Friday, July 24, 2009

Junior High WV Mission Trip 2008: Observation Day 4

Today was the final work day for our team. The teens did a phenomenal job of finishing up many of the projects we started. It was almost similar to Extreme Home Makeover! They transformed a moldy basement into an incredible play area for the two boys, they stripped and stained a huge deck, they did tons of landscaping, they cleaned gutters, destroyed wasp nests, babysat, cleaned pets, cleaned carpets, installed brand new flooring in the dining room and kitchen, prayed over the homeowners, and went to McD's late at night. Be sure to check back here and on Facebook for many more pictures to come. I am tired right now and want to go to bed as I have to take all these teens white water rafting early in the morning!

Quote of the Day

Sheila: (serious tone) . . . and when I am 75 I hope I am still doing missions and plan to keep on going until this body gives up!

Olivia: Why Mrs. Stebbins, you don't look a day over 63!

Sheila: (hostile tone) WHO SAID THAT?!?!?!?!

Junior High WV Trip 2008: Observation Day 2 and 3

As you can tell from many of the pictures the teens are doing an amazing job. We have been assigned a home that needs a lot of attention. Our teens are working on such things as: stripping and staining a deck, deck repairs, painting, flooring, gutter cleaning, moving lots of stuff, power cleaning, playing with the kids and pets, spending time with the mom, and many other things. It is truly amazing how much work has been done in just two days. Pray that we get some really nice weather tomorrow so that we can complete some of the jobs that we have started outside.

The evening sessions have been great. The themes so far have been Story, Love and Justice. On the first night we learned about the importance of our story connecting with God's story. On the second night we focused on the extreme love that God has for us. And on tonight we talked about the importance of justice and asking the deeper questions of why things are the way they are. The session have been great and our teens have responded well!

Quote of the day (Day #2):
Kid from other youth group: Those eyes, she just has amazing eyes!
Scott: Who are you talking about?
Kid: Cassie!
Scott: Come here kid. We gotta talk.

Near death at Walmart: Our teens entered into Walmart singing a song they made up about Walmart. As they passed by the greeter she made the comment "Teens these days have too much time on their hands!" Shelia overheard this and almost killed her on the spot. She went to the manager to let her know what exactly OUR teens were doing in their community and how they were treated as they walked into the local Walmart which we have been frequenting quite a bit since we got here! Shelia Stebbins wins the "Social Justice in Action" Award for the trip so far! Way to stick up for the teens and to stick it to the man in the name of JUSTICE!

Quote of the day: (Day #3): Hey Sheila, you're lactating!

Junior High WV Trip 2008: Day 1: We Made It!

We got here! Everyone is safe. During our trip I was constantly reminded that this was a Junior High trip as farts and other bodily functions were a prime topic of conversation. Logan won the quote of the day by saying "When my tum-tum hurts, my bum-bum squirts." Many people were blamed for farting throughout the trip until we realized it was Southern Ohio that farted.

Once we got here we got into our rooms, ate dinner, went through orientation and our evening session.

We will be helping a lady who is going through chemo treatments for cancer and needs a lot of help for her house. Please pray for her that we can be a help and that our teens connect with her throughout the week.

Our dorms are not air-conditioned but the rest of the campus is nice and cool so there is some relief. We went and got some cheap box fans for each room. It cools off nice in the evenings down here.

The scenery is beautiful as we drove over to here. Most of the trip we were right along the Ohio River until we crossed over into West Virginia.

We are off to a good start!