Buildin' & diggin' (High School Work Trip, Day 3)

By the time the sun found us this morning, we were midway through our breakfast and soon on our way back to The Source. Today we were mostly split into two groups - Alyssa was solo, and helping staff sort through clothes that had been donated and were completely disorganized, and Ryan C continued to help put up soffit miles above the surface of the earth - but e rest of us either worked on porch building or hill digging.



The Diggers: "We dug most of the way to China. We were hitting lava for a while there. We built a trench, 4 miles long and and 40 feet deep, and pretty much saved the world." "You can't even do that. But we did." -Ryan W
The Builders: "Oh yeah? Well, we built a porch all the way to the moon and back. So there." "We put in a billion screws, hung a million joist brackets, and nailed until our hands fell off." -Nick


At the end of the day, the window well was completely finished, and the porch was built - and the entire group was exhausted.



But not too exhausted to head to the Y for showers and to Key's restaurant for supper. Back at the church, we had some devo time, and then... CANDYCOMBS!! Candy had been hidden throughout the church, and it was our mission to find it, using a few obscure clues. Hindering us in our mission were two merciless guards, ready to send us to jail the second they caught us. By 2 am all the candy was found and most of us headed to bed.

I kinda think there may be some sleeping on the way back tomorrow!

Crashin' (Fall Work Trip, Day 2)

Today things crashed. Not everything, by any means, but some things did. Let's not talk about them quite yet, though.

Lori and a group of kids headed to Hope Academy. You may remember what a cool endeavor Hope is, but if not, check out this video that tells their story. They had a full and good day of reading to kids, interacting with them, helping with teaching prep stuff, and all sorts of other things. One important note of clarification: Tate was dubbed the laminTATEr because of her mad skills with the laminating machine, not because of any connection to sadness and/or the book of Lamentations in the Bible.
Marv worked with Luke and another guy on wall repair for most of the day. His mad wall finishing skills stood him in good stead on the project - though he might have liked getting a project other than his normal job. Maybe tomorrow things will be mixed up a bit!
A crew of guys took on hole digging. They were digging a 5 x 5 x 5 hole for an egress window, and another one to enable drainage and prevent future flooding. They were very, very manly in their efforts.
Mike and Nick worked on building a porch and made awesome progress in spite of the fact that Nick's brother Adam, who was coming with some friends to join in the fun, hit serious snags in the transportation process. They were still in time to be of real help in moving the project forward and in helping with a lot of cleanup.
Ryan and some other dudes were high up on a scaffold, putting up soffit. The height was significant, so I'm happy to report that they were NOT what crashed.
Angela had too much of her day job to still accomplish for the week, so she ended up staying at the church for the day, trying to catch up.
Crashing:
- the trailer, as it came off the truck en route today. No serious harm was done and all is well now, so maybe "crash" is too strong a word.
- the kids when they got back to the church after a hard day's work
- angela's laptop. 'course, the power cable might have been helpful...
- Dan and Holly's party. Dan is Mike's brother, and he is a pastor at the church where we're staying. We got to drop by their place, meet their family, scare their dog, and generally take over the place for a few hours. It's beautiful, and we really had a nice time.
- the kids, after eating all that pizza
- the original plans for the evening. We had, um, coordination issues that caused us to abandon the original plans (hanging out some more at The Source) and instead chill out at the Y. It was actually a pretty nice time.
- the kids (well, some of them) at the evening's "devos" with Mike. It was a neat time, in spite of everyone's exhaustion, and the kids had really thoughtful responses. Good times.
- all of us, now. 'Nuff said.

Rollin' (Senior High Fall Work Trip - Day 1)

I'm happy to report that we've arrived in the Twin Cities with the same number of folks we began with. Unfortunately, that can NOT be said of our tires. Just as we neared Weyauwega (half hour out of town), one of the tires on the trailer started spewing bits of itself across the world. So with that, a run to Fleet Farm once we reached Steven's Point for a new tire, and a bit of a late start to begin with, it was 1 AM before we were in the church with the trailer unloaded. So, *yawn* I believe we'll turn in!

a bit o’ catchup

(from Angela) Technical issues and a desire for most of our energy to be focused on being as present as possible together have meant that the blog posts/photos have not been as complete as I would have liked them to be this week. I’ll try to get more highlight photos up today sometime. If you’re in the Fox Cities, we’ll be sharing more about our trip at both of our church services tomorrow (9:00 and 10:30).
A lot happened throughout the week, but I’d like to highlight a couple of them. First of all: the kids. There were 15 of them in our group, and they were fantastic.

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They were NOT perfect :) but I was continually impressed by their willingness. Willing to help with stuff – sometimes even taking initiative on it and helping without being asked! Willing to step out of their comfort zones. Willing to admit when they were wrong. I don’t think I was much of any of those things when I was in high school. It’s just such a privilege to be with them and to get to know them better throughout the week.
The adults, also, were just great to be with. Mike – pulling everything together, providing energy and direction, engaging folks everywhere in conversation, and pushing us all out of our comfort zone. Adjusting when the week did NOT go as planned because of his injury, and not drawing a lot of attention to it. Oh – and making coffee every morning! Bob – keeping us organized! Working behind the scenes to bring order out of chaos and pull things together that otherwise would get missed. Humbly sharing his experiences of the week whether or not they put him in a good light. Providing humor and quietly helping in whatever he was tasked with doing.  Lori – wowza. Being with kids non-stop for the entire time. Providing energy, humor, energy, love, and, uh, energy! particularly when we needed it most. Organizing, motivating, being an example, and just loving kids. The love was so evident, whether it was for the kids from our group or the kids we were serving this week, or the kids from the other groups, or the college interns who were working on every aspect of the program. I want to be like Lori when I grow up! Matilde – Matilde ended up coming last minute with her grandson Francisco. She is visiting for five or so weeks from Mexico, and she doesn’t speak English. She was just amazing. Two kids in the group and Chris, a leader from another group who had lived in Peru, would translate for her whenever possible. I’m so grateful for them, but I still think it had to be so challenging for her to be “along for the ride” and to be such a good sport about it. She had to wonder, many times, at what was going on, but she just pitched in and helped whenever she saw a need. The New City folks were delighted to have her: she spent most of her time on a small team that connected with families in the apartment complex where we’ve been hanging out & building the swing set. New City had connected with lots of folks there, but hadn’t realized that there are about 50 Spanish-speaking families with whom they’d had minimal contact. Matilde loved it and New City is looking forward to maintaining and building on the connections that she helped start.
And me? I had the opportunity to help with English tutoring for an Iraqi family that arrived in St. Louis two months ago. Every afternoon I would go over to Lamyah’s house and learn about her and her family, and teach bits of English, or the US money system, or whatever else she was interested in. We played a lot of Bingo (with money, or household items, or whatever)! I learned a few words in Arabic too! (I know I’m butchering the spelling on these, even using an English keyboard – hope I’m at least close). good: Sa’h. yes: eeeh. no: lah. equals: esaree. fast: sari-ah. I also got to connect during kids club with some kids from Burma (count to five in Burmese? ti – nee – lei – na – chow – I think!!) and Maryan, a woman from Somalia who’s lived here for seven or so years. (“My country? America. Somalia is no more. Twenty years – TWENTY YEARS of fighting. Somalia no more.” Unreal to us here – can you imagine that happening to your home and country??) She asked if I was married and I said no, expecting a scolding of some type about how I should be having children. But she surprised me. “Husband, no good. Lots of work.” Ok, got it! :) Because she’s been here a while, she tries to help new refugee families acclimate – pretty neat. She’s frustrated with the landlords though, and hopes to move soon. The crime is pretty bad there, and they don’t seem to do much about it. They say they do, and then they don’t.
Well – this is all over the place, I know, but hopefully it gives you some idea of what the week felt and looked like!
-Angela

Mike

Mike, our indefatigable and fearless leader, has been HAMMERED by St. Louis. Yesterday, he filleted his little finger with a saw – right through his glove. He wrapped it in plastic wrap and kept going (they’re trying to finish up the swing set). Then Matilde (who’s a nurse) took a look and re-bandaged it and told him he should get it stitched up. So he went to kids club (of course) and THEN headed to the ER around 9:00 pm. They did not get him in until 3:30 AM by which time he was exhausted and dehydrated. He ended up passing out and needing IV fluids and finally got out of the hospital 3 hours and 5-6 stitches later (6:30 AM). He ended up missing the morning’s activities and moving slowly (but still working) this afternoon. We’ll see if he ever comes back!!

more kid thoughts

Francisco – more about Josh – He’s really good at basketball. He would do better in school if everything were a competition!

Connor – I’m thinking about coming back the week of July 10. Anyone want to come with me? They only have 15 volunteers for that week.

Calvin – It’s hot. It’s just really hot. I’m also thinking about coming back with Connor – maybe my dad could come. He would be really good with it because he’s awesome at building.

Conner – and by the way, it’s really hot down here.

Francisco – oh, and we’re out of doughnuts.

Thursday Morning kid updates

Connor

It’s hot. Very hot. Stay away.

Sara

This year has definitely been a lot different from last year. First of all, I’m tutoring a boy. Second of all, I’m not on a work project all afternoon. Third of all, I actually get free time in the afternoon. Lastly – there’s a smaller amount of people (in total) here this week. Oh, and Popo (Josh Chappeau) has a goattee.

Ruby

I’ve met up with Fatima again. Her mom is 8 months pregnant but has been in the hospital on bedrest for a month. They’re taking the baby by c-section on Tuesday. The baby is a little girl named Rafifi and she will be tiny.

from Lori

It is Wednesday and we are TIRED!!!  Late nights, lots of work, no sleep all factor in. 

Mike Ziehr

enjoyed playing soccer with serious soccer players at kids club at the apartment complex where we’ve been hanging out. They’re from all over the world, and they’re pretty good.

Hannah Welk

is enamored with the way the children are waiting for us with our truck full of games, snow cones, popcorn and whatever else Mike brought with us!  And how the children come up and hug us and are so sad when we leave.

images, Tuesday style

	tutoring with Iraqi family
	tutoring with Iraqi family
	tutoring with Iraqi family
	tutoring with Iraqi family
	dinner!
	dinner!
	dinner!
	dinner!
	PTERODACTYL! (you’ll have to ask!)
	WAH WAH CHOP (again, ask)
	indestructible picnic table
	indestructible picnic table
	laundromat! (Matilde and Lori)
	Mike & Andrew

through Ryan’s eyes

I’ve been working with a lot of kids because I’ve been tutoring all day, and then doing kids club at night. So I’ve been around a lot of kids. Many of them are so open to you. Just getting to know them is so easy, and it’s amazing the kind of stuff that they know how to do best. What they can do, what kind of person they are continues to surprise me. Example: today, we did two classes back-to-back with two different groups. One kid I was tutoring was okay with a math worksheet we were doing. Another kid sits down – yesterday he barely talked to me, and he looks at the first problem. I didn’t even say anything and he tells me the answer. I was like, “what, you knew that?!” and very surprised. He was like, “yeah” and just knew the answer. He gives me all the correct answers to the other ones. Stuff like that.

I was talking with some kids my age at the apartments where we’re doing kids club. I noticed one of them hanging around and I started talking to him. Turns out he’s from Kenya and he moved to St. Louis like a month ago. We were just talking about his story – he was a great guy. Name is Zacaria. A couple of his friends joined him, Muhammed and Michele. Not sure where Michele was from, but knows like six languages because he said he wasn’t sure where he would be going, like France or Germany or here. And he ended up here. He had traveled to France, he had traveled all over Europe. And he was just telling me about how different it is coming here to America. But he said, “I still like it”. If I had never taken that uncomfortable little step of talking with these guys, I would never have gotten to know their story. For me, I know how valued I feel when someone is genuinely curious about who I am, what I have to say, so God just continues to show himself to me through the people around me. And just how unique everyone is and how loved we all are.

routine

So here’s the routine if you’re in St. Louis on a week-long work project.
Breakfast
Devotional
Tutoring kids
Lunch
Work! (tutoring, building things, cleaning stuff…)
(rest??)
neighborhood kids club
slushee/ice cream run
debrief
(band practice??)
BED!
Just like regular life, right?

Update from Francisco (a sophomore) who is tutoring Joshua (a first grader) this week: “Joshua is a pretty big hassle, but he likes helping people as far as I can tell. But maybe if I get to know him better, it will be easier. Oh, and he has a pet tiger.”

a quick Sunday note (pictures hopefully to follow)

Sundays at New City are just amazing – particularly when you’re starting off a high school work week! There’s plenty of prep and orientation, but there’s also worshipping with an unusually ethnically diverse group, eating dinner at the homes of strangers (who don’t stay that way long), and heading out for the first neighborhood kids club of the week.

Our team is in the same place this year as it has been the past two – an apartment complex where many of the families are new to the ‘States. A Burmese family we spent time with has been here 11 months, and an Iraqi family – only one month. It’s fun and fascinating to seek to connect and find ways to communicate as we’re playing with kids, feeding them snow cones, and just generally having a lovely (if hot and sweaty) time!

Oh, and when we were at kids club we found a new challenge for the week: the swings from the swing set we built last year have somehow disappeared!

and if that blue blue bird don’t sing

Saturday is “Tour St. Louis” day. We had a leisurely morning hanging around the dorms, packed lunches, and headed to the Arch. It’s just amazing, really – even those who had seen it before found ourselves still found it jaw-dropping. We also spent time in the museum beneath the arch before heading out again.

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We found a park-like area where a bunch of kids were playing in a stone-rimmed pool and decided it would be a perfect lunching spot. It was! Getting back into the air conditioning at the next spot was lovely – we went to the Science Museum and wandered around quite  a bit. Next stop?  The Dyers’! The Dyers were a part of our church in Appleton until 1 1/2 years ago when a job brought them here. It was great to meet up with them again. We were able to hang around, sleep, play games, and eat to our heart’s content (no small feat with a group of high schoolers!) thanks to their hospitality.

We made it back to New City for the first orientation talk where we got to meet up with Andrew and the two other groups we’ll be with this week – one from Iowa, one from Pardeeville, WI.

The week promises to be interesting: we’re short a group (one cancelled at the 11th hour) and the weather is predicted to be mid-90’s every day. Sounds like our kind of challenge!

Oh – and Lori found a little feathery blue bird left behind in one of the dorm rooms. He has since been adopted, named Pete, and pretty much become our mascot for the week. Look for him in pictures – and (if he does anything interesting!) in stories going forward!

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Are you David Taylor?

What do a police car, a silver van and a Mike Collison have in common?... David Taylor. Read on!

Well, we’re in St. Louis. Three vehicles meant to leave from the church building at 8 am and finally rolled out “for real” around 10:30. The traffic wasn’t bad, though, so we got to the rendezvous with Mike’s sister (for some cousin swapping) at the same time she did. Hot yummy pizza in under a park pavilion  in humid 95-degree weather after  4 hours in the car? What could be better?!

Next stop? The Cahokia Mounds! Also known as the Giant Twinkie :), Monk’s Mound was constructed  by hand between from 900 to1100 AD. It still stands 100 feet tall and provides a fantastic view of the St. Louis – particularly at sunset! We wandered and played around a bit, prayed for the city, and headed back down.

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Just as we neared the New City neighborhood, a squad car shot around Bob and Angela’s cars and pulled Mike’s van over. The officer came up to the van and asked Mike if he was David Taylor. Mike assured him that he was no such person, and we learned that there was an alert out for a silver van in connection with a domestic disturbance. We were soon en route once again and made it to the New City Dorms without further incident. 

The long day wrapped up with a general takeover of a local Steak and Shake restaurant and then crashing on floors as the dorm rooms were still being occupied by this past week's student groups. On to tomorrow's exploration of the City!

t-shirts!

So – the girls who are part of St. Louis adventure 2010 are making t-shirts for the adventure!