Youth Mission Team 2019: Recap - Ian

Hi, I'm Ian Manning. Today we started our long drive home from Lexington. After a couple of bathroom breaks we had our annual stop at Cracker Barrel. After a hour or two of good food and reminiscing on the past week, we finally hit the road. This has been my fourth mission trip and looking back at this week, I know it's been a special one. It was magical for everyone involved, from the leaders to the kids in the youth group to adventure serve. From walking the streets of Lexington to canoeing down the Kentucky river, the week was filled with life lessons and moments no one is soon to forget. The chemistry that the group had was something I have never seen before on a mission trip. It was amazing watching three new leaders, Kim, Andrea, and Dale, getting accepted almost immediately as a part of the youth group. Everyone on the trip grew closer together as a family and ultimately grew closer to God.

Throughout the week, I saw moments of growth. On Thursday a couple of the guys accidentally got into a tough spot when we were climbing a small waterfall. Everyone up there worked as a perfect team to get everyone down safe and it was amazing to watch and be a part of. When my group went to Quest Farms on Wednesday, the impact we made on those special needs adults could be seen almost immediately. When Lauren walked in, one of the adults there yelled "BUDDY" when he saw her because he remembered her from when she visited from a mission trip 4 years ago. This years trip was filled with a unified want to help people and spread Gods love. On Friday, we were given the option to walk around the city and hand out our leftover food at the cost of our free time. Everyone voted to go and hand out our food after already doing two service projects that day. The group that came on this trip was really special and it was great to be a part of it. I have one more mission trip left until I move on from this youth group, and although I'm excited, I know topping this week won't be easy.

-Ian Manning

Youth Mission Team 2019: Day Five - Katie & Dan

Hey, I'm Katie Baker. Today is our last day in Kentucky. We started off the morning with some good breakfast and a seed thought. Afterwards, we broke up into our chore groups so that we could go to our first activity. I am in chore group 3, so we went to the Thompson-Hood Veterans home in Wilmore. I was super excited to talk to veterans . When we got there, we found out that we were playing Bingo with them. When we entered the room, I felt guided to sit with this older man who had been looking and smiling at me since I arrived. Ian and I pulled up two chairs to the table he was sitting at and we met everyone else sitting with him. There was ED, Doug and John. His name was Bobby. Bobby told us all about his time in the military. He was  hilarious and a funny storyteller. He is 95 years young and fought in WW2 in the army. He told stories about his time in Papua New Guinea and talked about how much he loves the food at the Veterans home. After winning Bingo FIVE TIMES, I had some time to chat with him more. He kept telling me that I was a special person and I could do great things. It meant a lot coming from him. After talking for a while, it was finally time to go. As he was saying goodbye to Ian and I, he started to cry. He said that even though he is 95, he isn't scared of dying because knows he's going to heaven. Then he kissed my hand and said he would miss me. Ian and I walked away from his table with an impact and a memory that will last forever. After that, we met up with the rest of the groups at a park for lunch. We had a lot of food leftover from the week and we planned to give that food to the people of Lexington through RAGS. But before that, we went to a food pantry named God's Pantry and packed 1,728 pounds of dark chocolate into boxes for the people in the city of Lexington who need food. This was a great team bonding experience because we learned how to assembly line the labeling of bags. When we left Gods Pantry, we got into vans and headed to Downtown Lexington for RAGS. RAGS means Random Acts of Grace and Service. We gave out the food until dinner time. For dinner, we went to a different park near the University of Kentucky and had hotdogs. We also had worship at the park!

~Katie Baker

Hi my name is Dan. I have been in the youth group for a while and this is my first time doing the blog. So today besides what Katie said, we split up into two groups. Katie and her crew went to the veteran center. My group went to the senior citizen center and I loved it so much. It reminded me of my grandparents because my mom mom lives in a nursing home as well as my grandfather on my dad's side. The elders in the home were so kind and funny. It's good to see caring hearts takin care of the older people in the homes. I met a women who asked to play rummy. It was hard to play because the one old lady there couldn't hear very well so it was hard to communicate so she didn't really want to play so she joined my team and I used context clues to communicate. At the end she shared a story with on how she didn't know how to play cards because her mom was very religious and card were gambling so there were never cards in the house. I was cracking up and the only reason I loved in rummy was because he first and last time Lauren shuffled she got 3 aces and 3 kings on her first turn I'm just saying she never shuffled again let's just say that. Once she see this she will be mad be she knows we all love her like her children. But truly the hardest part was leaving them because I felt like we were only there for like 2 hours I wish we could be there for longer but it's ok. I have had a great week and can't wait until next year. 

~Daniel Tapken 

Youth Mission Team 2019: Day Four - Sienna Burnham

I'm Sienna Burnham. Today was the fifth day of the mission trip. We went on a canoeing trip on the Kentucky River. After some unfortunate events; such as forgetting the bread for lunch and not having the correct forms, everyone picked partners and jumped in their canoes. Julia and I were partners, and it was an amazing time. During the boat ride we were able to take in the nature and beauty of the river. The weather was absolutely beautiful, with a clear blue sky and a comfortable temperature. After about two hours of rowing, our arms were exhausted and sore, but we were pleased by the sight of a small hidden water fall. We were able to get out of our boats for lunch by the waterfall and some of us even climbed to the top of the waterfall. We were able to enjoy a nice swim together. It was a peaceful ride back and I really enjoyed spending quality time with Julia. We learned more about each other and grew closer with her.

After the canoe trip, we went to visit our gracious hosts, Pastor Ron and Dorena. They hosted us for dinner and grilled steaks, chicken, and burgers. We were able to play games, have a great dinner, and spend time in worship and fellowship. This trip is meant for growing a stronger bond with the people around you and most importantly a more intense relationship with God. I have been working on this all week. I've been able to grow closer to people that I wouldn't usually talk to and I'm so glad I'm building new friendships within the youth group. These students and leaders are going to have my back through everything and I'm so grateful to be apart of a group that's so tight and faithful. Anyways we had a great time together and I'm excited to see what the rest of the trip holds! We'll keep you updated!! 

Sienna Burnham

Youth Mission Team 2019: Day Three - Jordan & Luke

Hi I'm Jordan! Today our group split into two, one went to Quest Farms and one went to Lord's Legacy, both groups that serve adults with special needs and take care of them. I went to Lord's Legacy, and at first we cleaned houses. At the first house, Katie and Tim led the group in who cleaned what and I got to clean the bathroom with Andrea! The next house, Julia and I led, and we got the house done really quickly. Then, we are lunch in the driveway and played games. When we were don't, we got to go to the Adult Day Training, which is where the adults learn things like in school and get to do activities. While they finished the lesson for the day, we cleaned the fridge and the closet. FINALLY it was time to hang out with the residents! I first met this woman Mary who was pretty quiet but I eventually got her laughing when she said her favorite food was shrimp and I freaked out because I love shrimp too! Then I met Tammy, whose birthday it was. We all signed a paper for her and then Kristan told her I could sing and Tammy wanted me to sing. We first sang My Lighthouse and then Oceans, where our entire group sang and we danced and held hands with Tammy! It was really special. Then I met Kim, who was singing along. I sat down with her and we were chatting and Kirstan and Tim came over too. Kim told me that everyone in the place was her best friend and that her favorite part was being there and everything about the place. She told me that they pray a lot and we asked to pray with her and I got the honor of praying with her, it was so cool!! She then looked up at the sky and pointed to the clouds and said "Look, that's God up there!!" This day made a huge impact on me and I could talk about it for hours on end. I hope I get to do something like that again, because I feel like those people make a huge impact on me and teach me to appreciate life a lot more (:

-Jordan Kelley

Hello there, I'm Luke Buzby! Today my group and I went to Quest Farms and hung out with the special needs people that were awesome! Some people were painting with them, playing monopoly, playing outdoor games, or puzzles with them. Luke and I started off doing a puzzle with this one guy named Grayson. He was super cool, he kept taking about how his girlfriend was there with him and how they're super happy together. We told him that that was cool and that it's good he's treating her well and everything. I later on left because I'm terrible with puzzles. I went to play with some Yahtzee with some people. We got super hype when someone rolled a Yahtzee. Dan just hopped in and he rolled three ones and he needed two more to get Yahtzee and then he got snake eyes and all went crazy for the Yahtzee. So we ended up having to go and we all hopped into the van and we were waiting for about 30 minutes listening to music and jamming out. And the people who told us where to go told us they were going to be a little late. So we continued to the farm., We arrived at the farm and were later noted that they were not going to make it and to come back. We came back and Dan, Rob, and I all played uno with this girl named Cara. I decided to go and interact with someone else. But Dan quickly called for me and I saw that Cara and Rob were writing down bible verses. She then asked for us to write down songs that we liked and that she could listen to. We gave her so many songs that we could think of. It felt really good to know she actually cared, and to see the smile on her face and everyone else's face. It made me think that it's he little things that make people like them happy and I'm grateful to know that we made her day. 

~Luke Buzby

Youth Mission Team 2019: Day One - Colleen

Our first day we started out with breakfast under the pavilion. Then, during our seed thought we learned what joy is and the different fruits of the spirit. We were then told by our ASM leaders that we had to do a quick change of plans. We were supposed to go canvasing at Bluegrass Greensource, but due to the weather (rain), we could not do it. Instead we did RAGS (Random Acts of Grace and Service).

Before we went out we did some games that involved teamwork and communication. One of these activities involved having four or five people with blindfolds who could not walk or talk. Everyone else had to communicate with each other to make a certain shapes while holding a rope. We learned that communication is important in order to accomplish a goal. Then we went to lunch at a park near the church where we are staying.

After lunch, we went into Lexington to do the RAGS. Each group was given one dollar for each member, and go out do small services to the community. My group in particular went to a hot dog stand and bought four water cups and a bag of chips. We walked around the city and handed out the waters and the bag of chips. We talked to the these people and learned a little bit about them. Then we went to a Subway and bought a sandwich. We gave the sandwich to a man in a wheelchair. We prayed with each of these people to help them out and to always be with them.

We came back to the church for dinner, debrief, and worship. During debrief we talked about the different things that happened during the day. One of things that I enjoyed was seeing how grateful the people were when we gave them the water or the sandwich. During worship, Luke Buzby talked about attitude and how it changes after different events. For me, I was a little uncomfortable going up to random strangers and starting conversations with them. After doing it a couple of times, it became easier to go up and talk to people. Even though our initial plan fell through, it still came out okay. We may have changed people's lives by do the random acts of grace. We are looking forward to the rest of week, and hope that they are as enjoyable as today!

-Colleen

Friday, July 27 - Adventure Day

Hi! It's Marissa, Ian, and Julie. Today, we woke up extra early to begin our fun adventure day. We ate breakfast at 6:45 and immediately headed to Blue Heron. When we arrived, we found a beautiful view to do our morning devotional. Everyone really got to see God's creation in action! Afterwards, we then hiked towards our rock climbing spot for the day. We had two spots for climbing and a rope dangling off the top of a 100 foot cliff to repel! At first, people were reluctant and intimidated to do the activities, but after a while everyone jumped right "off!" The two climbing walls, one easy and one hard, were both quite a challenge. They included numerous cracks and crevices to pull yourself up to the top. When you got the top of each wall, it was a tradition to kiss the carabiner clip. Also, the cliff we repelled off was crazy! It was an awesome feeling getting to slowly back down and then hear the group cheering you on! Overall, it was a really fun and successful day! Everyone did something they probably thought they never would. We now are all tired and are in the vans heading to dinner at Sonny's for some good deserved barbecue! After dinner, we will be going to basecamp for our senior led worship. Then it will be bedtime so we are ready for the long car ride home tomorrow morning. See you guys soon.

Thursday, July 26 - Work Day 4

This is Luke Buzby, and I’m here to tell you about my day on Thursday, July 26th. So, Ben, Luke S. and I all went with Mr. Marcussen to clean up the trash we laid out on the sidewalk the previous day. We got in the car thinking this trip would take only an hour or so, but we were totally incorrect. We started bonding over songs and other weird things that I can’t even begin to explain. We started packing up the truck’s bed with trash that reeked. We then headed to the dump, but we got lost. We asked a neighbor that lived in the area of the dump who said that you take a left instead of a right. We did that but found a dead end and almost ran over a dog that was running circles around the car. We somehow got out of that and ended up finding the dump. Then we went to Lowe’s for supplies, and Luke and I broke the mission trip record with 136 inches of tape measure. We then got in the truck and headed back to base camp. When got back, Bethany, our Adventure Serve leader, told Luke and I to go look for a wood stretcher. We went out for a stroll and looked for this so called “wood stretcher.” Luke quickly caught on that we were looking around for something that didn’t exist for about 2 hours. It was a day of unexpected adventures. Our work has come to an end and looking forward to tomorrow's real adventure!

Wednesday, July 25 - Work Day 3

Hey! It's Jordan and Matt M. Today we went to a new worksite. The family had 5 kids that lived with their grandmother. In the morning, we played lots of games with the kids and really bonded with them. They also had 2 puppies and they were tiny and so adorable! I (Jordan) helped the grandmother with folding and hanging clothes! She was so sweet and very helpful! I, (Matt) played with the puppies a lot! We all then ate lunch together and had fun! We did a Walmart run and bought them new brooms and chairs and other things. After lunch, we got to work. We primed and painted the door frames with Hannah and Dan while Ben helped replace the toilet seat and Luke B, Luke S, and Clay cleaned the garage. It was very exhausting, but definitely worth seeing how happy they were. We were so lucky to have met these kid, and we really did a great job of showing them God's love. We ended the day with pictures and a big game of Duck Duck Goose. We were blessed to have met them and they definitely touched our lives.