went out of her way to show love and warmth to so many of our youth. The first time I met her, she beamed as she bragged about the exceptional youth at Axe. She will be missed and we are with you all in spirit.
Grace and peace to you all. See you in a few days.
-Josh
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Workdays 2 and 3
Greetings from Birmingham, I am happy to report that seeds are sprouting! We have had an exciting few days with great experiences, challenging projects, awesome fellowship, and meaningful worship. Before I report on that however, I do need to break the bad news that I forgot my cable for my camera at home and will likely not be able to post any pictures until we return on Saturday. If I can find one among the other leaders, I will have several to post. The good news (aside from the good news I'll share in a moment) is that everyone is in very high spirits and we've had no major problems. The prayers that you all are sending our way are definitely working so keep them coming.
As I already mentioned, seeds are beginning to grow as the trip progresses. Our work projects have included: helping tutor children and young adults at a local ministry, continuing to help the very wild kids at the Kids Club, serving breakfast and visiting at the Church of the Reconciler, a United Methodist Church for the homeless, serving at low income senior centers, doing landscaping at a substance abuse center for men with mental disabilities, and more. Yes, that's a lot of work. We are definitely tired. However, the youth are growing in such profound ways.
Yesterday at the homeless church was the first time that 3 of our youth had ever spoken to a homeless person. Today at the senior center, the youth were confronted with the reality that many seniors who have lived good lives can easily suffer alone in a nursing home. Our group discussions have been extremely encouraging as the youth process this experience together.
You all should be so very proud of our youth. Last night, I asked them who had been very uncomfortable at any point at a worksite. They all raised their hands. However, you'd never know it when they are working. They get the job done and they do it well. Some of them have spent time sitting around a table with street people talking with them about their life. Others have been surprised when three year olds at kids club tell them about siblings who have been lost to gang violence. Right now as I am writing this to you I am actually getting choked up thinking about the growth and transformation I am witnessing. God is moving in this group and seeds are sprouting.
We have one day left of work and then will spend some time sightseeing. We are having a great time with the other groups and the youthworks staff is awesome. Everything is going exactly as it should!
I want to direct you all to a website. It is run by the Church of the Reconciler and is at www.prayforthehomeless.org . This site introduces you to many of the street people we have spent time with this week in downtown Birmingham and I hope you'll join us in praying for them. Church of the Reconciler is amazing and this site gives you a great window into their ministry. We'll share some more about it on our return.
Thanks again to everyone for your prayers and support. I'll d my best to get some pics posted but bear with me! Blessings to you all.
As I already mentioned, seeds are beginning to grow as the trip progresses. Our work projects have included: helping tutor children and young adults at a local ministry, continuing to help the very wild kids at the Kids Club, serving breakfast and visiting at the Church of the Reconciler, a United Methodist Church for the homeless, serving at low income senior centers, doing landscaping at a substance abuse center for men with mental disabilities, and more. Yes, that's a lot of work. We are definitely tired. However, the youth are growing in such profound ways.
Yesterday at the homeless church was the first time that 3 of our youth had ever spoken to a homeless person. Today at the senior center, the youth were confronted with the reality that many seniors who have lived good lives can easily suffer alone in a nursing home. Our group discussions have been extremely encouraging as the youth process this experience together.
You all should be so very proud of our youth. Last night, I asked them who had been very uncomfortable at any point at a worksite. They all raised their hands. However, you'd never know it when they are working. They get the job done and they do it well. Some of them have spent time sitting around a table with street people talking with them about their life. Others have been surprised when three year olds at kids club tell them about siblings who have been lost to gang violence. Right now as I am writing this to you I am actually getting choked up thinking about the growth and transformation I am witnessing. God is moving in this group and seeds are sprouting.
We have one day left of work and then will spend some time sightseeing. We are having a great time with the other groups and the youthworks staff is awesome. Everything is going exactly as it should!
I want to direct you all to a website. It is run by the Church of the Reconciler and is at www.prayforthehomeless.org . This site introduces you to many of the street people we have spent time with this week in downtown Birmingham and I hope you'll join us in praying for them. Church of the Reconciler is amazing and this site gives you a great window into their ministry. We'll share some more about it on our return.
Thanks again to everyone for your prayers and support. I'll d my best to get some pics posted but bear with me! Blessings to you all.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Travel Update and First Workday
Greetings from Birmingham, AL. Travel to the worksite has been very easy. The first night we stayed in a very historic Galloway UMC in Jackson, MS. It was across the street from the state capitol and had a huge gym for us to sleep in. The next day we rose early and went to church at Galloway. The sermon focused on seed planting. It is our job as Christians to plant good seeds in our lives and in the lives of others. However, God is the one who makes the seeds grow. This seems to be our theme for the trip this year because it has popped up everywhere we go.
Sunday afternoon we traveled to Alabama. First we had a stop at Rickwoods Caverns. It was awesome and I highly recommend it. Then we moved on to Birmingham. Getting settled at Youthworks was easy and we had a great first night.
This morning we sent 3 youth (Andy, Shelby, and Riley) along with Robert and a youth group from Pennsylvania to work on city beautification and home repairs.
The other seven youth and 3 adults went to Christ Episopal Church to work at the Kids Club. Imagine Vacation Bible School and you'll have a pretty good picture of our work. Crafts, reading, games, and other activities were all involved. What is remarkable is the number of tragic stories we heard along the way. One young boy who came spent the day with Casey. He was very high energy and required supervision on a one-on-one basis. What we didn't find out until later was that this boy had lost his older brother to a shooting a few months previous. This boy and his three sisters are still dealing with the trauma from the incident. Along with them, three other attendees or counselors who live in the area all lost loved ones to gang-related crime in the neighborhood. Another young man named Roger from the neighborhood helped us during the day. He was an extremely nice person and was interested in attending mechanics school. Last year, Roger also lost a cousin in a shooting. The problem is very serious but Christ Church is very involved in turning the community around. We are all learning a lot about how many people in our nation are forced to live their lives. The stories we've heard and the lives we are connecting with have caused an awakening in the hearts of our youth and in my own heart as well.
So far we've had no serious problems and all the youth are healthy, happy, and excited about the experience. Please continue to pray for us. We are praying for you and will continue to do so. Blessings to you all.
Sunday afternoon we traveled to Alabama. First we had a stop at Rickwoods Caverns. It was awesome and I highly recommend it. Then we moved on to Birmingham. Getting settled at Youthworks was easy and we had a great first night.
This morning we sent 3 youth (Andy, Shelby, and Riley) along with Robert and a youth group from Pennsylvania to work on city beautification and home repairs.
The other seven youth and 3 adults went to Christ Episopal Church to work at the Kids Club. Imagine Vacation Bible School and you'll have a pretty good picture of our work. Crafts, reading, games, and other activities were all involved. What is remarkable is the number of tragic stories we heard along the way. One young boy who came spent the day with Casey. He was very high energy and required supervision on a one-on-one basis. What we didn't find out until later was that this boy had lost his older brother to a shooting a few months previous. This boy and his three sisters are still dealing with the trauma from the incident. Along with them, three other attendees or counselors who live in the area all lost loved ones to gang-related crime in the neighborhood. Another young man named Roger from the neighborhood helped us during the day. He was an extremely nice person and was interested in attending mechanics school. Last year, Roger also lost a cousin in a shooting. The problem is very serious but Christ Church is very involved in turning the community around. We are all learning a lot about how many people in our nation are forced to live their lives. The stories we've heard and the lives we are connecting with have caused an awakening in the hearts of our youth and in my own heart as well.
So far we've had no serious problems and all the youth are healthy, happy, and excited about the experience. Please continue to pray for us. We are praying for you and will continue to do so. Blessings to you all.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Pre-Trip Introduction
Thank you for checking out Axe UMC Youth's mission trip blog. This year we are headed to Birmingham, AL and you can follow along with the group through this blog from July 3-10.
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