That’s a wrap!

Sick Chart Update

	Not Yet Sick (as of Friday, at drop-off)	Sick	Mostly/Better
Saturday	everyone else...	Alyssa Lori
Sunday	everyone else...	Alyssa Lori
Monday	everyone else...	Heather Rachel Tirzah Sara Christy Mike	Alyssa Lori
Tuesday	everyone else...??	Tirzah Jake Mike Jeremiah Walker	Alyssa Lori Heather Rachel Sara Christy
Wednesday	Tom G Angela Gloria Antonio Colleen Jim Bob Messiah	Logan Ryan Paco Mike	Alyssa Lori Heather Rachel Sara Christy Tirzah Jake Walker Jeremiah Mike
Thursday	Tom G Angela Gloria Antonio Colleen Jim Bob Messiah Tim Sue (note – still some names here!!)	(note – NO NAMES HERE!!!)	Alyssa Lori Heather Rachel Sara Christy Tirzah Jake Walker Jeremiah Mike Logan Ryan Paco

Yes, indeed. Final count:14 of the 24 total folks from Wisconsin got sick – and better – during our time in St Louis. Aren’t you glad we didn’t post pictures of that?!!
We are so grateful – both that folks got better, AND that the bug seemed to run through pretty quickly. Everyone still got chances to do most of the various activities that comprise a work trip in St Louis.
Thursday wrapped up well – we said good-bye to the kids we’d tutored, we served in the afternoon for a last time with the folks from St Louis that we’d gotten to know throughout the week, and then we headed out for Indian food as a way to celebrate a great week. Yum! As a final wrap-up today, Andrew gathered us together to reflect on what we’d experienced and learned throughout the week – and to challenge us to bring it back with us.
On Friday we experienced a few hiccups getting packed up (my – Angela’s - car battery konked out and needed replacing before we left), but for the most part got out without too much trouble. Other than a complete downpour that was a tad nerve-wracking to drive through, things went smoothly and we were back in Appleton by around 7pm.
I have to say – the kids and leaders were just great to be with. In spite of the sickness and other things that could really have thrown a wrench into the week, folks maintained positive attitudes, volunteered to help out where they could, and generally contributed a lot to everything going well. I couldn’t ask for a better team to serve with – thanks, Mike, for all you did to help pull together an incredible time for all of us! And thanks to God that the 7th St Louis Trip joined the other six in being an incredible, rewarding, exhausting, and amazing time.

Wednesday Wednesday Wednesday

It seems pretty sad that an update for this week feels like it should start with a "who's sick now" update, but that is just the way this week has rolled. Maybe we should make a table:

	Not Yet Sick (as of Wed)	Sick	Mostly/Better
Saturday	everyone else...	Alyssa Lori
Sunday	everyone else...	Alyssa Lori
Monday	everyone else...	Heather Rachel Tirzah Sara Christy Mike	Alyssa Lori
Tuesday	everyone else...??	Tirzah Jake Mike Jeremiah Walker	Alyssa Lori Heather Rachel Sara Christy
Wednesday	Tom Angela Gloria Antonio Colleen Jim Bob Messiah	Logan Ryan Paco Mike	Alyssa Lori Heather Rachel Sara Christy Tirzah Jake Walker Jeremiah Mike
Thursday	???		Logan Ryan

So yeah, it’s been quite a run! That being said – the kids really have had great attitudes and overall have enjoyed their time here a lot. It’s been neat to get to know the other group from Iowa that’s here this week, and have a chance to connect with kids, each other, and with God.
Today we had to bid farewell to 4 of the “grown-ups” (ha!) that have been with us so far – Tom, Lori, Christy and Jeremiah. They had to get back to jobs and other grown up things. Fortunately, 2 brand-spankin’ new ones arrived later to continue carrying the torch – Sue and Tim (yippeee!).
Normally our days go (roughly) tutoring –> lunch –> work projects –> supper –> Kids Club. But today we started before breakfast with tie dyeing the t-shirts we get from this week, and instead of our afternoon work project we had a 2 hour retreat of silence. That was a change for high schoolers who are used to going at a crazy pace: talking, listening to music, or sleeping. Andrew challenged us not to talk, or sleep, during that time, but rather to take time for quiet prayer and reflection. Neat stuff!
It was hard to wrap up Kids Club for the week. The kids just seemed so sweet and willing to connect this year. A couple of 20-year-old guys that Ryan was talking with live in the same complex as these kids. They told him, “it’s just so neat to see the children smiling and having fun. You brought them joy”. Just cool stuff! Tonight in addition to our normal game playing and dispensing of sno cones and popcorn, we handed out dental supplies! Alyssa had asked around with dentists in the Valley and rounded up a big supply that we were able to package and get to the kids. They loved them and kept coming back in line to get more for their brothers and sisters.
We wrapped up the day at the laundromat –hopefully we now have enough clean clothes to end the week in style!

Wednesday pics VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

yesterday…

So – normally we try to get out picture updates throughout the day and a summary out at the end of the day for work trips. But yesterday took “work trip” to a whole new level. We got as far as taking pictures – but to actually get them out to Facebook or to the blog was just one step too many.

We had three main projects going on:

Dan Klein & his son Kevin worked on replacing a window with a door (to help The Fallout building meet fire code). They were successful – though there was a touchy moment there when the door might have been hung to swing the wrong way. Crisis averted, all is well, and folks can now easily egress via the back of the building thanks to a ton of hard work from Lori and others to clear out the hallway.

The Source has a new once-foreclosed-upon house that will be joining to their transitional housing network – it’s pink and is decorated with dolphins, flamingoes and cranes, so another group worked at “The Crane House”. Ryan and Sara worked on drywalling inside, while Jeremiah, Christy, Mike, Messiah, Alyssa, Myster, and Nate worked on hauling, making and pouring cement for a sidewalk and digging post holes. They made it! By the end of the day the cement was covered to protect it from the coming frost and the posts were mounted and aligned and ready for the next stage of a storage shed project.

A third large-ish group worked on building a wheelchair ramp into the Art Coop building. That may not sound like a big deal, but the ramp needed to loop through a deep alley so needed a significant support structure in order to be set up correctly. Todd was crew boss for that project with a great deal of help from Tom – and they were joined by Lori, Jake, Ramiro, Antonio, Nick, Ryan, Alyssa, Myster, Messiah and Angela. A bunch of folks circled around and helped with additional projects here and there, pitching in where ever it was needed. Mike’s nephew Walker joined in as well – he’s been on other trips with us so it was neat to see and work with him again. After an 11-ish hour work day, (added to all the setup work from Friday), the ramp was installed! It still needs a railing and finishing, but all things considered it was quite an accomplishment.

The exhausted group packed up the trailer and headed to the Y for showers, followed by supper at Pancho Villa – a restaurant near The Source that has become a favorite. At around 10:30 we headed back to The Fallout where Peter shared a bit about the history of The Source, as well as the story of how they came to acquire the Crane House. Then it was back to the church and it wasn’t long before the building was dark and quiet.

mike collision (typed by Antonio)

mike here driving through IL dictating to (A Renteria) months ago, I decided that our trip theme would be , (ENLARGE YOUR HEART.) Before we left Gary Campbell designed a heart shaped necklace for the group. At the beginning of the week I challenged everyone to ask god to enlarge their hearts. Here are some of the ways God answered; a small boy named Abdul who got into things, Ann ame, 99 year old women at the retirement home, The families that joined us for kids club, Tough kids at tutoring that softened up at the end of the week, seeing a lot of need in difficult circumstances like mowing a widow’s lawn and meeting a new neighbor, spending time with a joyful group of seniors who call themselves J.O.Y, seeing the joyful faces of kids at kids club breaking piñatas mostly who have never done one, serving along side of a White Mississippi and a Black St.Louis group.
What seems clear to me is that God uses people most to enlarge our hearts. after 6 years I can say this was the smoothest week yet. the credit goes to our team who where amazing. one of the most dreaded jobs of the week is cleaning out the trailer to pack for home. after kids club and construction projects the mess of popcorn, tools, wires, games, wood, saw dust, screws and assorted junk make for a really good challenge. everyone in our group tackled the huge mess in an hour with an unbelievable teamwork.
in the afternoons we built wood shakers with the 5th and 6th graders. these were made out of oak drawer scraps from home. they took 3 days to glue, sand, stain, and fill. the last day we ended with a drum and shaker session outside. it was very satisfying to see 30 colorful would shakers drying in the sun. Of course this would not be a trip without a car repair. the radiator in the green van was leaking a little in the beginning of the trip and started to leak a lot in the end. not wanting to risk a road side repair in Illinois, I bought a radiator. Ryan and I did the repair this morning, it took about 3 hours. we only lost one screw!! A happy report, it was a success. this gave the group a chance to pack up and clean their rooms and say some goodbyes to friends they made along the trip. this year’s tutoring theme, was called “around the world” Gloria, Alejandro and I did a presentation for the new city group on Tuesday, and a presentation on Wednesday in south city. it was informative and entertaining. we put together stereotypical statements about Mexico. for example: everybody in Mexico has a Chihuahua, does everyone like tacos. Gloria and Alejandro shared stories about growing up in Mexico . Alejandro had to face his fear of public speaking. the applause and love of the kids. a funny moment/ I told Alejandro to “kiss the mic’ which means to just put your mic closer to speak. Alejandro thought I  actually meant to kiss the mic and alejandro started kissing the mic. the kids thought it was really funny how he did that and wondered why he did that. even after I explained kissing the mic to everyone that kissing the mic meant bringing it closer to your mouth Alejandro thought it would be funny so he started kissing the mic while I was explaining to the the kids. He is a natural on stage.
Parents, friends, and church family you can be proud of the work everyone did. It was sweet experience for me to enjoy a week of close spiritual community.
A group from St. Louis will be coming up to Wisconsin for labor day weekend for a weekend of service. we will go up to the Menominee residents to cut and split firewood and build wheel chair ramps. we will be looking for host families to house the groups. I look forward to this new serving venture. Grace and Peace Mike C.

stories from Tuesday

Ok, today followed roughly the same pattern as yesterday, with a few variations added for good measure. So today...
... we're a bit more tired, but also "gelling" more as a team and with the other groups

... Gloria, Alejandro, and Mike C all did a game show for the tutor kids entitled, "what do you know about Mexico?" Gloria and Ale did a great job of keeping the kids interested, and in giving all of us the inside scoop info on common misconceptions about this beautiful country.

... Mike C and Ryan have been helping the older kids make handmade shakers - they're beautiful! - and today was "staining day".

... we brought a couple of pinatas out tonight and the kids loved them. It was quite a pile of excitedness when it finally broke and all the kids went desperately in for the candy. All survived! And it actually really was neat to see quite a few new faces show up for the excitement.

... more progress on the playset area at the apartment complex where Mike C & team are building. There is now a framed out area filled with mulch underneath the swings. The drain cover is completely covered and protected - hopefully no more mud! Next request: a slide of course! Can they pull it off??

... it's just overall a privilege to be here, to hang out with such great kids from Wisconsin (really, they're just incredible!), to see new faces, and to learn. Every time we come back we learn new stuff and take away lessons that we want to apply when we get back. Ask us about it!

The journey home... What the trip meant to me (Ryan, Tate and Sara)

As one who is returning from my fourth trip to St Louis, I find it a bit difficult to find some things new. For four years we have returned to the same apartment complex for kid's club, I tutored a child I had years previous, the shirts given at the end of the week were mostly reminiscent of last Year's. However this year I realized after coming so many times I am no longer in the company of kind strangers but friends. There are kids that I remember from my first wild ride to St Louis. Though I said that I felt as if I did things that did not feel "new", I know this really is not true. I help paint a mural and met loads of new people. I am not disappointed with this year, it was just as wild and enjoyable as any of my previous trips. God was at work among us and working through us, that much I am certain of.

Ryan

This week meant a lot to me in terms of relationships, strengthening old relationships and creating new ones. Our youth group has definitely become a family to me and I know I would be lost without them. This is my fifth year on this trip and every year helps me grow in my friendships with these people. Aside from old relationships we form new ones with kids and staff members at New City. Tutoring in the morning connects us with the students and the college City Lights teaching team. Our afternoons are filled with work projects with our group and others. This year I helped paint a mural with others from our group and our project leader Mark Taylor. In the evenings we headed off to kids club to develop more friendships with children. What a joy! All in all, a great trip and I look forward to returning for my sixth year next year! - Sara


This trip meant to me the ending to my senior year. I will most likely stop going on trips for quite some time due to my intense 20 months of college. However this trip was so frustrating at times but I must admit other times it was a blessing. This was my fourth and final year. Too bad I had to be sick for most of it. -Tate