Final pack up and loading at church. Extra props to Andy for all his organization helps. I've nicknamed him Andy “the Intern,” but he is truly Andy, “The Angel.” He has helped with the shopping, game building, and packing. Julie took care of the rest of the paperwork. Props!
We hit the road nearly on time, 8:30 and rolled to Sam's to pick up Kidz Klub snax. Honestly, it is lots of fun shopping with a group of high schoolers. Sadly no free snax were out yet.
Listening to Blind Melon's song “No Rain” on the 90's mix didn't help to keep from getting blasted four times on the drive down. Some mysterious traffic hold up we never really saw kept us in a state of crawling parking lot the majority of the length of the 294 through Chicago. All this said, we met my sister Julie near Joliet within 10 minutes of each other. This was a planned kid exchange. My daughter Alyssa was heading to MI to work at my sister's and parent's group home/farmette. Her son, Calvin came with us to St. Louis. We ate pizza at a lovely park in Channahon, IL.
We arrived by 9:30pm at the New City campus. Andrew, the project leader met us. For those who don't know, he was a middle schooler in my Wheaton Bible Church group when I was an intern in a galaxy far, far away. Jake Ziehr soon followed. We unloaded and headed to Steak and Shake. Amid the conversation, Calvin ate hot peppers, followed by a milk chaser. Jake is doing well and having a blast here, three weeks in the stories are piling up. Among others, he is teaching English to recent refugees from Burma.
The outgoing groups from SC and Iowa look like what we will a week from now.
Due to a baseball tourney, Chris and Nick Matula are driving down on Sunday night or Monday morning depending on the outcome of the game. We can't wait to have them join us, and thus conflicted on praying for a loss. Jarrel Davis has been planning to join us for many months but returned home from Chicago Thursday sick. We are praying health and that he can hitch a ride with the Matula boys.
Here's the team in brief – as that summer is here, grades will reflect fall.
Andy “The Intern” Spoehr – Junior at Wheaton College, IL – Christian Ed major
Calvin- 9th grader from Parchment, MI
Chris Matula – Wise elder and children's ministry overseer
Hannah - 10th grader from Hortonville
Julie Morrell (J-MO) – church office administrator and owner/operator of car #2
Lori McCarthy – a returner from spring work weekend
Luke - 10th grader at Xavier
Mike Collison – blogster, driver, pastor, pirate, senior hamster trainer for the circus
Mike – (Flavian Davis) 11th grader at Hortonville
Nick - 11th grader at Kimberly
Rachel - 9th grader at Neenah
Ruby - 9th grader at Neenah
Ryan - 10th grade home schooler
Sara – recent Neenah HS grad – headed for Vet Tech school in Fondy
Tate - 11th grader at Neenah
Our trip book is Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers- Prayer for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. It is a nice thoughtful prayer-infused book about following Jesus in community with others and reaching out to serve. This prayer on page 59 seems a good one to pray and reflect on this week.
RADIATING CHRIST
Dear Jesus, help us to spread your fragrance everywhere we go.
Flood our souls with spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly that our lives may only be a radiance of yours.
Shine through us, and be so in us, that every soul we come in contact with may feel your presence in our soul.
Let them look up and see no longer us but only Jesus!
Stay with us, and then we shall begin to shine as you shine; so to shine as to be a light to others; the light O Jesus, will be all from you, none of it will be ours. It will be you shining on others through us.
Let us thus praise you in the way you love best by shining on those around us.
Let us preach you without preaching, not by words but by our example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what we do.
The evident fullness of the love our hearts bear to you.
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