Virtual Mission Trip

Last Day

2011-08-06T00:30:00.000-05:00

Today we wrapped up at our YouthWorks site and said our tearful goodbyes. We were all exhausted from the emotional evening we had the night before and slept for the majority of our bus ride this morning. We stopped for a Sonic lunch treat and ended up in Omaha, NE for the night. We celebrated with cupcakes this evening and a song to conclude our evening. We are excited to see our families, but hope that we can continue on this journey in being the hands and feet of God once we return home. Keep us in your prayers for safe travels on our last leg of the trip.
God's Peace

More Adventures :)

2011-08-06T00:24:00.001-05:00

A day in the life of a mission tripper

2011-08-06T00:01:00.000-05:00

Adult Leader Fashion Show

2011-08-05T23:57:00.000-05:00

North Dakota Song

2011-08-05T23:53:00.000-05:00

2011-08-05T00:57:00.000-05:00

Greetings friends and family. Tomorrow morning we load the bus and depart at 9:00 a.m. We have mixed emotions about our departure from Pawhuska. We are all so excited to see our families, share our stories and pictures. We are excited to freeze when it's 80 degrees outside and we are excited to sleep in our own beds. However, we also know that we are going to miss our new friends and this generous loving community. After another full day of work crews, kids club, swimming at the local pool and the community BBQ we ended our night with the Youthworks! Thursday night tradition of foot washing. We shared more prayers and tears throughout the night. Tomorrow we head to Omaha and will update you again then. Thanks for taking this journey with us by keeping us in your prayer and reading our blog.

And more adventures :)..

2011-08-04T16:20:00.001-05:00

More adventures :)

2011-08-04T08:59:00.000-05:00

Prayers

2011-08-04T08:48:00.000-05:00

We would like to ask everyone to keep us in their thoughts and prayers as our journey comes to an end. We would like to especially pray for the youth whose families are suffering right now, as it is a struggle to be so far away from home during these times of hurt.

God's Peace.

2011-08-04T00:19:00.002-05:00

Day 3

2011-08-04T00:15:00.000-05:00

Dear friends we just completed another amazing day at Pawhuska. Our groups spread out throughout town to continue our work at the kids club, picking up trash, out-ragous sports camp and other various work projects. Several groups stayed on site this morning to help distribute food. Large trucks dropped off plates of carrots, onions, and bananas. Walmart also donated plates of bread, donuts, and cupcakes. While the heat continued to pose a challenge the love from the community and your prayers continue to push us through the heat. We also have had a few of our mission trip youth who have had calls from home regarding family members in the hospital or recently diagnosed with cancer. We have shared prayers and tears throughout the day. Tonight at our closing church time we sang a Sharon favorite, "God is Able". As we departed from our church time it began to rain. The people of Pawhuska have not seen rain in several months. We stood beneath those drops and were so powerfully moved by God's presence. Those drops were true reminders of God's promise to us in our baptism. We stood together in those rain drops and laugh, danced and cried some more.

Day 2

2011-08-03T08:17:00.000-05:00

Good Morning. Yesterday was a full day of work projects, Kids Club, and Sports Camp. Even though the temperature hit 113 degrees we all somehow managed to stay hydrated and positive! What has been so amazing about this town is how the community has welcomed us. As some groups work on the side of the road picking up trash, the local people wave and said thank you as they passed by. One lady brought out ice tea to one of our groups who were cleaning in the yard. And another group was brought brownies, chips and pop. Their love and kindness helps us push through any challenges the heat have brought us. After a long day Reverend Finely invited us for a friendly game of softball and cold drinks, which was followed by yummy ice cream sundaes. It is amazing to see the transformation in our kids over the past couple days and how much more they appreciate the little things. A cloud passed over us midday and one of our kids smiled and said, "Now that is a God sighting!" It is truly rewarding to be a part of this process. Pray for us as we continue on our faith journey :)

From our journey so far...

2011-08-02T06:59:00.001-05:00

Day 1

2011-08-01T22:37:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! We are so thankful that we are finally able to update you from our home for the week Osage, Oklahoma. Unfortunately, our phones are not enabling us to update the blog from them which is resulting in slow posts.
Today we all had multiple projects from cleaning, picking up trash, playing with kids, pulling weeds, and playing sports with the local youth. After a well needed shower we got to visit the local "swinging bridge" and "look-out" mountain. We are grateful for our beautiful surroundings and wonderful YouthWorks staff. During devotions, multiple youth mentioned their interactions with the locals and the youth here. We are so thankful that we have been able to survive the heat and stay hydrated while staying positive. We could use your prayers to survive the next couple days in this heat. Stay tuned for Day 2 :)...God's Peace!

Devotions on Saturday Night

2011-07-31T00:29:00.000-05:00

Tonight in devotions we talked about stepping outside our comfort zones in service. How we may find our selves serving in areas which may make us uncomfortable. We may be shy but will be serving a location that requires us to talk and visit with people. We may dislike cleaning but will be asked to wash and clean. In our family groups we shared with each other what makes us uncomfortable and how we can help and support each other throughout this coming week. Thank you for keeping us all in your prayers. There are calling for some pretty warms temps which is a big deal for us North Dakotans. We hope to update you more once we reach Osage. However, we are unsure of what kind of internet service we will have. Good night and God's peace.

The Donut Whole in Kansas

2011-07-31T00:14:00.000-05:00

We were able to take a fun stop today at the Donut Whole in Kansas and enjoy some fun donuts: Maple Bacon, Root Beer Float, PB&J, Cheesecake, etc. After that we arrived in Oklahoma City for some winding down time in the pool.

Devotions Friday Night

2011-07-30T23:56:00.000-05:00

From Nebraska to Oklahoma

2011-07-30T22:18:00.002-05:00

Technical Difficulties

2011-07-30T19:29:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone, as you can see from our previous posts we are having some technical difficulties. We made it to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma!! We had a surprise fun stop on the way today at the Donut Whole in Kansas where we enjoyed Root Beer Floot, PB & J, and peach cobbler donuts. YUMMY!! We are going to enjoy our surroundings and update everyone this evening after our devotions. :)

The start of our journey...

2011-07-29T19:20:00.000-05:00

2011-07-29T17:58:00.001-05:00

Hello again, we have arrived safely in Omaha, NE and are enjoying some free time!

2011-07-29T12:43:00.001-05:00

We just stopped in Sioux falls, SD to fill our tummies with some lunch and we are back on the road!!

Preparing for the Trip :)

2011-07-28T22:10:00.000-05:00

Our Chariot AWAITS US!!!!

2011-07-28T22:05:00.001-05:00

2011-07-12T14:51:00.001-05:00

2011-07-12T14:44:00.001-05:00

Between Journeys

2011-07-07T15:30:00.002-05:00

Welcome to Sharon's Youth Mission Blog!

This is a place to learn about what some of our high school youth are up to during the summer months as they journey to new places in search of what God is up to in the world!

We are currently between journeys but please feel free to explore past posts and dig through the archives for videos and photos from past trips!

God's peace to you!

Playing in the Bay Area

2010-08-04T00:57:00.000-05:00

Photo Page Update

2010-08-03T00:11:00.000-05:00

Be sure to visit (or revisit) the Prairie to Bay Photos Page. New albums are being published even as I type this post. Also, look for more video posts even after we return! Thanks for journeying with us!

Peace,
RevD

Three Days with Living Laboratories

2010-08-02T03:49:00.000-05:00

Sunday Morning Reflections

2010-08-01T08:14:00.001-05:00

Greetings from the Bay Area!

I can't believe it is already Sunday Morning. The week has gone by so quickly! Apologies for not keeping the blog more current. I literally have had no extra time to sit down and put some video together or even type some thoughts about our trip. The schedule has been pretty tight! (Yes, I am the one who put the itinerary together and yes, I have learned a few things for next time! :-)

Let me just say that our high school youth are awesome! It has been a joy to travel, to work and to play with these people. No matter where they participated in Service/Learning (Living Labs, GRIP, Alameda County Food Bank, MedShare, Save the Bay, etc.) they have really given their all! Despite short nights and long days their attitudes and willingness to join in have really impressed me.

It hasn't been all hard work. As you heard from the girls who posted previously, we went to a Giants game. We also toured Alcatraz, took the BART into San Francisco, rode a cable car and saw some of the sights of this beautiful city, played at the Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk, took a tour of Stanford University, and had an amazing Eucharist worship at University Church nearby.

We have a little change in plans. We have decided to leave today instead of tomorrow morning to break up the two long travel days home into three more reasonable days. We will still arrive home at the scheduled time.

The extra travel day will allow more posting and hopefully more video so please stay tuned. Thank you for your patience, faithful blog readers!

Before we head out of town today we will be worshiping at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church and hearing from Sara Miles, director of ministry and founder of The Food Pantry. After that, lunch and an opportunity to walk on the Golden Gate Bridge... then on to Elko, NV, where we will stay tonight!

God's Peace,
RevD

Day 5 - Wednesday Service, Learning and Fun

2010-07-29T00:59:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone back home!

☺ Today we worked at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland. We worked for Living Labs. Tom was our main host and his son and daughter were also there to help. Tom explained to everyone that the work site we were working at did not look that way ten years ago. He said they only had two bushes. Now the garden is filled with bushes, trees, plants, and even a pond with a sitting area. Today we helped getting the garden ready for Freshmen Orientation for the parents and their kids. Everyone helped pull weeds and sheet mulch. Sheet mulching is where you use recycled cardboard, lay them all over the ground, wet the ground down, put hay on top of that, and water the hay. This eventually makes soil and helps kill of any plants they don’t want. With everyone helping we got the whole garden done and the pond area too. It was so nice to work with everyone and to meet a few new people too! We all worked hard through the morning and the afternoon. Tom was extremely pleased and thankful. It was a great experience and it was nice to work together as hard as we did. Keep looking at the blog! Pastor David has been working hard on it!

Thanks everybody and see you in a couple days!
~Erin Olson

Hey everyone!!

It’s so awesome that we are able to tell you about our day here on the blog☺ We had a great work day with some of us working again with living laboratories and some of us working with an organization called Alameda County Food Bank. I worked with the group at ACFB and we had a very productive day! ACFB is an organization that sorts, organizes, and distributes fresh produce, canned goods, and a variety of other foods to smaller, local food banks. They help about 250 food banks around the area and help feed about 50,000 people every week! They also are the home of a food helpline where people can call and receive help with finding a food bank in their area and get any other information that they may need to help them. Charlie, the volunteer coordinator, told us that they are now getting about 3,000 calls a month, with over half of them being from new callers, people who have never needed to ask for help before. Our work at ACFB today consisted of sorting and bagging 3,900 pounds of plums and schucking about 4,900 pounds of corn cobs!! We worked along with a ton of other volunteers and I really felt that what I did today made a difference. After working today, we visited a church called Lutheran Church of the Cross, which holds a spaghetti dinner every Wednesday night for people who are not able to afford a meal. It was really interesting to sit and talk with people from the community and we all heard a lot of interesting stories! We also stopped on the way home at the Berkeley pier and saw an amazing view!! Overall, I think it was an awesome day for everyone!!
See you all soon!
~Meghan Nelson

Day 4 - Tuesday Service, Learning and Fun

2010-07-29T00:57:00.002-05:00

Hey it’s Zoe and Paige!

Here is what we did Tuesday, here at the bay. Thirteen of us (Zoe) went to a program called G.R.I.P.; Greater Richmond Interfaith Program. G.R.I.P. is a place where homeless families can stay. It was a lot of fun working and talking with these people. Four of us worked in the children center, and the rest worked around the building serving food and cleaning up closets etc.

I (Paige) was doing Living Laboratories. We worked with the Oakland Food Connection group to complete a variety of planting at E.C. Reems elementary school in Oakland. We hauled compost up three flights of stairs to the roof where the garden was and started planting. We planted a variety of crops from lettuces, to peas, to carrots. We also planted flowers and other things in giant pots in the front of the school. Before we left, everything was watered and all the dirt was swept up.

Later that night we went to the Giants vs. Marlins game!! It was a blast! The weather was a bit chilly and a lot cooler than it is in Grand Forks. The stadium is located next to the ocean, so we layered on our sweatshirts. Despite the cold weather, everyone had a great time. We had a lot of laughs and made a lot of memories... what could be better than a baseball game with thirty of your friends!

2010-07-27T11:31:00.001-05:00

... of our group at GRIP (see list of partners for info) & the other two thirds will begin our work shortly with Living Labs here in Berkeley. More later!

2010-07-27T11:27:00.001-05:00

... a few hours longer than planned. No worries, though! All are well & we arrived at PLTS in Berkeley a little before midnight! We just dropped off a third...

2010-07-27T11:24:00.001-05:00

Greetings! As you probably noticed, we didn't post to the blog yesterday. Some unforeseen changes to our itinerary caused us to stay in Grants Pass, OR...

Days One & Two: The Journey Begins

2010-07-26T07:30:00.000-05:00

Day One: The Long and Winding Road

2010-07-25T00:36:00.002-05:00

It is 11:20 pm, Mountain Time, here in Helena, MT.
We arrived just a little after 9:00 pm. We made good time.

The first day of these journeys is generally dedicated to catching up on sleep and settling into this new nomadic community. Nothing unusual occurred along the way, for which we are thankful!

So... no pictures tonight, no video or even text messages from our youth - just this brief post to let you all know we arrived at our first overnight stop safe and sound.

I am thankful for the young people on this trip. I know some of them pretty well and some I am just now getting to know. They are all amazing, gifted children of God! I am also thankful for our friends from Martin’s Lutheran in Casselton who journey with us - new friends to get to know as we travel and serve together. I am also thankful for our adult family group leaders. There are a lot of different ways they could have spent eleven days of their summer... and they chose to spend it hanging out with high school youth and learning and growing together with them in faith and in love for God and neighbor. All of these people are great partners to have along the way.

I am off to bed. Tomorrow is another long bus ride (not quite as long as today!) and tomorrow evening we will be enjoying spaghetti supper hosted by the folks from my home congregation in West Linn, OR. We are thankful and moved by their generous offer of hospitality.

To prepare everyone for their time in the Portland area I have been holding workshops on how to pronounce Oregon. None of this “Or Uh Gone” stuff in my neighborhood! ;-)

G’night all!
RevD

Aaron and RevD discuss their summer plans...

2010-07-22T17:33:00.002-05:00

2010-07-12T22:43:00.001-05:00

We leave for the Bay Area in 12 days... keep checking back for up to date news as we get closer to launch!

Previews of our Berkeley home...

2010-07-07T17:33:00.001-05:00

If you click the title of this post it will take you to a photo album showing you a little slice of paradise! Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, perched above Berkeley, is the place we will be staying during our time in the Bay Area. It is a bit of a trudge up the hill to get there, but so worth it! Enjoy!

By the way, to get back to the blog, simply click where it says (home).

Sharon's Mission Trip Blog Currently Under Construction

2010-07-07T13:42:00.002-05:00

Thanks for checking out the Mission Trip blog! If you have been here before you are probably noticing there have been some changes to the site since last you visited. You might say we are 'under construction!'

Thank you for your patience as I tweak and tinker and try to learn a little basic html language (how fun is that!?!) along the way. Everything should be ready to go by the time we hit the road on July 24th!

I hope you will continue to journey with us as we travel to the Bay Area and that you will offer up (in other words, post) words of encouragement and support along the way.

Peace,
RevD

This is a test post to see how Flock works.

2009-02-23T18:47:00.001-06:00

Testing. Testing.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

New Orleans, Grace Lutheran, Prepare for Hurricane Gustav

2008-08-28T22:39:00.005-05:00

Greetings,

What follows is an e-mail letter I just received from Pastor Leon at Grace Evangelical Lutheran in New Orleans. (If you click on the title of this post it will take you directly to the web site mentioned by Pastor Leon below.)

Peace,
RevD

To all of our friends and partners of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Orleans:

As many of you are aware, we are in the potential path of Hurricane Gustav (and who knows about Hannah). We are in a state of anxiety and early preparation to evacuate. We are still 4-5 days away from knowing with any certainty where this storm will make landfall. We are thankful for the many calls and emails expressing your concerns and for lifting us up in prayer. It is deeply appreciated.

Tomorrow marks the 3rd Anniversary of Katrina--the hurricane that has connected all of us together. If anything, your presence in our lives has been the true blessing we have experienced. On Friday evening, we will gather for worship to remember that historic day and to remember through our stories what it was like to come home . . . to the grace of God. The obvious is we came home to a disaster. But the reality is we found God waiting for us . . . long to care for us in the midst of the greatest disaster we have ever experienced.

In the process of our recovery, we wrote a book. 17 members of Grace wrote stories of coming home to New Orleans. The book is called the "Essence of Grace." Tomorrow night we are debuting the book for the first time. It is wonderful (and I know I am being biased). But this book is a tribute to your grace to us. You were the essence of God's grace. We shall never forget what you have done for us. In the weeks and months ahead, we look forward to sharing that book with you (but not until the dust settles with Gustav). But for now, the book will be our reminder that the same God and his grace that was there when we returned from Katrina will be there again when we return from Gustav. I invite your prayers tomorrow night at 7 PM CDT. I am not sure what to pray for. I mean, it's not like we want the dang hurricane to go elsewhere and hurt anyone else. What I do know is we need God's calming presence.

It looks like the evacuation process will begin on Saturday with the most critical ill being moved first. A mandatory evacuation is pending in St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes on that day as well. Please pray for those living in these two parishes, especially our sister ELCA congregation, Gethsemane Lutheran Church. They are incredibly vulnerable and their recovery from Katrina has been very slow. Their improved protection is nowhere near being complete and remain at high risk for further damage. For the rest of us, it looks like an evacuation may happen on Sunday or Monday. There is much anxiety about the levee system in New Orleans and the improved repairs made on them. Ironically, they need to be tested by a hurricane so that confidence can be rebuilt. Unfortunately, the lower 9th Ward is no more protected than it was before Katrina. Like St. Bernard Parish, it remains more vulnerable than the rest of the area.

The staff is planning to evacuate to Memphis, TN sometime on Sunday early Monday morning at the latest. We would have stayed closer but all the hotels are booked within 300 miles (another early indication of the heightened anxiety that is prevalent). We will have email and cell phone access. We invite you to follow this chapter in our recovery by going to a synod blog that has been set up for all of our congregations in the SE Louisiana area.

Go to www.futurewithhope.org and click on "Communicating in Times of Disaster." Then click on "Grace Lutheran Church." You can keep up to date with our progress and read all of our announcements to our members as we try to stay connected.

Thanks for your compassion and your prayers. We pray that your grace to us will not be in vain.

Telling Stories

2008-08-23T11:07:00.005-05:00

Dear Friends,

We have been back from New Orleans for almost three weeks now. We have had a chance to share our stories and our experiences with family and friends, with the congregation in worship, and will continue to to do so. If you have not yet taken the opportunity to ask one of our youth what the mission trip was like for them I hope you will do so.

Perhaps this video will give you just a glimpse of what you might be in for if you simply ask one of our youth, "How was your trip?"

God's peace,
RevD

Sleeping in Memphis and on our way home...

2008-08-02T00:16:00.003-05:00

Here we are in Memphis, exhausted and ready to get back home... and yet many of us feel that the week was over too fast. The video on this post is comprised of our Sunday afternoon tour of New Orleans and one of the days we worked on the Habitat houses (along with some photos from throughout the week).

We spent about 2 1/2 days work on two homes. One needed preparation for paint and that crew also had the opportunity to get some exterior painting done - 2 1/2 walls by the time they had to leave this afternoon. The other crew worked on roofing and sheathing a house. They completed the sheathing and got some of the decking on the roof. It was hard work, it was hot and humid, but I know everyone in our group would get up and do it again tomorrow if we asked them to.

It has been a pleasure to travel and serve and hang out with every single person on this trip. How blessed am I that part of my calling includes getting to participate in amazing experiences like this one.

New Orleans has left a mark on every one of us and we will have to do a fair bit of praying and processing to discern what it is each of us will do about that. I, for one, am glad to know that we get to return to New Orleans next summer for the ELCA Youth Gathering.

We are thankful for Grace Lutheran Church, for Pastor Leon and friends, for their generous hospitality; we are thankful for the congregation for supporting the youth and making it possible for us to take this trip; and we are thankful to all of you for your prayers and for your comments on the blog. Each night we read them and it means a lot to everyone that you are all on this journey with us. Tomorrow is our last night and we will spend it in Omaha, Nebraska, before returning home on Sunday afternoon.

See ya soon!

God's peace,
RevD

Day Six: Habitat House

2008-07-30T23:29:00.002-05:00

Greetings once again from New Orleans!

We had a great day today working on the Habitat Houses! It is late once again so please enjoy the pictures and look for more blog posts and videos in the very near future (like tomorrow, or the next day!)

God's peace,
RevD

Day Five: A Letter to Sharon from Pastor Leon

2008-07-29T23:20:00.002-05:00

(Leon Philpot, pastor of Grace Lutheran, our host church here in New Orleans wanted to share this message with all of you. We all agreed that it should be our blog post for Day Five.)

Dear family and friends of your Mystery Mission Group from Sharon Lutheran Church,

I love your group! You have an amazing group of young people and people who are young in spirit (even if their bodies aren't cooperating). It has been an incredible joy and blessing to welcome them, play with them, work with them, cry with them, laugh with them, and pray with them. 16 months ago I embarked on a lonely journey into a mysterious time and place called post-Katrina. The images, the experience of life after Katrina are so eerily similar to the mysterious journey you and I had to live through in 1997. But what the people of New Orleans don't know, that you and I do, is that we know the destination of this journey. In 1997, we learned first-hand what the resurrection can be like in a post-Red River Flood. We learned that there is hope and there is new life after death--the total loss of everything you take for granted in life. It is true for the faithful in New Orleans who struggle daily to . . . keep the faith. That phrase is one that has defined my ministry since I was a young man. That phrase is one that defined who you were in 1997 . . . and who you remain today. All of us remember so vividly the SPA production of . . . "Keep the faith!" From the mouths of our young came the words of faith to be strong, be resilient, be hopeful for as we read in Revelation 21:4, God "is making all things new."

The first night's devotion was about "holy ground." Your young people once stood on holy ground in 1997, and now 11 years later, we find them standing on holy ground once again. It was a godly moment on Sunday morning during the children's sermon to be able to show the members of Grace what our children will one day look like as I showed them your youth group--who were at the time of their own disaster were about the same age as the children of Grace are today. It was in my mind a glimpse of how God is at work, always showing us that He will make all things new, that the future for our children (and their families) is good and promising. God is good . . . all the time!

I have only spent three days and nights with your group and I am in awe. I told Kim Adams how envious I was of her to have such a fine group of young people to travel with who have heart and compassion, kindness and strength, willingness and openness to being the hands and feet of Christ. These young people and their adult leaders have done an incredible job these last two days. Our church was blessed with an extra day of hard work that they had not planned on doing. The weather did not cooperate and every recovery agency shut down for the day because of the heavy rain. So your loved ones cleaned up our alley, sidewalks, and street curbs; pruned a couple of 200-year old oak trees that make Grace more visible; installed mirrors in some of our bathrooms; painted one of our sleeping rooms and youth room (which looks awesome); thoroughly cleaned out the weeds from our small fenced backyard, cleaned all of our windows and blinds, scrubbed by hand the fellowship hall and kitchen floors (major elbow grease); and wiped down walls and mopped floors everywhere they could find. As a result, Grace is looking better than it ever has. That is so important for us to be able to convey to the community around us that we are back strong and healthy, that we are a body of Christ that cares about the community as much as we care for our grounds. There is severe depression and post-traumatic stress in our community. Having a peaceful place to come and be cared for is critical to our mission and our ability to attract new members. We need to grow. We lost 40% of our members from the hurricane. Your group's work these last two days will pay dividends for us in ways that are unimaginable. What it says to our own congregation is that we are part of a larger church that cares deeply about us that they would be willing do our dirty work. I am in awe of how your young people care. I did not see complaining and whining. What I saw was joy and excitement (probably because they got to work in an air-conditioned building instead of the 90+ degree heat and humidity!). I love your group.

I could ramble on forever, but I dare not. Let me close by saying that for me personally these past couple of days has been spiritually and mentally uplifting. I am tired and weary. As called as I am to this time and place to help the people of God, that is not to say it does not have its challenges that can wear on you. Having your loved ones at Grace is like having family around to share the burden and things that just need to get done. I love this group. They have fed me with their smiles, their friendship, their music, their devotion to the God. But most of all, they have touched my heart in ways that no other group that we have hosted at Grace has. And that is because this group, after having watched a movie on the wetlands and Katrina, and taken our Katrina Prayer Tour, truly understands in their own hearts the suffering the people of God have and are still going through. And that my friends, is why I am in awe to be standing on "holy ground" with your loved ones.

On behalf of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, a grateful community that calls itself New Orleans, I give thanks to God for each one of the Mystery Mission Group from Sharon Lutheran Church and the grace they are to us! I love this group!

Keep the faith . . ..

Pastor Leon Philpot

Day Four's Double Feature: Amazing Grace and the Swamp Thing!

2008-07-28T22:39:00.005-05:00

AMAZING GRACE!

This morning we worked in the sun. We got up early. Some of us got up at the last possible moment. We were excited to get busy today because after yesterday’s tour where we saw such devastation we wanted to act! So today we felt like we could begin to be one expression of the hands and feet of Christ in this place.

We worked in and around Grace Lutheran Church, our host church and our hone for the week, painting, gardening, trimming trees, cleaning up garbage in the area, sweeping out the street gutters, hanging mirrors and other projects. We got a lot done by noon.

THE SWAMP THING

After lunch we went on the New Orleans version of a wildlife safari! We took a tour of the bayou, south of New Orleans on big 15 and 17 passenger airboats. We saw alligators! We got to hold a baby alligator! Yikes! The tour guides were Cajun locals who obviously love the place they live in and enjoy sharing it with others. They made us love it too!

For supper we went to a nearby restaurant, the Touché Café, where we enjoyed such local delicacies as muffelata and po’boy sandwiches (shrimp and beef) and amazing Caesar salad and beans and rice!

Throughout this trip we have heard the stories of people who experienced the effects of Hurricane Katrina and it seems that in every story, people were thankful for getting through it and were convinced that others had it worse. In some cases they lost everything but were thankful for their lives and the lives of their loved one. They have found surprising strength as a result of enduring such a tragedy. We followed this with a dessert that is another local favorite, snow balls (think snow cones but way better!)

We came back to the church for devotions and ‘family time.’ The theme for the evening was, “Don’t be overcome by evil, overcome evil by doing good.”

Good night and God’s peace,
RevD (with help from Lacey and Josh!)

Day Three: New Orleans

2008-07-28T00:47:00.002-05:00

Today we began our first full day in New Orleans.

After enjoying a great breakfast provided by our hosts (including Krispy Kremes, yayy!) we worshiped with the congregation of Grace Lutheran. Kim gave the message and there is no question that good news was proclaimed! Not only did we get to worship with them but we shared some music with them as Dave and several of the youth sang ‘God is Able’ during communion.

Some of you may know the pastor here at Grace, Leon Philpot, as he came to New Orleans from North Dakota, where he served as the pastor of Portland Parish and has been involved in youth ministry in our synod for quite some time. It was great to reconnect with Leon and learn about his ministry in the Big Easy.

After worship we enjoyed some free time followed by a spaghetti lunch.
(Thank you, Rick and Roxanne Gessler, for the great spaghetti sauce. It was really good!)

After lunch we watched a video entitled “Hurricane On the Bayou,” a documentary focusing on the vanishing wetlands along the Gulf coast and the effect that has on the region with regard to hurricanes. It turns out that healthy wetlands are effective deterrents from hurricane damage as they reduce the height of hurricane surges by one foot for every three miles traveled inland. Interestingly enough, they started shooting this documentary three months before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Unfortunately, the damage caused by Katrina was a brutal affirmation of the viewpoint highlighted in the film.

Immediately after viewing the film we all got in the bus, along with Leon, who guided us on a tour of the parishes in New Orleans most significantly affected by Katrina. The amount of destruction still evident nearly three years later is staggering. Leon is an excellent guide and we learned a lot about the complexity of the challenges facing the people of New Orleans. Many of the youth did not expect it to still be as bad as it is– abandoned houses, poverty (in Kylie’s words, “Poverty sucks!”), visible signs of destruction, hopeless faces, etc. We look forward to being part of the effort of making things better, even though we know that it will take the efforts of many more people than the 28 of us for many years to come before the work is through.

We finished the day off with supper at the Hard Rock Café and then headed back to the church for some devotion and free time before turning in for the night. On the bus, on the way back to the church, stories and memories of personal flood experience rose easily to the surface for some of our group as we reflected on our amazing day.

We will spend our service time tomorrow working around the building and grounds of Grace Lutheran, followed by a pretty great recreational experience Kim and Leon have cooked up for us... but you will have to tune in tomorrow to find out more about that!

Blessings!

RevD (with help from Denae and Kylie!)

P.S. Sorry, no video tonight... I figure I gotta sleep sometime! Check out all the pics though!

Day Two: The journey continues

2008-07-27T02:18:00.006-05:00

We have arrived!
Our future posts will be longer and more detailed.
For now you will just have to settle for some more
'in the bus' videos as we traveled from Missouri to Louisiana.
We will be staying at Grace Lutheran Church in New Orleans.
Thanks for tuning in!

Day One: The journey begins...

2008-07-26T01:46:00.008-05:00

It's late so I won't write too much.
The video pretty much says it all anyway.
What a great group of people to be traveling with.
By now, I imagine, most of you know where we are going.
We are still guessing!
Keep checking in. Keep us in your prayers.

God's peace,

RevD

Enhanced Blog Features

2008-07-17T12:37:00.009-05:00

Here are a couple of tips to enhance your enjoyment of this blog:

First: Try clicking on the title of each post.
If there are photos accompanying the post you will be directed to a page containing those photos. While you are there, try the Slideshow feature! After you are finished viewing the photos (or if no photos for the post are available), simply click the back arrow on your browser to return to the blog.

Second: If you want to see all the photo albums available, simply click on the words, Mystery Trip Photos, located at the top of the side bar of this page. Clicking on a photo album will direct you to a page containing those photos. Again, clicking the back arrow of your browser will return you to the blog when you are finished viewing.

Enjoy!

Peace,
RevD

P.S. Don't forget to leave us a note, letting us know you stopped by!

Mystery Mission Trip Participants Commissioned During Wednesday Worship

2008-07-17T12:08:00.019-05:00

"So here's what I want you to do,
God helping you:
Take your everyday, ordinary life
- your sleeping, eating, going-to-work,
and walking-around life -
and place it before God as an offering."
(Romans 12:1 - The Message)

Last night, with these words and others from St. Paul, the youth and adults who will be participating in the 2008 H.S. Mystery Mission Trip were commissioned, prayed over and blessed by Pastor Deanna, parents and family members, and the congregation of Sharon Lutheran Church.

Most of us have no idea where we are going, but we trust in the promise that on this journey, as in all of life, God is with us, guiding us, providing us with strength and wisdom and patience and courage, sending us out in love to the world!

God is good! All the time!

Welcome!

2008-07-16T13:29:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the blog for Sharon Lutheran's Senior High Mystery Mission Trip!

We are just finishing construction on the site, so keep checking in for new content.

We will leave Grand Forks on Friday, July 25th, early in the morning and will return some time on Sunday, August 3rd. We hope to have daily posts, photos and videos of the journey for all of you to enjoy and we hope you will take the time to leave a comment and let us know you are taking this trip with us.

We have no idea where we are going.
Only Kim Adams, Dave Berger and Pastor Deanna know our destination...
and they're not telling!

Check back often and stay up to date!

Peace,
Pastor David (aka RevD)

(I don't even know where we are going!)

Re-creation time in Chicago

2007-08-05T19:24:00.001-05:00

Arrival time!

2007-08-05T08:50:00.000-05:00

Our best approximation is that we will arrive at Sharon Lutheran at 9:30 this morning.

Day Seven Details - We are on our way home!

2007-08-04T21:59:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed a nice, cool day at Six Flags today. It rained a bit, but we were still able to enjoy the rides, shows, and food! Now we are on our way home! Please check back in the morning for a more precise arrival time. We ask your prayers for safe travel tonight and tomorrow. Thank you so much for all you've done to make this experience meaningful and memorable. God bless!

2007-08-04T08:39:00.000-05:00

It got to be a little too late last night to put together the day's video clips so please enjoy this little morsel and the daily video will be uploaded shortly after we return home. Peace!
RevD

Day Six Details

2007-08-04T08:38:00.001-05:00

We got to sleep in an extra hour today! Whoo hoo!

Today was the day for us to experience downtown Chicago life! Most of us visited the Shedd Aquarium. It was cool to see all of the different species of fish, crabs, whales, dolphins, sea lions, snakes, and sharks. There was a kimodo dragon, and a fish which had lived over 80 years – since the beginning of the aquarium.

A smaller group explored the Field Museum of Natural History, where the favorite exhibits were Sue (the T-rex), the Underground Adventure, and an exhibit on the life of Charles Darwin.

Our group took a 45 minute guided tour of the Cool Globes, a project designed to raise awareness of the climate crisis and how individually and collectively we can be a part of the solution. We saw many of the 124 “hot ideas for a cool planet”, some of which were designed by children and young adults!

We walked and walked and walked past Lollapalooza and the harbor to the Navy Pier. We enjoyed the shopping and attractions along the Pier. Many of us rode on the Ferris Wheel.

We came back to the church for supper and Club time. Todd, Brent, RevD, and Dave performed a very intriguing skit for us involving cereal, milk, and a missing bowl.

We look forward to our day tomorrow at Six Flags, after which we will get on the bus and head back to Grand Forks! We ask your prayers for safe travel and a joyous return, and we hope to see you at Sharon on Sunday morning!

We are looking forward to getting back to our families and the comforts of home, but feeling like there is more to be done on this trip, at home and in the world.

As always, thank you for your comments, prayers, and support. God Bless!

More random scenes...

2007-08-03T07:54:00.000-05:00

Day Five Details

2007-08-03T07:52:00.000-05:00

Our morning did not turn out as we planned at the Urban Art Retreat. The director was holding an art show at a different site, and did not return until late this afternoon. This meant that we were unable to learn about and partner with their ministry. We dealt with this frustration and disappointment as a group, and talked about the unpredictability of volunteering, ministry, and mission.

We decided to head back to our home here at Irving Park Lutheran Church. We invited our bus drivers to join us for lunch, and they gladly accepted. After lunch we helped set up the gym and clean up the building for the Vacation Bible School celebration and pot luck dinner.

When our work was finished, some of us sat outside and sang bible camp songs. We went for a little excursion to Walgreen’s. In the evening we were able to see the sanctuary of Irving Park Lutheran Church. We saw beautiful stained glass windows, and played the largest game of Mafia in Sharon Lutheran Church history.

After we enjoyed the pot luck meal and cleaned up our building, two members of Irving Park Lutheran (a retired pastor and his wife, the church council president) came to talk to us about Chicago. We learned about its history, its neighborhoods, its sights, its people, its problems, and its opportunities.

One part of our club time was a footwashing service. It was very touching for all of us.

We look forward to spending time tomorrow at Navy Pier. We will take a tour of the Cool Globes, and we will visit the Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum. We will enjoy lunch on the lake, and we will return to Irving Park Lutheran Church for our final Club time of the trip.

Thank you for checking in with us. We love you and miss you and appreciate your comments, prayers, and support. God Bless.

Itinerary change

2007-08-02T15:29:00.000-05:00

After careful consideration and much conversation, we have decided to return to Grand Forks directly from Six Flags on Saturday night rather than return to Irving Park Church in Chicago for a few short hours of sleep before boarding the bus again. Our anticipated arrival time at Sharon Lutheran is between 10 am and 11 am. We appreciate your understanding and flexibility, and look forward to a joyous return. God bless!

No video today...

2007-08-01T23:36:00.001-05:00

We will be taking a break from video posting for Wednesday. Our photo opportunities were limited at the St. Vincent dePaul Center and, quite frankly, I would like to get to bed a little earlier tonight.

Check back again later though, you never know when a new post, picture or video might show up!

As with all of you, I am sure, we turn in tonight with thoughts and prayers for those involved in the Minneapolis bridge collapse and their loved ones. May God surround them with healing, comfort and love this night and in the days to follow.

God's peace,
Pastor David (RevD)

Day Four Details

2007-08-01T23:34:00.000-05:00

Praise be to God for another day of service and learning! We formed two groups again today, and were able to experience new things and teach each other about them.

Half of our group got to be kids again today! It was incredible being able to continue working with the kids. The kids recognized us right away and ran to us with hugs! The smiles and laughter of the children was uplifting. We’re going to miss them!

The other group was able to give back to our housing site by cleaning our building in preparation for the vacation bible school potluck and celebration tomorrow night. The hard work was rewarding, and the results were easy to see!

We worshipped in our own space tonight and in some new ways, too! For communion, we were each able to serve the meal to each other, and after serving along side each other for the past three days, it was very meaningful and personal.

This has been a day of joy as well as mourning. We look forward to serving together as one group tomorrow at the Urban Art Retreat. We love being able to hear your comments and prayers at Club time each night. Thanks for tuning in!

A reminder...

2007-08-01T15:38:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to remind you all that each post titled "Day [Number] Details" has been composed by one of our family groups. Dave Berger has been typing them up and then he or I post them, but we are not composing them. They come from our youth and their family group adult leaders and their evening reflections during family time. By the end of the trip every one of our six groups will have had the opportunity to write the daily post at least once.

Peace!

New sidebar pics!

2007-08-01T09:41:00.000-05:00

Be sure to scroll down and check out the new pics on the sidebar!

Pace y bene!

P.S. There's a new link to Windy City Habitat also.

Greetings from RevD

2007-08-01T07:46:00.001-05:00

While yesterday’s video uploads to the blog I want to take the opportunity to tell you all what a true pleasure it has been to hang out with this group for the past three days. They have thrown themselves fully and whole-heartedly into whatever we have busied ourselves with. And they have done so cheerfully and with minimal complaint. To the families of our participants and to the congregation as a whole I want to say thank you for raising up such awesome children of God!

We have not talked much about the devotional aspect of our time together on the blog. Each person (youth and adult) has a journal/devotional book. It has a page for each day including some (hopefully) thought provoking questions and a Bible text to read and meditate on. All our scripture reading for this week can be found in Luke chapter 10. Through the story of the sending of the seventy, the parable of the Good Samaritan and the story of Jesus’ visit to Mary and Martha, we have been reflecting on the faithful life of going and doing AND sitting and listening. We have also been trying to pay attention to the fact that our going and doing and our sitting and listening all take place in the context of relationship: Our relationship to God, our relationships with each other and our relationship to the people we serve. Who is our neighbor?

Feel free to read the texts along with us this week! And thanks again for your amazing response to our blog experiment. It has meant so much to us to know that so many of you are traveling with us on this journey! Keep spreading the word so that even more people have the opportunity to connect.

God’s peace,
Pastor David (RevD)

Random scenes...

2007-08-01T07:24:00.001-05:00

Day Three Details

2007-08-01T07:20:00.001-05:00

Hello, everyone! We split into two groups today and experienced three different sites. The first group went to work in and around a Habitat for Humanity house at a different site from yesterday. (Yesterday’s site will get its foundation poured within a couple of weeks) The other group had a split day, with the morning spent at St. Vincent de Paul Daycare Center and the afternoon at the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

At the Habitat site, we sweated it out by pulling weeds and removing debris from the construction site. In the afternoon, a small group went inside the Habitat house and hung drywall in the basement.

At St. Vincent de Paul Center, the group was split into different classrooms, with ages ranging from four months to five years. We enjoyed activities with the children such as playing on the playground and in the water, reading books, helping with art projects, and assisting with lunch.

In the afternoon at the Food Depository, we bagged, weighed, tied, labeled, and boxed over 1100 pounds of corn flakes to be distributed to over 700 agencies in Cook County, Illinois.

The day was very rewarding and exciting! We look forward to tomorrow’s service activities. Thank you for checking out the blog. We appreciate your prayers, comments, and support. God bless!

Preparing the way...

2007-07-31T06:55:00.000-05:00

Day Two Details

2007-07-30T22:53:00.001-05:00

After a good night’s sleep (boys on the stage, girls on the gym floor), we woke up at 6:45. One of the groups prepared breakfast, another group prepared the coolers and water, a group cleaned the bathrooms, we cleared the gym floor for the vacation bible school kids, we all packed our lunches, and we took the bus to our Habitat for Humanity work site on the south side of Chicago. We were greeted by giant weeds! Our task for the day was to prepare the site for the construction of three homes. Everyone wore hard hats, gloves, and long pants as we attacked the weeds, set up a fence, cleared an alley, pulled out stumps, mowed, and weed-whacked. Luckily, a man two doors down from the Habitat site was friends with the crew, and let us use his bathroom, as there were no facilities on site. As we ate our lunch, Warren Callahan, the CEO of Windy City Habitat for Humanity, spoke to us about the history of the organization, thanked us for taking on such an important part of the construction process, and showed us pictures of finished Habitat for Humanity homes. By the end of the day, we had transformed the site.

We enjoyed a quiet bus ride home (many of us slept) and our first showers of the trip. Another family group prepared our evening meal, tacos in a bag!! They were amazing. Most of the group took a field trip to Walgreen’s, and, upon their return, we met for our first Club time of the week. We sang, we played games (including Egg, Chicken, Dinosaur), and we talked about how the first two days had affected all of us.

Soon it’s lights out time. Tomorrow, part of our group will head back to a Habitat for Humanity site for some more site clean-up and some inside work, while the other group will partner with St. Vincent de Paul children’s center and the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Thank you for reading the blog! Thank you for your prayers, your messages, and all of your support!!

On the bus!

2007-07-30T20:17:00.001-05:00

Our first day of service

2007-07-30T19:26:00.000-05:00

Our group spent the day preparing a Habitat for Humanity site for construction. As will be the case every day, the final trip reflection will be written by our family groups and posted to the blog around 11 each night. We have appreciated your prayers, comments, and support!

Day One Details!

2007-07-29T23:37:00.000-05:00

The day went by fast on the drive to Chicago. We tried out the new energy check along with the old one. Also played some Chicago trivia, Mafia, and a few other games. We watched a couple of movies and slept a lot! One stop was Deforest, Wisconsin where some visited the cheese factory. The moon was big and beautiful on the way in to Chicago. We are thankful to have arrived safely!

We have arrived!

2007-07-29T22:27:00.000-05:00

We are settled safely at Irving Park! More details to follow...

We are on our way!

2007-07-29T08:10:00.000-05:00

We are on our way to Chicago! After gathering in the Sharon parking lot and praying, we loaded the bus and headed down the road. Please pray for safe travel and a restful night before we begin clean-up and preparation at the Habitat for Humanity site tomorrow.

Welcome to the blog!

2007-07-24T23:49:00.000-05:00

We Have Been Commissioned!

2007-07-18T21:15:00.001-05:00

"Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that."

Ephesians 5:1-2 (The Message)

With these words, Pastor Deanna and the Wednesday evening worshiping community of Sharon Lutheran commissioned us, youth and adults, as missionaries sent to Chicago to notice where God is at work in that place and to participate in the experience - the gift and the call that each of us received in our baptism.

She was correct when she said that we were being commissioned in the middle of our mission. Over 200 hours have already been logged by our high school youth taking part in a variety of activities for various organizations around the community: CVIC, Dakota Boys Ranch, our own church building, to name just a few of the beneficiaries of their labor. Some of our service/learning hours included a poverty simulation game and a viewing of the film, "The Pursuit of Happyness," to assist us in our ongoing conversation about the who, what and why of mission: Who is my neighbor? What is God calling me to do? Why me? Why are their poor people? Why Chicago? Why not me? Why Lord, why?

After worship, Dave Berger led us through the particulars of the trip and gave the youth and their parents an opportunity to ask questions. We loved Dave before but we REALLY love him now for getting us a place to stay that has showers! Yayy Dave!

You could hear a pin drop in the room when Dave mentioned that the youth would be leaving their cell phones behind. It will be a challenge, of that there is no doubt. But I believe there will be a real benefit in truly 'fasting' from such immediate contact and communication with the community left behind. I do think it is that much easier to avoid engaging in a new and strange community when the familiarity and security of one's own community is only a "speed dial" button away. I ask you all to hold this concern in prayer as these young people are true technology natives and those of us over 25 cannot truly know what this will be like for them.

As the day of departure draws near, I find I am becoming increasingly eager to get on the bus with all of these unique and amazing children of God.

Until the next post, pace y bene (peace and all good)!

RevD

Coming Soon: Sharon Lutheran H.S. Mission Trip

2007-07-13T14:40:00.000-05:00

Greetings folks,

Thanks for stopping by! In a couple of weeks we will be heading off to the Windy City for a week of service and learning as we live out our baptismal call to go out into the world and to participate in what God is doing! Lots of hard work awaits us. Lots of opportunities to meet new people and make new friends await us as well! We can't wait to discover what God has in store for each of us in this new adventure.

We hope that you will join us on this trip by checking out this blog each day to see what we have been up to. We hope to have pictures for you to see as well as reflections on the day's activities for you to read. Please notice the list of prayer requests located in the right hand column. These are things we will be praying for and invite you to pray for as well. This list will also be updated so you'll want to keep checking it from time to time. We also hope you will participate by leaving us comments, perhaps writing down your prayers, sending greetings to the participants, etc. Pastor David (RevD) will be managing this site but he hopes to get lots of help from youth and adults alike in keeping this site up to date.

We leave for Chicago early on Sunday morning, July 29th, but you don't have to wait until then to check in. Hopefully, we will have some interesting pre-trip reflections and comments to whet your appetite for when the real adventure begins. (We say 'hopefully' because RevD doesn't really know what he is doing in the blogosphere and will definitely need some extra prayers!)

Vaya Con Dios!

Sharon Lutheran Church High School Mission Trip 2007 Participants (Wow, that's a mouthful!)