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.

Adapting - Brendan (Bear) Brown

So this is my first mission trip. We were assigned to our service groups last night, and I was stoked about being with my friends and getting to explore are service site,

This morning I found out I was getting moved into a new group for another student. I was stubborn at first and upset that I was moved. This was because I had my mind set on my group, but as the day went on, I adapted and started to learn that it wasn’t all about me, but it was mostly about how we impacted others. No matter what group I was in I was able to help the community, and that’s why we’re here. 

Our theme passage talks about bearing with one another. Part of this means being flexible and doing what’s best for the group. I hope tomorrow I can remind myself of this lesson and set an example of a servant’s heart. 

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

Our Guide - Dylan

 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!