Good Shepherd Lutheran Youth Mission Trip Blog

Sunday, July 12, 2026

A few photos from Sunday!

We visited the Field Museum in Chicago along the edge of Lake Michigan. Afterwards, we headed to Portillo’s for some lunch before heading for our 3.5 hr drive to Indianapolis!

What the students are most looking forward to on day 1!

Dylan -being outside for half the day, and being at a thrift store

Bear - making positive memories with my friends

Rikki - meeting the people from other churches and connecting with them

Isaiah - meeting other service group members

Thomas - finding out what I am gonna do

Riley - serving at the food bank

Payton - getting perspective on the plan and being in the car with other people

Hattie - getting started

Maddi - to start serving others

Riley - Getting to know people and having fun/ making memories

Calie - Getting to know new people

MacKenzie - Going to a garden

Kate - I’m excited for the experience of it all

My prayer at the parent blessing on Friday night was that each of us students would be uncomfortable and take action through the discomfort to grow and become more faithful. So far, this hasn't happened yet, but to everyone's defense the trip really hasn't started yet, since we just finished our sightseeing day and were then traveling to our work site. Even though the sightseeing isn't necessarily needed, I think it sets the mood for the start of our mission work. On these trips we are a team and I believe that the sightseeing paves a way for our group to become closer and more comfortable with one another. In order for this group to get good work done and grow in the word we need community. Without one another we wouldn't be able to hold each other accountable. Everyone would have to figure out their own deal. Because we are a group we should be able to rely and lean on each other. We should be able to be vulnerable and real, not putting on a show or saying what you think others want to hear. So far I think the group is doing a good job with this. We are including everyone and respecting one another. I pray we can continue this when things get rough and tedious. I hope we can be faithful, even if it’s uncomfortable.

Our theme verse that YouthWorks picked for this trip is, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”Colossians 3:12-14

This passage is suppose to be the guide on how we need to act to do well on this trip, but also in life. If we can each do our best to embrace these ideals and rely on Jesus we can greatly succeed on this trip.

My last trip - Riley Thorp

Wow I can’t believe this is my final mission trip. While we are only at the beginning of this trip and I am writing this on the plane lol. I have already started to reflect on my past mission trips: Denver, Savannah, Harrisburg, and Nashville. I have consistently reflected on these trips and can see how far I have grown on them and how much closer I have grown to God.

However this trip has felt different probably because it’s my last one but also because I really want God to push me and all of us out of our comfort zones so we can get comfortable with the uncomfortable.

I have spent a lot of time talking to God about my future and what it may look like and to be honest this year has been one of the most difficult years of my life. It’s been difficult because I know big changes had and will start to happen in my life like graduating high school will happen soon. However these challenges have started to help me grow as a person. I hope on this mission trip I am able to experience uncomfort so I can grow even more in my faith. I want to become uncomfortable because I know God will always comfort me!

Wednesday, July 16, 2025

More Photos from the last couple of days serving!

Sorting donated medical supplies at Project Cure, an organization that ships medical supplies all over the world.

The team working together to determine which bin to sort the many different medical supplies into at Project Cure.

Andrew playing pool at their service site, a day camp for kids. Since the site was full of kids, they were unable to take many photographs...

At Thrift Smart, sorting donations!

Church Group time after worship...tonight Morgan led the discussion.

Working in the gardens!

Enjoying a scavenger hunt along Broadway in Downtown Nashville for our evening activity (we were only in the road for a moment...)

Our "Dolly Parton" crew (GS & a church from NC) repackaged diapers to be distributed at Nashville Diaper Connection...we were productive but had a lot of fun in the process, as you can see below. Since their creation in 2013, they have distributed over 13 MILLION diapers in the Nashville area to needy families.

A quick break between service sites

Spotted at an LCMS church in Downtown Nashville

Exploring part of Opryland tonight...

Our nightly worship/gathering was displaced from the basement to the sanctuary tonight. We sang worship songs, shared our God sightings and heard staff stories relating to our theme of "Dust"

More blog posts to come. Thanks for following along with us!

Childlike Wonder - Morgan

This is my 4th mission trip and it has definitely been an experience so far. Between the humid heat, unexpected uncertainty of bathrooms, and lack of rocks and clocks; there have been multiple positive aspects regarding the people in the community and the knowledgeable strength I’ve gained through service.

One gleeful moment from one of the sites is the kids camp at Shelby Park, a local community center by the church we are staying at. They have activities all day from 10-4 and have over 150 kids they take in daily ranging from ages 6-14. June even told me today that there are community members and parents who stand outside the center starting at 4 am to get their kids in this free, interactive program — and there is a reason why. The kids we served today ended up reversing roles and serving us in the best way possible. They served us by having us participate in games, showing us their personal qualities of competition and support, as well as constructive criticism when it comes to tie dye and telling you “you missed a spot” as you get more dye on your hands than their shirts.

These kids brought back an aspect of childhood spirit that I had lost and pushed away as I have grown up. Through their kindness and cooperation to share fun I learned more about how God can inspire others through facets they may not think about and find redeeming qualities through all different sorts of people. They made me feel a lost joy that I want to be able to bring to others the way they did to me.