Photos from Day 2!

Working at a local garden

Working at St Vincent de Paul

Touring the Ronald McDonald House

 

Students answer what their favorite part of the day was...

Riley Girl - getting closer with the other people in my service group 

Madison - breaking down boxes and getting to know the other church better 

 

McKenzie - unpacking the food at St Vincent De Paul and putting them in smaller boxes into bigger boxes 

 

Bear - getting a picture with Ronald McDonald 

 

Isaiah - pulling turnips at the community garden

Thomas - meeting harmonica Dave. I had a name tag that said "T" and he said, "oh, you have an alphabet name!" 

 

Riley Boy - going to the Ronald McDonald house and just hearing about what they do there and how they help families. 

 

Dylan - harmonica Dave that we met passing out food 

 

Payton - when we were at St Vincent De Paul,  a girl came up to me and asked if it was whole milk and we said yes and she was so excited. And she told me I have the biggest smile and how I can light up a room.

 

Rikki - getting super efficient at cutting up cardboard boxes.

Boundaries - Isaiah

Long before we left on this trip, each of us chose a word that we wanted to live by and intentionally put into practice throughout the week.  The word I chose was boundaries. 

I originally chose boundaries because I wanted to make my own decisions instead of letting other people's choices influence me. I think I've done that, but I've also realized I've taken it too far. In some ways, I've regressed and gone back to what I like to call my "factory settings"—being shy, staying quiet, and not talking to new people very much.

 

Now, I almost want to do the opposite of my word. I want to break those boundaries. That might sound bad, but I think it would actually be good for me. I want to break away from the unnecessary walls and limits I've put around myself. I want to make more friends, step out of my comfort zone, and maybe even speak tomorrow night at Yea God.

 

I still think boundaries are important, but I've realized there's a difference between healthy boundaries and walls that keep people out. I want to keep the healthy boundaries that help me make wise decisions, while breaking down the ones that keep me from connecting with others and growing.

Photos from Day 1...

 

Sorry for the delay on Day 1 Photos - I was struggling to get them to upload. Finally seems to be working again!

Monument Circle

Exploring Downtown - on our way for Ice Cream after a long day's work

Like Jesus Did - Riley H.

    So far my trip experience has been good and I have made good memories that will hopefully stick with me forever and I hope to make many more. This is my last trip and I'm taking that into account by making this a great experience and not let little things ruin my trip. 

    Something I'm very grateful for is for Riley Thorp who invited me to a youth ice cream social four years ago, which is what made me become a part of this youth group and lead me to making great memories and connections, and giving me the opportunity to go on these mission trips. My word I picked before this trip was assertion. I've always had hard time standing up for myself, and sometimes I think the best of people and it gets me in trouble. I sometimes won't stand up to people and I let them walk all over me. I can be afraid of what people will think of me if I stand up to them. 

    

    One of my goals on this trip is to be more assertive, and part of that is learning to speak up for myself when people say things that hurt my feeling. When people try to get to know me I feel like then we can have deep conversation, and I feel more comfortable being the real me. I feel like these trips have helped me be able to form those sort of relationships. I've been able to make great connections with Hattie and Calie, and have those deep conversations with them. 

       I think God lead Riley to me, and I didn't have many Christian friends or people who would talk about faith, until him. I have an easier time now expressing my faith, praying, and understanding the Bible and God now that I have a community, and I'm not by myself. Don't take your relationships for granted, and spend  your time connecting with the people who matter to you. Care about others, like Jesus did. Try and let Him lead the way. You never know how you can change someone's life, or impact them in a good way.

Students answer what they were most surprised by on their first service day...

Dylan- Today I was surprised by how many curbs we hit. My driver was not a Good Shepherd driver.

Thomas- By how much sweat I did.

 

Riley- That I got to use my sign language to communicate with a client at a service site. 

 

Hattie- How well I did talking to people in the community.

 

Calie- How kind and warm the community was.

 

Payton- That the lady who was the only employee at our service site had only been there for a month. 

 

Isaiah- By the compassion of the volunteers at my service site. 

 

Bear- I was most surprised by having to switch out of my service group into another one for the day.

Connecting and Praying - Thomas

Its me, Thomas. This is my fourth mission Trip. My biggest challenge today was that it was a bit difficult to connect with people from the other church in our service group because they were so quiet. There were only 2 of them versus 7 of us from Good Shepherd, so they were understandably a little shy. I tried to connect with them by inviting them into conversations throughout the day.

One of the best parts of today was when they asked the youth to lead certain parts of the worship after dinner and I volunteered to lead the prayer. When I walked up to the lectern, the youth from Good Shepherd roared with excitement. Frankly, it was a little embarrassing, though I tried to get past it. I read the format and prayed from my heart, and the room went quiet as everyone prayed along with me.

After every mission trip, the underlying message really sticks with me from the devotions. I feel like I grow as a person by helping out other people.