The other day I pulled down the old Occasional Services book from my shelf. That's the book that has various services that we don't do as often in the church, so we do them occasionally... hence the title. You can find the service for a Funeral in there, or blessings for various occasions. I didn't need it for any of those things. No, my friends. I needed it for something far more dire.
An exorcism.
Unfortunately, I did not find what I needed. So, I'm afraid that my house is still being tormented by an evil spirit. An evil spirit with fangs and claws and yellow eyes that seem to glow in the dark. An evil spirit in the form of...
a kitten.
You see, several months ago I decided to adopt a kitten. So I got this furry little guy, and I named him Winston, and he was a little crazy but he soon mellowed out (I think after his most recent visit to the vet, where they did a little snip, was what really did it). But a couple months ago I decided I needed to get Winston a friend, and a family from church just happened to have a cat that had kittens. So I went over to their house and met the three kittens and picked out the one I wanted, and a few weeks later she showed up at my door. When she was born, the family thought she might be a boy so they named her Stewart. Then they found out she was, in fact, a girl but the name stuck. I thought it was cute, so I kept it.
For the first few days she was adorable. She was still checking out the place, and she was a little afraid, so I'd find her huddled under blankets or in little nooks and crannies. But she soon adjusted to me and the house and Winston.
And that, my friends, is when all hell broke loose.
She is constantly knocking things off of shelves and off of the table. If there is one place she shouldn't be, that is where I will find her. I was emptying the dishwasher the other day, I opened it up turned my back for a second and when I turned around she was already trying to climb in. She spends most of her time hanging from the curtains and when she's not doing that she's trying to shred the couch or devour my shoes. She mercilessly chases Winston through the house. I have a scratches on my arm from her that look like they could have come from a mountain lion. For a while she refused to use the litter box and decided to relieve herself in as many places that weren't her litter box as she could. I woke up one morning to see that she had knocked a houseplant off of a shelf and proceeded to spread the dirt all over the dining room floor. I mean all over. It was like wall to wall carpeting but with dirt. And if that wasn't enough, that same morning I went to put on the sweater I had laid out and she apparently had decided that was the best place to pee that morning. Friends told me that to discourage her bad behavior I should use a spray bottle full of water. So I tried that. It didn't really seem to deter her much, no matter how many times I would spray her. She'd be climbing the curtain, I'd spray her with the bottle and she would jump down and run away. Not two seconds later she would be back on the curtain, thrashing around as if she were in the fight of her life. So I would spray her again, this time twice rather than just once, and she'd retreat again. But just as soon as I sat back down she'd be back up on that curtain. Eventually, I'd have a soaking wet kitten who was still attacking the curtains. One of her worst offenses, however, is when she tore into a bag of my powdered sugar donuts and ate some of them. I know it was her because Winston refuses to eat anything that isn't his cat food. Stewart will eat just about anything. I've had to stop her from eating styrofoam peanuts.
The thing that really makes me believe she might be the devil is that she's so darn cute. Her little grey, fuzzy body and her cute white, fuzzy face. Her big eyes that look up at you and her cute little meow. You'd look at her and wonder how something that cute could ever do anything bad.
But that's just what she wants you to think.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
full blast
I haven't been the best at blogging lately.
So, here's a rundown of what has happened since last I've written.
Camp was good and great and a lot of fun. It was very different from the last time I was there, new buildings, new landscaping, new roads... I even got turned around at one point, which is something that has never happened and I never expected to happen. It was a little tough to see these changes, to know that camp is not the camp it was when I worked there. But people change, their expectations and needs change, the times change... camp has to change, too. It's a pretty great, state of the art facility there now, but in my conversation with the fulltime staff, they still have a deep love for camp, and the spirit has stayed the same.
Also while I was there I reconnected with some friends and met a few new ones. It's weird to see people that, when last we spent time together, they were young and single and now they have kids. I kind of attached myself to two of my friends, and their family. They said I became their fourth child that weekend. I got along quite well with their 9, 6 and 4 year old kids. We had a great time. After the reunion I got to spend some time with good friends who were unable to make it. We met up and had good italian food and sat on the deck and reminisced and shared stories of what is going on in our lives now.
Then I got back to church and work exploded in my face and I've been running around like a mad man trying to make sure everything is ready for the arrival of fall scheduling. And I feel like I'm barely treading water at this point. So I really shouldn't be blogging at all. But it's almost lunch time, so I think I can afford a couple minutes.
Confirmation has started, Sunday School has started, and we're trying to come up with some events and activities to get the high schoolers to stay active. We can get 25 or so to go on a mission trip in the summer, but we lose them during the year. Stupid school and extra curricular activities get in the way and kids give them priority over church. I sent an e-mail to a group of high schoolers asking what they'd like to see us offer here at church, what would they be interested in doing, and then I told them I miss them. Because I do. I can't spend a week with you, getting to know you and having a good time, and then all of the sudden stop seeing you and not miss you. It's not the way I work.
So now I have to finish planning Confirmation for tomorrow, plan the worship service for Sunday, and write my sermon. Maybe I should get on that.
So, here's a rundown of what has happened since last I've written.
Camp was good and great and a lot of fun. It was very different from the last time I was there, new buildings, new landscaping, new roads... I even got turned around at one point, which is something that has never happened and I never expected to happen. It was a little tough to see these changes, to know that camp is not the camp it was when I worked there. But people change, their expectations and needs change, the times change... camp has to change, too. It's a pretty great, state of the art facility there now, but in my conversation with the fulltime staff, they still have a deep love for camp, and the spirit has stayed the same.
Also while I was there I reconnected with some friends and met a few new ones. It's weird to see people that, when last we spent time together, they were young and single and now they have kids. I kind of attached myself to two of my friends, and their family. They said I became their fourth child that weekend. I got along quite well with their 9, 6 and 4 year old kids. We had a great time. After the reunion I got to spend some time with good friends who were unable to make it. We met up and had good italian food and sat on the deck and reminisced and shared stories of what is going on in our lives now.
Then I got back to church and work exploded in my face and I've been running around like a mad man trying to make sure everything is ready for the arrival of fall scheduling. And I feel like I'm barely treading water at this point. So I really shouldn't be blogging at all. But it's almost lunch time, so I think I can afford a couple minutes.
Confirmation has started, Sunday School has started, and we're trying to come up with some events and activities to get the high schoolers to stay active. We can get 25 or so to go on a mission trip in the summer, but we lose them during the year. Stupid school and extra curricular activities get in the way and kids give them priority over church. I sent an e-mail to a group of high schoolers asking what they'd like to see us offer here at church, what would they be interested in doing, and then I told them I miss them. Because I do. I can't spend a week with you, getting to know you and having a good time, and then all of the sudden stop seeing you and not miss you. It's not the way I work.
So now I have to finish planning Confirmation for tomorrow, plan the worship service for Sunday, and write my sermon. Maybe I should get on that.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
on my way home
This year marks the 12th anniversary of my first summer as a camp counselor. I know I've written about this numerous times, and if there are still any faithful followers of my blog they are probably tired of hearing the story. Or they could tell you it themselves.
But I, like a good portion of other professional ministry types, can trace my call to ministry back to those days as a camp counselor. I whole-heartedly believe that camp was what set that ball rolling, what ignited that spark inside me.
I ended up working there for three consecutive summers and then decided to enter the real world and become a youth minister. So I missed out on a summer, but then the following year is when I ended up leaving that congregation and I headed back out to camp for the second half of the summer. Immediately after that summer I moved up to seminary, took the scenic route through and graduated in five years, and then came to my current congregation where I have been for three years. It has been eight years since I worked as a camp counselor. It has been eight years since I had the opportunity to work at one of my favorite jobs ever. Sure, I've visited other camps, and I've done other work with youth. I've taken my confirmation kids to camp for a week every summer that I've been here. I have started serving on the Board of Directors for that camp (although they have a knack for scheduling meetings for when I am unable to attend...). But none of that has quite captured the magic of working as a summer camp counselor. There's that sense of community, of being united in a purpose, of enthusiasm and energy. And, of course, there is the fact that you're putting a bunch of college aged kids together for the summer. All sorts of craziness is bound to happen!
So, it's been eight years since I have worked as a camp counselor. And probably about half that since I have even visited. Much has changed since my glory days there. There is a new state of the art retreat center, the office building has been changed from a small, rambling house to a very nice and modern (yet with that camp vibe) resource center, and the retreat center that was well-loved and used before the new one was built has been renovated and added onto.
And now, eight years later, I am headed back. Not to work or to spend the summer, but just for a couple of days. They are having a celebration of their 30 years of ministry, and they are hosting a big event and inviting all the past staff to come and celebrate. I am excited. I have been looking forward to this day since they had their 20th anniversary celebration and reunion in 1999, when I was a counselor. I cannot wait to be in that place, to set my feet on that holy ground, to breathe in that air and to reacquaint myself with this place that has meant so much to me.
I've also been asked if I would share a message during a campfire one evening. I have done this before... but at other camps. And this campfire is taking place at one of my favorite places at camp, a place that I remember being as a counselor and listening as pastors and youth directors got up and shared reflections and messages during the summers. And now I will be the one standing in the middle, in that same spot, sharing a message with those gathered. I know it will go well, but I am still nervous!!!
I head out tomorrow to drive back to Nebraska. I will be visiting family for a couple days before I make my way to camp. I'm not sure if I'll be able to wait that long, though, and I might stop in on my way through. But you can expect another update about my time and perhaps even pictures! I am sure I will take plenty!
But I, like a good portion of other professional ministry types, can trace my call to ministry back to those days as a camp counselor. I whole-heartedly believe that camp was what set that ball rolling, what ignited that spark inside me.
I ended up working there for three consecutive summers and then decided to enter the real world and become a youth minister. So I missed out on a summer, but then the following year is when I ended up leaving that congregation and I headed back out to camp for the second half of the summer. Immediately after that summer I moved up to seminary, took the scenic route through and graduated in five years, and then came to my current congregation where I have been for three years. It has been eight years since I worked as a camp counselor. It has been eight years since I had the opportunity to work at one of my favorite jobs ever. Sure, I've visited other camps, and I've done other work with youth. I've taken my confirmation kids to camp for a week every summer that I've been here. I have started serving on the Board of Directors for that camp (although they have a knack for scheduling meetings for when I am unable to attend...). But none of that has quite captured the magic of working as a summer camp counselor. There's that sense of community, of being united in a purpose, of enthusiasm and energy. And, of course, there is the fact that you're putting a bunch of college aged kids together for the summer. All sorts of craziness is bound to happen!
So, it's been eight years since I have worked as a camp counselor. And probably about half that since I have even visited. Much has changed since my glory days there. There is a new state of the art retreat center, the office building has been changed from a small, rambling house to a very nice and modern (yet with that camp vibe) resource center, and the retreat center that was well-loved and used before the new one was built has been renovated and added onto.
And now, eight years later, I am headed back. Not to work or to spend the summer, but just for a couple of days. They are having a celebration of their 30 years of ministry, and they are hosting a big event and inviting all the past staff to come and celebrate. I am excited. I have been looking forward to this day since they had their 20th anniversary celebration and reunion in 1999, when I was a counselor. I cannot wait to be in that place, to set my feet on that holy ground, to breathe in that air and to reacquaint myself with this place that has meant so much to me.
I've also been asked if I would share a message during a campfire one evening. I have done this before... but at other camps. And this campfire is taking place at one of my favorite places at camp, a place that I remember being as a counselor and listening as pastors and youth directors got up and shared reflections and messages during the summers. And now I will be the one standing in the middle, in that same spot, sharing a message with those gathered. I know it will go well, but I am still nervous!!!
I head out tomorrow to drive back to Nebraska. I will be visiting family for a couple days before I make my way to camp. I'm not sure if I'll be able to wait that long, though, and I might stop in on my way through. But you can expect another update about my time and perhaps even pictures! I am sure I will take plenty!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
the promised follow up
I said, in my previous blog post, that I was going to post more about my experience with the Denver Rescue Mission. What better time to do that then the day before I leave on another trip when I should be packing or going to bed? I'm not sure I can think of one!
We were only there for two short days, but they impacted all of us. I'm not sure I can adequately put into words the effect that this experience had on me. But I will definitely try.
Let me start by telling you the basics - what we did while we were there. As soon as we got there, which was around 10, we got to work getting ready for lunch. Some of us chopped fruits and vegetables for fruit salads and lettuce salads. Some of us made lemonade or cut pork and potatoes. Some of us sorted bread and desserts. Some of us rolled silverware into napkins. Some of us also spent time in the laundry room folding sheets. But we kept working and moving doing stuff to get ready for lunch. Then we got everything in place so that we could begin serving when 12:00 rolled around. As soon as it did, we opened the doors and began ushering people in to eat.
When lunch started, I was in charge of handing out silverware and using a clicker to count how many people came in. We served five at a time, so I'd pick up five pieces of silverware and hand them out as the people walked in, and then I'd click the clicker 5 times. This gave me a great opportunity to chat with the people as they entered. We didn't really have time to talk about much, but we'd talk about the weather, or the food, or how it was important to have a clicker to keep track of numbers. We served more than a hundred people each day, I think the second day had more with around 170. The other people working there said that they were slow days, that they usually had over 200 people coming in for lunch.
When lunch was over, we'd clean up and then go back to working on other things. The first day we were there, they got a huge donation of food so I spent a lot of time sorting bread. We'd separate them into categories such as sandwich bread, french bread, hot dog buns, hamburger buns, etc. and then we'd stack them on pallets against the wall. At one point I said that I was surrounded by more bread than I'd ever seen in one place in my life. Our second day we went out and got a tour of the neighborhood and picked up garbage.
It was surprising to me how much of the work we did surrounded food. We were always chopping and mixing and sorting and slicing and getting stuff ready for the different meals. But then I guess that makes sense, that if they feed 150-200 people three times a day, that a lot of work would go in to preparing the food. And it was good food. We would make sack lunches everyday, but when we were at the Mission we were given the option to eat there for lunch. Both days I chose that option, and I was pleasantly surprised with the food. It was good, considering how much of it they made everyday. If we didn't eat our sack lunch, we had the option of taking it across the street to Triangle Park and sharing it with the people who were over there.
Denver Rescue Mission also has a residential drug rehabilitation program as part of its ministries and we worked alongside of the men in this program in our daily duties. It was amazing, and eye opening, to hear the stories of these guys, what they had gone through, often times how they had almost died, and then how they had ended up at the mission and how they were working to turn their lives around and what their dreams and hopes were now. One guy I got to know quite well said that he hoped to be a youth pastor in a church, so that he could work with kids who were the age he was when he fell into drug abuse. It was awesome to hear these stories of resurrection and redemption, and I hope that these guys continue on the path toward new life.
One thing that hit me after seeing the people that the Mission serves is how alike we were. Many of them had good jobs and families and friends before something unpredictable happened, before circumstances in their life took a turn for the worse and they were unable to cope or to recover from them, and then they ended up homeless and living in Denver. It's like that quote, "There but for the grace of God go I." As I looked around at all of those various faces and people, I realized that I was lucky to be on the other side of that crate of silverware. I was fortunate to be the one handing it out. But I could very easily be on the other side, as the one receiving it. Life is unpredictable. You never know when you might get thrown a curveball.
It's like I said before, I don't think I can adequately put into words the effect that those two days had, and continues to have, on me. Those experiences continue to weigh on my heart, and continue to make me ponder and pray about a lot of things. I'm not sure what this means for my journey, but it will be interesting to find out.
We were only there for two short days, but they impacted all of us. I'm not sure I can adequately put into words the effect that this experience had on me. But I will definitely try.
Let me start by telling you the basics - what we did while we were there. As soon as we got there, which was around 10, we got to work getting ready for lunch. Some of us chopped fruits and vegetables for fruit salads and lettuce salads. Some of us made lemonade or cut pork and potatoes. Some of us sorted bread and desserts. Some of us rolled silverware into napkins. Some of us also spent time in the laundry room folding sheets. But we kept working and moving doing stuff to get ready for lunch. Then we got everything in place so that we could begin serving when 12:00 rolled around. As soon as it did, we opened the doors and began ushering people in to eat.
When lunch started, I was in charge of handing out silverware and using a clicker to count how many people came in. We served five at a time, so I'd pick up five pieces of silverware and hand them out as the people walked in, and then I'd click the clicker 5 times. This gave me a great opportunity to chat with the people as they entered. We didn't really have time to talk about much, but we'd talk about the weather, or the food, or how it was important to have a clicker to keep track of numbers. We served more than a hundred people each day, I think the second day had more with around 170. The other people working there said that they were slow days, that they usually had over 200 people coming in for lunch.
When lunch was over, we'd clean up and then go back to working on other things. The first day we were there, they got a huge donation of food so I spent a lot of time sorting bread. We'd separate them into categories such as sandwich bread, french bread, hot dog buns, hamburger buns, etc. and then we'd stack them on pallets against the wall. At one point I said that I was surrounded by more bread than I'd ever seen in one place in my life. Our second day we went out and got a tour of the neighborhood and picked up garbage.
It was surprising to me how much of the work we did surrounded food. We were always chopping and mixing and sorting and slicing and getting stuff ready for the different meals. But then I guess that makes sense, that if they feed 150-200 people three times a day, that a lot of work would go in to preparing the food. And it was good food. We would make sack lunches everyday, but when we were at the Mission we were given the option to eat there for lunch. Both days I chose that option, and I was pleasantly surprised with the food. It was good, considering how much of it they made everyday. If we didn't eat our sack lunch, we had the option of taking it across the street to Triangle Park and sharing it with the people who were over there.
Denver Rescue Mission also has a residential drug rehabilitation program as part of its ministries and we worked alongside of the men in this program in our daily duties. It was amazing, and eye opening, to hear the stories of these guys, what they had gone through, often times how they had almost died, and then how they had ended up at the mission and how they were working to turn their lives around and what their dreams and hopes were now. One guy I got to know quite well said that he hoped to be a youth pastor in a church, so that he could work with kids who were the age he was when he fell into drug abuse. It was awesome to hear these stories of resurrection and redemption, and I hope that these guys continue on the path toward new life.
One thing that hit me after seeing the people that the Mission serves is how alike we were. Many of them had good jobs and families and friends before something unpredictable happened, before circumstances in their life took a turn for the worse and they were unable to cope or to recover from them, and then they ended up homeless and living in Denver. It's like that quote, "There but for the grace of God go I." As I looked around at all of those various faces and people, I realized that I was lucky to be on the other side of that crate of silverware. I was fortunate to be the one handing it out. But I could very easily be on the other side, as the one receiving it. Life is unpredictable. You never know when you might get thrown a curveball.
It's like I said before, I don't think I can adequately put into words the effect that those two days had, and continues to have, on me. Those experiences continue to weigh on my heart, and continue to make me ponder and pray about a lot of things. I'm not sure what this means for my journey, but it will be interesting to find out.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
i have returned!
I came.
I saw.
I'm tired.
We returned from our mission trip to Denver today. As in about 4 hours ago. It was quite the experience. Allow me to tell you a bit about it.
We set off last Sunday at 4am. We took three 15 passenger vans (one with a rear seat taken out to allow for extra storage space), a trailer and a car. The car came along because one of our adults had a relative who was not doing well and she brought her car just in case something should happen during the week and she would need to come back for a funeral.
We drove through southwest Minnesota, northwest Iowa, most of Nebraska and eastern Colorado. In my van, we were excited because for the beginning part of the ride we were ahead of schedule. That meant we might actually make it to one of our mission trips early, instead of rolling in right at the last minute when they are wanting to start serving supper. And we were doing good until about lunchtime when we were in Nebraska and were wanting to stop at a Runza, which is one of my favorite restaurants and are only found in Nebraska, except for a few other locations (like, four) in Iowa, Kansas and Colorado. It wasn't even my idea to stop there, it was another adult leader in my van. So that made me even happier.
So on our way to Runza we noticed one of our vans was not following us. Turns out that the people in that van had to use the restroom, so the driver had pulled off assuming we'd continue to follow the directions we had printed out, not realizing we were planning on a lunch stop. So about 45ish minutes later they arrived at the restaurant and ordered their food. So much for being ahead of schedule.
After driving through Nebraska, and eastern Colorado, and after a few more restroom breaks (a few too many, if you ask me) we rolled into the church parking lot right when they were wanting to start serving supper. It never fails. This is our way, apparently.
After supper we had an adult orientation meeting (I knew what was going to happen. This is my third mission trip through this organization. I'm an old pro.) and then we had to assign our youth and adults to work crews. I knew that one of the sites was the Denver Rescue Mission, and I desperately wanted to go there, so I made sure I was the adult assigned from our church to that crew. Then we placed everyone else in a fairly quick and random way. Our main criteria was not putting large groups of friends in the same crew. This turned out to be a fairly serendipitous process. How's that for a big word?
Then after our meeting we went downstairs for Club (singing and listening to a speaker) and then church group time before heading for bed. Then Monday began our work days. And Monday is the day I first ventured to the Denver Rescue Mission. This was an amazing experience, which I'm still processing and thinking about, and it will get a post of its own. So no more about that now.
Monday night we ended up heading to Lookout Mountain, in the foothills of the Rockies, for some fun and we also had club out there. It was a great experience for the kids, many of whom had not been to mountains before, and even those that had enjoyed it. I love mountains so I was happy to be there, as well.
Tuesday I went back to the Denver Rescue Mission in the morning, and then in the evening we had guest speakers come and talk to us. The main guy used to work at the Denver Rescue Mission and I think all of the other guys had gone through the Mission and shared their experiences of being homeless and/or addicted to drugs. The kids were mesmerized by the speakers and I got a chance to talk with the main guy afterwards for a bit. It was good to talk to him and to process some things that I had experienced.
Wednesday we changed work sites and worked with Brothers' Redevelopment, which is an organization in Denver that works with elderly, disabled and low income people to help them do things that they are either unable to do or cannot afford. So Wednesday we drove over to an older couples' house and painted the trim on their house for them. This took us until about 11am. I guess we finished much earlier than they were expecting, and so we spent most of the rest of the morning and afternoon in the car. After eating our lunch we set out to join the other crew who was working with Brothers that day, but due to an accident on the highway, and our foreman trying to avoid it, it took us nearly an hour to get to the other crew. So we filled in for them painting a stucco house while they took a break and ate their lunches. Then we went back to wash off our brushes and unload the truck before going to take our daily showers.
Now providing showers for this many people can be tricky, I know. Often times they rely on community centers and schools to open their spaces to them for such reasons. The first two days we showered at a community center in communal showers. When we switched work sites we were told that we would need to go to a different facility for showers. This was a recreation center and we had been told that the showers were private. So we were excited about this. When we walked into the locker room, we were greeted by a small, cramped room with about an inch of standing water on the floor. About five young boys had come in from the pool and were just standing under the four nozzles of the shower, which was very much communal and not at all private. As we stood there, after our long and frustrating day, wanting nothing more than to take a shower, we stood there and looked at these boys in defeat and disappointment. But, we showered, and were thankful for a shower, and then we went to a Sonic Drive-In for food afterwards. I thought the kids in my crew deserved it.
That night we went to a church service at a local congregation. It was packed full of kids and parents and was abnormally hot. Us poor Minnesotans thought we were going to melt. They had a lot of music provided by young men and women from the congregation, and they had some really great young dancers strut their stuff. The outreach pastor got up and shared a message which was good, although I was a little disappointed in him because, in an attempt to get the kids to be quiet during his message, he said, "Remember, no talking when I'm talking. If I see you talking while I am trying to talk I will embarrass you." Nothing better than embarrassing a kid to get them excited to go to church.
On the way back to the church, I witnessed an automobile accident. The jeep in front of us (luckily a little ways in front of us) hit the front end of a car that had pulled out into the intersection too far. I just happened to glance up and see it right as it happened, and I said, "Holy S***, Kirk, that was just an accident!" The driver hadn't noticed it right away and he slammed on the brakes. Yes, I admit I cursed, but I had just witnessed an accident. And besides, the kids in my car didn't hear it. I got out and saw that everyone was ok, and we waited around for the fire fighters and police officers to arrive. Because I hadn't seen enough of what had happened prior to the accident I didn't need to stick around very long, but it was long enough for the staff members and our other church members to drive by and see the firetrucks and police cars around our van. So, needless to say, they freaked out. But when they saw that everything was ok, they were thankful, and I got thanked numerous times for being calm in the midst of this.
Thursday we went back to Brothers and actually spent an entire day painting one house. We then went back to the same shower facility, but we were prepared for it this time. Thankfully (maybe) there was already a guy showering when we got there, and as he was naked this discouraged the boys from coming into the shower. As I was getting ready to go into the shower one young boy came in from the pool, walked into the shower, stopped in his tracks and declared "Ew! Nasty!" Before running back out to the pool. After showers we drove back out to the Rescue Mission to say hi to our friends and to invite them to our community cookout that night. I'll write more about this in my other post, as well.
Thursday evening is always footwashing worship. After we hear the story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet, the staff members wash the adult leaders feet and then we wash the feet of our young people. It's always a moving experience. It seems to bring a lot of emotion to the surface and the kids can start to cry. We had our share of tears, but not as much as we had when we took our mission trip to Pennsylvania. That was a little crazy that year.
Friday we cleaned up the church and said our goodbyes and took a drive to Pike's Peak. We figured since we were near the mountains it would be a shame not to go there. So we did. And it was a lot of fun and the kids enjoyed it. Afterwards we started our drive home and 25 hours of driving later, we made it.
Needless to say, I am thankful to not have to ride or drive or sleep in a van for a while. But I miss the experiences and people of this past week, especially those from the Rescue Mission. All of our kids had great experiences and many of them are already talking about our trip next summer. I have to say, you can't beat doing a mission trip through an organization that provides for all the details, feeds and houses your kids, sets up the mission work opportunities, and also helps the youth process what they've done and seen, all while doing it in such a way that makes our kids want to keep coming back and also invite their friends. But most of all it is amazing to see the changes in the young people after they experience a week of Christian service. I feel like I should copy one of those Mastercard commercials and talk about how much we spent on registration and van rentals and whatnot, but the overall result - the changes in the lives of our young people - is priceless.
I saw.
I'm tired.
We returned from our mission trip to Denver today. As in about 4 hours ago. It was quite the experience. Allow me to tell you a bit about it.
We set off last Sunday at 4am. We took three 15 passenger vans (one with a rear seat taken out to allow for extra storage space), a trailer and a car. The car came along because one of our adults had a relative who was not doing well and she brought her car just in case something should happen during the week and she would need to come back for a funeral.
We drove through southwest Minnesota, northwest Iowa, most of Nebraska and eastern Colorado. In my van, we were excited because for the beginning part of the ride we were ahead of schedule. That meant we might actually make it to one of our mission trips early, instead of rolling in right at the last minute when they are wanting to start serving supper. And we were doing good until about lunchtime when we were in Nebraska and were wanting to stop at a Runza, which is one of my favorite restaurants and are only found in Nebraska, except for a few other locations (like, four) in Iowa, Kansas and Colorado. It wasn't even my idea to stop there, it was another adult leader in my van. So that made me even happier.
So on our way to Runza we noticed one of our vans was not following us. Turns out that the people in that van had to use the restroom, so the driver had pulled off assuming we'd continue to follow the directions we had printed out, not realizing we were planning on a lunch stop. So about 45ish minutes later they arrived at the restaurant and ordered their food. So much for being ahead of schedule.
After driving through Nebraska, and eastern Colorado, and after a few more restroom breaks (a few too many, if you ask me) we rolled into the church parking lot right when they were wanting to start serving supper. It never fails. This is our way, apparently.
After supper we had an adult orientation meeting (I knew what was going to happen. This is my third mission trip through this organization. I'm an old pro.) and then we had to assign our youth and adults to work crews. I knew that one of the sites was the Denver Rescue Mission, and I desperately wanted to go there, so I made sure I was the adult assigned from our church to that crew. Then we placed everyone else in a fairly quick and random way. Our main criteria was not putting large groups of friends in the same crew. This turned out to be a fairly serendipitous process. How's that for a big word?
Then after our meeting we went downstairs for Club (singing and listening to a speaker) and then church group time before heading for bed. Then Monday began our work days. And Monday is the day I first ventured to the Denver Rescue Mission. This was an amazing experience, which I'm still processing and thinking about, and it will get a post of its own. So no more about that now.
Monday night we ended up heading to Lookout Mountain, in the foothills of the Rockies, for some fun and we also had club out there. It was a great experience for the kids, many of whom had not been to mountains before, and even those that had enjoyed it. I love mountains so I was happy to be there, as well.
Tuesday I went back to the Denver Rescue Mission in the morning, and then in the evening we had guest speakers come and talk to us. The main guy used to work at the Denver Rescue Mission and I think all of the other guys had gone through the Mission and shared their experiences of being homeless and/or addicted to drugs. The kids were mesmerized by the speakers and I got a chance to talk with the main guy afterwards for a bit. It was good to talk to him and to process some things that I had experienced.
Wednesday we changed work sites and worked with Brothers' Redevelopment, which is an organization in Denver that works with elderly, disabled and low income people to help them do things that they are either unable to do or cannot afford. So Wednesday we drove over to an older couples' house and painted the trim on their house for them. This took us until about 11am. I guess we finished much earlier than they were expecting, and so we spent most of the rest of the morning and afternoon in the car. After eating our lunch we set out to join the other crew who was working with Brothers that day, but due to an accident on the highway, and our foreman trying to avoid it, it took us nearly an hour to get to the other crew. So we filled in for them painting a stucco house while they took a break and ate their lunches. Then we went back to wash off our brushes and unload the truck before going to take our daily showers.
Now providing showers for this many people can be tricky, I know. Often times they rely on community centers and schools to open their spaces to them for such reasons. The first two days we showered at a community center in communal showers. When we switched work sites we were told that we would need to go to a different facility for showers. This was a recreation center and we had been told that the showers were private. So we were excited about this. When we walked into the locker room, we were greeted by a small, cramped room with about an inch of standing water on the floor. About five young boys had come in from the pool and were just standing under the four nozzles of the shower, which was very much communal and not at all private. As we stood there, after our long and frustrating day, wanting nothing more than to take a shower, we stood there and looked at these boys in defeat and disappointment. But, we showered, and were thankful for a shower, and then we went to a Sonic Drive-In for food afterwards. I thought the kids in my crew deserved it.
That night we went to a church service at a local congregation. It was packed full of kids and parents and was abnormally hot. Us poor Minnesotans thought we were going to melt. They had a lot of music provided by young men and women from the congregation, and they had some really great young dancers strut their stuff. The outreach pastor got up and shared a message which was good, although I was a little disappointed in him because, in an attempt to get the kids to be quiet during his message, he said, "Remember, no talking when I'm talking. If I see you talking while I am trying to talk I will embarrass you." Nothing better than embarrassing a kid to get them excited to go to church.
On the way back to the church, I witnessed an automobile accident. The jeep in front of us (luckily a little ways in front of us) hit the front end of a car that had pulled out into the intersection too far. I just happened to glance up and see it right as it happened, and I said, "Holy S***, Kirk, that was just an accident!" The driver hadn't noticed it right away and he slammed on the brakes. Yes, I admit I cursed, but I had just witnessed an accident. And besides, the kids in my car didn't hear it. I got out and saw that everyone was ok, and we waited around for the fire fighters and police officers to arrive. Because I hadn't seen enough of what had happened prior to the accident I didn't need to stick around very long, but it was long enough for the staff members and our other church members to drive by and see the firetrucks and police cars around our van. So, needless to say, they freaked out. But when they saw that everything was ok, they were thankful, and I got thanked numerous times for being calm in the midst of this.
Thursday we went back to Brothers and actually spent an entire day painting one house. We then went back to the same shower facility, but we were prepared for it this time. Thankfully (maybe) there was already a guy showering when we got there, and as he was naked this discouraged the boys from coming into the shower. As I was getting ready to go into the shower one young boy came in from the pool, walked into the shower, stopped in his tracks and declared "Ew! Nasty!" Before running back out to the pool. After showers we drove back out to the Rescue Mission to say hi to our friends and to invite them to our community cookout that night. I'll write more about this in my other post, as well.
Thursday evening is always footwashing worship. After we hear the story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet, the staff members wash the adult leaders feet and then we wash the feet of our young people. It's always a moving experience. It seems to bring a lot of emotion to the surface and the kids can start to cry. We had our share of tears, but not as much as we had when we took our mission trip to Pennsylvania. That was a little crazy that year.
Friday we cleaned up the church and said our goodbyes and took a drive to Pike's Peak. We figured since we were near the mountains it would be a shame not to go there. So we did. And it was a lot of fun and the kids enjoyed it. Afterwards we started our drive home and 25 hours of driving later, we made it.
Needless to say, I am thankful to not have to ride or drive or sleep in a van for a while. But I miss the experiences and people of this past week, especially those from the Rescue Mission. All of our kids had great experiences and many of them are already talking about our trip next summer. I have to say, you can't beat doing a mission trip through an organization that provides for all the details, feeds and houses your kids, sets up the mission work opportunities, and also helps the youth process what they've done and seen, all while doing it in such a way that makes our kids want to keep coming back and also invite their friends. But most of all it is amazing to see the changes in the young people after they experience a week of Christian service. I feel like I should copy one of those Mastercard commercials and talk about how much we spent on registration and van rentals and whatnot, but the overall result - the changes in the lives of our young people - is priceless.
Friday, July 31, 2009
How's that for a day off?
Because of being gone for a week last week, and being gone for another week next week, and both of them being for work reasons, I decided to take an extra day off this week. So, that was today.
Silly me for thinking that it would work out that way!
You see, we have 32 people interested in leaving for our mission trip on Sunday (which, by the way, we're heading out at 4am. Seriously? 4am? Ugh.). However, we only registered for 30 spots. This is probably something that we should have talked about and figured out prior to the week before leaving for the trip, but it is kind of par for the course with the way things have been going.
Anyway, so today on my day off, I had to call the organization we're going through to see if there were two extra spots available. Well, I guess at that time it was 3 spots because we had 33 potential people going. So I called to see if they had three extra spots available. Well, no they didn't. And they don't allow any overbooking at their site in Denver, which is where we'll be heading. So the kind and helpful person on the other end of the phone suggested we call the other churches to see if they had spots that they hadn't filled that we could buy off of them.
On my best day I am not a fan of talking on the phone. I don't really know why, I just don't care much for it. So the prospect of talking on the phone to these other people on a day I wasn't planning to work at all didn't seem like such a fun idea. So to avoid it I sent an e-mail to one of our other adult leaders to see if he'd be able to do it, but then it occurred to me that he's at work and we should probably get going on this as quickly as possible. It looked like I would need to be the one to make the phone call. But then it hit me. Aha! Church secretary! I ran over to the office and talked to our secretary about it, and she said she'd be willing to make the phone calls. So I gave her all the info that she'd need, my user name and password for the organization's website so she could access the info about the other churches to call them.
Then I left to grab some lunch and buy a couple things at Target. On my way the secretary called and said that the info I gave her wasn't working. It wouldn't allow her to access the site. So I repeated the info, and she said that's what she had. I asked if she was exact with the capital and lowercase letters, because it's case sensitive. She said she was. I said maybe I wrote the password down wrong and she should go look at the post-it note I have stuck to my computer monitor that has the password on it. She said she had already done that. I was baffled. I had been on the site earlier this morning and it worked. Our other adult leader had been online last week using that same info to print off some forms. I have had this info for more than two years now and it has always worked. I couldn't imagine why it wasn't working now. So I told her that I would come into the office to figure it out when I got back.
When I got back into the office she had figured it out. She was putting a space in my user name where there shouldn't have been one. I was relieved to see that was the problem.
Well, to make an already long and uninteresting story a little shorter, after calling the various churches we found four unused spots that we could purchase from these other congregations. And in the midst of this, one of the high schoolers who was going had called me earlier to let me know that he would no longer be going. So now we only needed two spots.
So I was able to enjoy my day off with only three stops in the office and a couple more phone conversations with the secretary. But I guess that's what I get for thinking I'd take some extra time off right before we head out on a mission trip. Maybe tomorrow, my actual day off, will seem more like a real day off. We shall see.
Silly me for thinking that it would work out that way!
You see, we have 32 people interested in leaving for our mission trip on Sunday (which, by the way, we're heading out at 4am. Seriously? 4am? Ugh.). However, we only registered for 30 spots. This is probably something that we should have talked about and figured out prior to the week before leaving for the trip, but it is kind of par for the course with the way things have been going.
Anyway, so today on my day off, I had to call the organization we're going through to see if there were two extra spots available. Well, I guess at that time it was 3 spots because we had 33 potential people going. So I called to see if they had three extra spots available. Well, no they didn't. And they don't allow any overbooking at their site in Denver, which is where we'll be heading. So the kind and helpful person on the other end of the phone suggested we call the other churches to see if they had spots that they hadn't filled that we could buy off of them.
On my best day I am not a fan of talking on the phone. I don't really know why, I just don't care much for it. So the prospect of talking on the phone to these other people on a day I wasn't planning to work at all didn't seem like such a fun idea. So to avoid it I sent an e-mail to one of our other adult leaders to see if he'd be able to do it, but then it occurred to me that he's at work and we should probably get going on this as quickly as possible. It looked like I would need to be the one to make the phone call. But then it hit me. Aha! Church secretary! I ran over to the office and talked to our secretary about it, and she said she'd be willing to make the phone calls. So I gave her all the info that she'd need, my user name and password for the organization's website so she could access the info about the other churches to call them.
Then I left to grab some lunch and buy a couple things at Target. On my way the secretary called and said that the info I gave her wasn't working. It wouldn't allow her to access the site. So I repeated the info, and she said that's what she had. I asked if she was exact with the capital and lowercase letters, because it's case sensitive. She said she was. I said maybe I wrote the password down wrong and she should go look at the post-it note I have stuck to my computer monitor that has the password on it. She said she had already done that. I was baffled. I had been on the site earlier this morning and it worked. Our other adult leader had been online last week using that same info to print off some forms. I have had this info for more than two years now and it has always worked. I couldn't imagine why it wasn't working now. So I told her that I would come into the office to figure it out when I got back.
When I got back into the office she had figured it out. She was putting a space in my user name where there shouldn't have been one. I was relieved to see that was the problem.
Well, to make an already long and uninteresting story a little shorter, after calling the various churches we found four unused spots that we could purchase from these other congregations. And in the midst of this, one of the high schoolers who was going had called me earlier to let me know that he would no longer be going. So now we only needed two spots.
So I was able to enjoy my day off with only three stops in the office and a couple more phone conversations with the secretary. But I guess that's what I get for thinking I'd take some extra time off right before we head out on a mission trip. Maybe tomorrow, my actual day off, will seem more like a real day off. We shall see.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
...and so it continues...
This past week was another week on the list of things that are making my summer crazy busy, but also crazy fun.
We left, with groups from two other congregations, at 2:00pm on Tuesday, July 21st and headed out for New Orleans. Upon my first consideration, driving all night sounded like a good idea. We didn't need to coordinate any place to stay, we'd just stay on the bus for the 22 hours it would take us to get to our destination.
Flash forward to sometime around 11pm on the 21st as I'm sitting there in my small bus seat, trying to find a way to recline and relax that doesn't involve my legs jammed up against the seat in front of me, or folded up to my chin. About that time I began to reconsider the validity of this decision. But, by that point, it was a bit late. So I made the best out of it.
We arrived in New Orleans at around noon the next day. We stopped at the Convention Center and I, along with the primary adult leaders of the other two congregations, got off the bus and registered our groups. The next stop was our hotels. In hindsight, I can see the value of registering our groups together so we would be assigned to the same hotel which would make the whole process of dropping off go much more smoothly. We did not take advantage of this option when we registered so, of course, we were in three different hotels. So after we returned to the bus we now had to be driven and dropped off at our respective hotels. Had I known the lay of the land a bit better, my group could have removed our bags at the Convention Center and walked to our hotel. However, I did not know the lay of the land. So we stayed on the bus. We decided, though, that since we knew my hotel was closest we'd get dropped off first. Well, 45 minutes later, after trying to drive the bus through the narrow streets of the French Quarter, getting lost, and dropping the other two groups off at their hotels, we arrived at our hotel which was a mere two block from the Convention Center.
Luckily, our week greatly improved after that. We got to do some fun sight seeing, eat at some great restaurants, meet some cool people, see some great speakers and musicians, participate in some lively worship, and partake in many of the opportunities offered by the Youth Gathering. Jay Bakker, Spencer West, Anne Mahlum, and Viola Vaughn were just a few of the speakers, and they shared messages that really resonated with me. The Flying Karamazov Brothers, Guyland Leday, Agape, and Amanda Shaw were some of the great performers that were there. The message that was shared was one of love, of hope in the midst of tragedy and disaster, and of reaching out to others and serving as Christ served. New Orleans, still recovering from the affects of Hurricane Katrina, was the perfect place for this to take place. Besides the mass gatherings which featured the above speakers and performers, the youth also went out into the community and served through various organizations and projects. The group I was with was sent to a local elementary school where we worked with the kids who were there for summer school and then painted a couple hallways in the school after the kids left. Other groups did more manual work, some gardened some helped out at houses and other areas affected by the hurricane. New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin said that after a storm comes a rainbow, and he said that the ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans was Katrina's rainbow.
When not out in the community, the youth participated in learning centers and workshops which focused on various things such as images of Jesus in popular media, discernment and vocation, global issues and other topics. They also had the opportunity to visit the Interaction Center which had a high ropes course, self-pedaled bumper cars, and even more opportunities to serve, such as through donating blood.
It was a great week. There were various issues and concerns that come anytime you go somewhere with high school students. There was the occasional attitude and a few disagreements, but overall the kids I brought got along great, listened well (most of the time), and particpated in much of what the Gathering had to offer. There was an incident involving easy cheese and my leg in a dark bus while I was sleeping, but even that could be overlooked and laughed at... after I cleaned up the easy cheese using moist towelettes I had randomly taken from the bus restroom earlier that day... And also after the gross smell of processed cheese goo and lemon scented moist towelettes disipated. But we made it there and back safely, the kids had a good time (and I did, too), so overall it was a great experience.
Now I have to focus on going about the final details for our upcoming mission trip. We leave for this trip bright and early Sunday morning, so I will be home for five full days before heading off for another week. This time we will be in Denver, and going through an organization that is very good and will have all of our arrangements figured out for us. So really all we have to worry about it getting our group there, which is nice.
I'm guessing my access to a computer and the internet won't be that likely while I am there, but I will give all of my readers (more likely it's just my one reader) an update when I return!!
We left, with groups from two other congregations, at 2:00pm on Tuesday, July 21st and headed out for New Orleans. Upon my first consideration, driving all night sounded like a good idea. We didn't need to coordinate any place to stay, we'd just stay on the bus for the 22 hours it would take us to get to our destination.
Flash forward to sometime around 11pm on the 21st as I'm sitting there in my small bus seat, trying to find a way to recline and relax that doesn't involve my legs jammed up against the seat in front of me, or folded up to my chin. About that time I began to reconsider the validity of this decision. But, by that point, it was a bit late. So I made the best out of it.
We arrived in New Orleans at around noon the next day. We stopped at the Convention Center and I, along with the primary adult leaders of the other two congregations, got off the bus and registered our groups. The next stop was our hotels. In hindsight, I can see the value of registering our groups together so we would be assigned to the same hotel which would make the whole process of dropping off go much more smoothly. We did not take advantage of this option when we registered so, of course, we were in three different hotels. So after we returned to the bus we now had to be driven and dropped off at our respective hotels. Had I known the lay of the land a bit better, my group could have removed our bags at the Convention Center and walked to our hotel. However, I did not know the lay of the land. So we stayed on the bus. We decided, though, that since we knew my hotel was closest we'd get dropped off first. Well, 45 minutes later, after trying to drive the bus through the narrow streets of the French Quarter, getting lost, and dropping the other two groups off at their hotels, we arrived at our hotel which was a mere two block from the Convention Center.
Luckily, our week greatly improved after that. We got to do some fun sight seeing, eat at some great restaurants, meet some cool people, see some great speakers and musicians, participate in some lively worship, and partake in many of the opportunities offered by the Youth Gathering. Jay Bakker, Spencer West, Anne Mahlum, and Viola Vaughn were just a few of the speakers, and they shared messages that really resonated with me. The Flying Karamazov Brothers, Guyland Leday, Agape, and Amanda Shaw were some of the great performers that were there. The message that was shared was one of love, of hope in the midst of tragedy and disaster, and of reaching out to others and serving as Christ served. New Orleans, still recovering from the affects of Hurricane Katrina, was the perfect place for this to take place. Besides the mass gatherings which featured the above speakers and performers, the youth also went out into the community and served through various organizations and projects. The group I was with was sent to a local elementary school where we worked with the kids who were there for summer school and then painted a couple hallways in the school after the kids left. Other groups did more manual work, some gardened some helped out at houses and other areas affected by the hurricane. New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin said that after a storm comes a rainbow, and he said that the ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans was Katrina's rainbow.
When not out in the community, the youth participated in learning centers and workshops which focused on various things such as images of Jesus in popular media, discernment and vocation, global issues and other topics. They also had the opportunity to visit the Interaction Center which had a high ropes course, self-pedaled bumper cars, and even more opportunities to serve, such as through donating blood.
It was a great week. There were various issues and concerns that come anytime you go somewhere with high school students. There was the occasional attitude and a few disagreements, but overall the kids I brought got along great, listened well (most of the time), and particpated in much of what the Gathering had to offer. There was an incident involving easy cheese and my leg in a dark bus while I was sleeping, but even that could be overlooked and laughed at... after I cleaned up the easy cheese using moist towelettes I had randomly taken from the bus restroom earlier that day... And also after the gross smell of processed cheese goo and lemon scented moist towelettes disipated. But we made it there and back safely, the kids had a good time (and I did, too), so overall it was a great experience.
Now I have to focus on going about the final details for our upcoming mission trip. We leave for this trip bright and early Sunday morning, so I will be home for five full days before heading off for another week. This time we will be in Denver, and going through an organization that is very good and will have all of our arrangements figured out for us. So really all we have to worry about it getting our group there, which is nice.
I'm guessing my access to a computer and the internet won't be that likely while I am there, but I will give all of my readers (more likely it's just my one reader) an update when I return!!
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