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.

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.

Alejandros Essay (typed by Ramiro Rosas)

Mike is very strict about wearing your seatbelt while he is driving. Alejandro would always forget to put his seatbelt on while we started driving. So mike would always read the rules that were written on a sticker about what precautions should be done when driving a 15 passenger van. So Mike made Alejandro write a 200 word essay on the way back to Wisconsin:

Most of the people drive everyday to work, field trips, and more. Seventy-Two percent of the people driving DO NOT KNOW the cautions, and ten percent know the cautions and don’t follow them, and the rest don’ even know what’s going on. Scientist predict in the future all drivers should eat, to keep them stop thinking of food, this will help cause accidents. Sleeping helps to relax, and dream and stop focusing on real life, but sleeping while driving might  be a bad thing. Teachers from ”UW Washington University” were looking and observing most of drivers need more sleep to keep them awake, drivers don’t realize how important it is to sleep, “people who make shortcuts always lose… (Mike C.)” Texting is another thing that is causing accidents, why? ill give an example, as I am driving I get a text message from my friend saying “where are you?” I say “I am home” when I m not even home. 20 mins later my friend is in my house and for not paying attention to his text while I was driving we could chill for awhile. The perfect time to drive is on a sunday afternoon in a sunny day, no traffic and is a day to relax, the conclusion is to drive safe  

now this is a short article on paco’s music rap group, Nameless, created in the trailer park. with a coming up song about saint louis, although the song is unnamed at the moment but will go into work with M. Collison and R. Collison and more members of the rap group. and a remix of a song well known but you will see how well it sounds. Along with that there may be a live performance of it very soon, pressured, we will do our best to give you the best of our skills we have. It will be at the church, but the day I will leave a mystery! ;D here is a short sneak peak to the beginning of the song
“havin breakfeast early in the mornin/ even though some of us are yawnin/ while we’re servin/ up a meal/ a sweet deal/ or a combo/ that takes a dance or a mambo/ through our system/

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!

Cajons

Based on a phone interview with Nick Matula with the background voice of Mike Collison.



{Above is Nick and Luke building Cajons}

There were 25 Cajons built for kids, 5 for leaders, and 1 big Cajons for New City Fellowship. Most Cajons was built by the kids for the kids. The group including many of our team, plus a few others, split the steps into different days.

Step 1: Put the box together with glue and then glue on front bass
Step 2: Put in back support, snare, and hole (that includes the woodworking elves that exhausted themselves overnight)
Step 3: Sanding and staining with colors of mahogany, red, blue, green, pecan. The kids also designed their drums with criss cross, smilies, and other designs. There was clear coating them and drilling the screws.


{Above are the kids building their Cajons}

The background story to the Cajons started 3 years ago when Mike saw a Cajon at his brothers church. Mike soon figured out it was expensive and like Mike, he had to figure out how to build a Cajon and getting more for his buck. Mike, Nick, and Ryan built one and it seemed that people started to dig on them. Using their intelligent minds, the Cajons were used as a fundraiser to have more kids come to St. Louis. "It's a really hot selling item." said Mike. "Boy scouts, campfires, it's for everyone." An old idea of a box drum became a reality for kids of Firm Foundation as they enjoy their musical instruments. "It was crazy and a lot of work that pays off" said Nick Mautla, a main creator of the drum. "We didn't get the green light until two days before so Mike was running around." Nick continued. Nick's favorite moment was the drum circle where all the kids, with their unique drums, were led by Mike in a beat.

All in all, the drums were a success thanks to all who helped.


Written by Tate Phillip

Location:In the car on the phone with Nick Matula

Thursday

Jimmy's tired.

For those of you who will be fortunate enough to witness a Jimmy Cardio video at some point you will understand exactly what that means; but for now suffice it to say that we have had a great week and are a little more tired than usual but yet filled with more loving joy (and mercy-- MORE MERCY!) that compels us to go on than when we got here.

Last night was the final Kidz Klub. It had been a relatively quiet week, and that just didn't fit our style. So we went out with a bang by busting out all the stops. We played with bubbles, balloons and squirt guns and double treated them with Blow Pops and freezie pops. We managed to make and consume over 44 lbs of popcorn during the Kidz Klub times and who knows how much water. It was a little sad to leave at the end of the night after spending so much time loving them and investing in them and we will miss all the friends we met.

After the Kidz Klub we made a fun laundry run. We made sure to separate our lights and darks (or maybe we tried to be economical and crammed as much as we could into one washing machine...) and had a blast just hanging out while we waited. We even managed to spread a little cheer in the laundry room (the feeling, not the detergent) by handing out leftover licorice rope and freezie pops. I (A.T.I.) left at one point to go help Mike and came back to find out that one of my shirts had shrunk in the dryer! Fortunately, it was my white tank top with a bow on the neck line. I didn't really like that shirt any more anyway. So, it was okay. And now we are turning it into a memento to remember the trip by. (Just so everyone is clear: that was not my shirt at all but must have been left in the washer by someone who used it before us and was then transferred to the dryer with our clothing. It just became a running joke.) Laundry was followed by ice cream from the local grocery store and then it was off to bed so we could be well rested for our last day of activity here in St. Louis.

As for today proper, it was a little bitter sweet. It was the last day of tutoring and some of our kids were happy to see us go while others were brought to tears. Personally, it is a little hard to know that these kids have to go through this kind of emotional attachment and then quick detachment every single week, but I suppose a little love and support is better than none and I can only hope that in the end the little amount of love we were able to give them counteracted any bad emotional habits that might be forming. Today also marked Jimmy Cardio's last appearance, he has gone the way of all great performers these days and will pass on into our memory until he is only shadow and dust (...shadow and dust, Maximus!). But while he was with us the kids really enjoyed his presence. The little boy I tutored liked him so much that today after the performance he requested to have Jimmy's paper plate (used as a note card) bequeathed to him as a special parting gift. The request was forthrightly granted and the young boy scampered off to show his wonderful treasure to his friends.

Some of us spent our final workday split between two places. We finished at a carpentry shop by heling mount some A/C units and throw away a spider infested couch, but we first returned to the apartment complex to have lunch with the owner and put the absolutely final touches on the swing set. The food was delicious. I want to give one member of our groups some major bonus points for living out 1 Corinthians 9:23 because while I found the food delicious, others did not. Yet this person was willing to to put aside personal preferences for the sake of the Gospel even in this small way. Seeing these amazing students, my friends, step up to challenges like this has been one of the highlights of the trip for me.
On a note of interest, I want to throw a teaser in at this point:::: ask someone you know who went on this trip about the Arab/Muslim/African-American friend we made right after we finished up the swing set. And maybe ask a few people, because some versions of the story are more exciting than others.

This evening instead of Kidz Klub we were treated to Pakistani cuisine. Again, this was delicious food and the best part is that our table decided to go traditional and ate using only our hands. I have to admit that since I haven't relied on my hands as the medium of transportation for a majority of my food since I was younger, I was a bit out of practice.

We came back after dinner for a final debriefing session with Andrew. We talked about who is included and who is excluded at our churches, whether intentionally or unintentionally. The discussion helped frame the idea of Paul confronting Peter about the conflict concerning circumcision for new believers about twenty years after Jesus' death. It helped us ask “What kind of requirements or other additions do we tack onto the Gospel at our churches?” I could give you our answers and some examples from the other groups, but that's not nearly as much fun as giving you a reason to engage a group member who was there or even to allow your mind to wander on your own.

We made final cleaning sweeps after the meeting (Mike finished a luxurious case for the popcorn maker, it is now much more safe to travel with) and a final slushy run after that. Slushies are good. So with spirits and sucrose levels high we returned to the New City campus for a time of happy last minute memory making and shirt decorating. Everyone should stop by the youth group room to see the memento displayed (it's not just the shirt, but there is a twist to it) and maybe you will see some other nicely decorated shirts in there as well.

For me, tonight had some touch and go moments (I had to chuckle to myself because “touch and go” is such an appropriate phrasing for some of the things that transpired), but it also had some great fellowship and laughs.

I enjoyed this trip. It was not always fun, or easy, or exotic (although it was hotter than an otter). I enjoyed it because of the perspective, experiences, and joy I have gained from being involved. I continue to pray that God uses our small acts of big love (and even those times I screwed up) to water the seeds that have been planted in the St. Louis area by our brothers and sisters. Our prayers stay with the friends we have made here and even with some who we have never met.

Our return is scheduled for Friday. Be prepared. We are returning with love and joy, both of which are contagious.

Thursday morning

Thursday morning - Last night we wrapped up the last Kidz Klub with a grand finale. Bubbles, balloons, and squirt guns. More play, noise, music, popcorn, conversations, and play. We used up all 44lbs of popcorn and had to buy more. It was sad to say goodbye and we went til dusk again. We will miss our new friends. The swingset is finished and was in full swing with a few fights for turns. I was able to build a wooden travel box for the popcorn machine that has become a powerful ministry tool. We did a laundry run afterward and an ice cream run to Schnuck's the local grocery store.

Monday

Okay, it was hot, really hot. We were lathered in holy sweat from breakfast on. Chris and Nick Matula arrived in good spirits Sunday night and jumped right in . After breakfast Tony Myles, one of the new New City pastors shared on the topic of humility. Coming to his car to go preach his first Sunday he had spring in his step all excited to share about the love of God. He found his car had been broken into and the dash was ripped apart with the radio gone. Humble circumstances is a written and practiced core value at New City.

Monday morning tutoring was a bit chaotic. They added a sports camp so it is a split day with half the group doing tutoring in the morning and the other half doing sports camp then after lunch they switch. I introduced my crazy walk in teaching character Jimmy Cardio McBones. (A cousin to last years Dr. Vinnie Bones) I'm a brightly colored washed up sports hero sharing a message about muscles, aerobic fitness, exercise, stretching etc., with a bunch of goofy lines.

Chris helped me do the wood buy at Home Depot to build the swingset at the N. Hodiamont apartments where we do Kidz Klub. Ray Asplund loaned us his trailer which can accommodate 12 foot lumber, it works well. We are loaded with tools and games and spend plenty of time in the trailer.

The difficult first stage of the swingset – building the basic frame was our days task. We worked late getting it built. My Makita drill short circuited and caught fire briefly. The cause of the fire is under investigation. But the cordless Makita stepped up its game to handle the large holes. We had a partial crew digging holes to set the swingset in during Kidz Klub. Some of the Iraqi dads helped us. There is much rubble in the ground – concrete, asphalt, stone, and old garbage. There were, as you might expect, many little helpers who wanted in on digging. By the grace of God we got the set in, leveled, and the footings concreted. The kids are very excited.

We have a group of four adults from a St. Louis area church. Richard, Jin, Jon, and Charlene are wonderful younger adults who are our partners during Kidz Klub and evening devos. Richard helped me rig some wires for the music system when we didn't have the right adapters. They also picked up the concrete for us. After Klub we did a slushee run to the local Quik Trip (no relation). The St. Louis group went Chinese. We sat around sharing stories and encouragements over Icees and Crab Rangoon. It was great. They are terrific partners with us as we play, laugh, dance, listen, and love at the apartments. Again, over 50 kids and adults. A young woman (20 something) was talking to Ruby asking why we would work in the heat building swings and throwing a party for people we don't even know. She shared about New City and had a meaningful conversation. Lori and Sara got the Love Shack dance party going with a number of the kids. Joy is contagious.

Mike

Sunday (w/ a Saturday Update Thrown In)

SATURDAY

Yesterday we enjoyed God, the city, and each other as we explored becoming the answer to our prayers and the city of St. Louis. It started off like any other day in St. Louis- a little sun, a lot of heat, and your very own ACEFC youth diligently pouring over old copies of the Torah when a question was raised: What would it look like if we fastforwarded to the New Testament and took Jesus at his word? So we cracked open a copy of the the book you previously read about and hashed out some thoughts. We talked about doing small things with great love and really living in community with those around us. Our goal is to see those thoughts become reality acted out.

And to that end we left the couches behind, grabbed an extended lunch at Che Wendy's and then headed out to the City Museum. For anyone who is unfamiliar with the City Museum it is less museum and more giant playground for the young and old alike. The idea is that the architecture at the museum is interactive and should be explored and we didn't hesitate to fulfill their dream.

After the City Museum we headed over to the Arch. Yes, that Arch. Mike, Julie, and Lori couldn't find their inner Lewis and Clark to give them the courage to ride to the top, but the daunting height of 630 feet was not enough to keep the rest of the group from trekking up. After much picture taking we descended in our futuristic and cramped pods to the ground level.

We rounded out the night hearing about Tom and Kelly. There isn't enough space or time to truly capture the full experience of the Tom and Kelly story, so I won't even attempt it. But you should know that it happened. Because it did. And because it was a large part of our experience on Saturday.

On a flashback note: it was nice for the group to have Jake Zeihr mix in with us again to hang out whenever we can steal him away from his internship responsibilities with New City. And there was morning and there was evening on the second day of the work trip- and it was good.


**This was written quickly and wryly and is all Mike's fault if it's bad. But if you appreciate the small embellishments and like it in general then tell Mike and he'll pass along the warm wishes.

SUNDAY

It was a new dawn and a new day that greeted us today. After a small orientation type meeting in which we learned the names and faces of the other groups that are living and working with us this week, a New City worker shared his testimony with us. His story started in an easy life where he had everything he wanted. He grew up in a Christian home but found himself drowning in drug culture and finally waking up one morning after seven years in college and no degree to ask himself what the point of life was.
He ended up getting involved in the church again and started to rediscover God's plan of redemption and love. But after more than a decade of church involvement and ministry he and his wife became stumped by a question a twelve year old girl asked him: What makes the Gospel good news? This girl had been abused as a child and was out of work with little education and no hope. What did it matter that Jesus died for her sins? The speaker, Steve, came to the conclusion that the Good News is actually good news because it is more than just salvation from sin. It is an entrance into the family and kingdom of God- an event that should have actual earthly consequences. It tied in so well with what we had been talking about because Steve and his wife realized that they needed to be the ones to care for the orphans and widows in their neighborhood-- to be the answer to our prayers as we have been discussing.

Church was an experience that can't really be summed up for the group, but I (Andy the Intern) can at least tell you about my take on it. We walked in and the first song played was sung in at least five different languages, each time through switching to a new one. It was a beautiful picture of the body of Christ. I've been to a couple foreign countries and other places where language can be a barrier, but in those same places there is always a church that manages to overcome that barrier and actually turn it into a beautiful mosaic of praise and worship.
The service had other unique aspects like breaking into small prayer circles to pray for our brothers and sisters around the world and to praise God for His blessing, leaving our chairs and taking communion in a circle around the sanctuary, and a sermon from Numbers (yes, the one with all the numbers in it that usually gets skipped) reminding us that we are all part of a holy (set apart) priesthood.

After the service we were divided up and taken by church members to eat lunch. The type of lunch fare ranged from Egyptian to Vietnamese to hotdogs and beyond all depending on who took you. It was a really welcoming gesture from the body of New City church and was a great way to connect, hear stories, and fellowship with believers with whom we may only have our Heavenly Father in common.
After lunch we had some more orientation started gearing up for the first Kidz Klub (creative spelling not A.T.I's invention). Although this is my first year, the group has benefited from previous years experience here. We started popping the popcorn during our dinner time and packed up the trailer with all the games and supplies needed. This year we returned to do our Kidz Klub at an apartment complex with mostly refugee residents. A four member group from the St. Louis area was added to our numbers and their presence was a blessing to us as much as to the kids we shared some time with. Each member of our group was able to connect with at least one person today. I can't tell the stories everyone else shared because then they would have nothing to tell you when they get back and it would be sad because I would have robbed you of some good dinner conversation.
One of my cool experiences was being invited to sit down and drink real Iraqi Chai tea with a group of recent immigrant fathers. I really like tea and their Chai was delicious. But beyond the tea it was good to sit and talk about their kids and get as much of their background story as well. Mike was able to sit with them for longer than I did and might have more to say about them, but I appreciated making a connection with them today that can be revisited throughout the rest of the week.

As we debriefed with the group, the idea of making connections which lead to relationships and eventually to spiritual impact as the Holy Spirit moves came up from multiple people. It brought to my mind 1 John 4:18. In verses 11 through 17 John talks about how God gave us the Spirit and now God lives in us and in turn we live in God. He says the major reflection of that dependence on God is that His love is in us. Verse eighteen says “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” We were spending time and spreading the love of God that is in us with people who used to and most likely still live in fear because of the places and refugee situations from which they come. But perfect love (which is only the love of God) drives out fear! We are excited to see how perfect love (even if it comes from imperfect people) can and will drive out some of the fear that has plagued these people.

We continue to need your prayers for our safety, that the Spirit would continue to move in the work of New City and that we would have eyes and ears to hear and see what God is doing here but also at home.

On behalf of the St. Louis Work Trip Team '09,

Andy the Intern (A.T.I.)

Saturday Morning Update

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- 9^th grader from Parchment, MI

Chris Matula – Wise elder and children's ministry overseer

Hannah - 10^th 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 - 10^th grader at Xavier

Mike Collison – blogster, driver, pastor, pirate, senior hamster trainer for the circus

Mike – (Flavian Davis) 11^th grader at Hortonville

Nick - 11^th grader at Kimberly

Rachel - 9^th grader at Neenah

Ruby - 9^th grader at Neenah

Ryan - 10^th grade home schooler

Sara – recent Neenah HS grad – headed for Vet Tech school in Fondy

Tate - 11^th 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.

Amen

PRE-TRIP

We are one week out and starting to shop for supplies and materials to build some carnival style games for Kidz Klub. Andy "The Intern" Spoehr is a great to have along rollin' through the aisles of Home Depot and Toys R Us.

Thursday Wrap Up

The tutoring program runs Monday through Thursday each week during the summer. We did our final day. Darryl, who has been one of my charges has been challenging to corral and get focused. One of the regular helpers who has known him since he entered the program four years ago said that he had lead poisoning as a child. This caused some learning disabilities, but they have seen an amazing transformation in his reading and math. This is encouraging. JaJaun turned 10 yesterday and we celebrated his birthday. He wasn't sure what presents he might get, but his dad was going to take him to see a movie. I'm going to send him a Packer shirt.

Lunch was fatburgers from a local place. Two all beef patties, cheese, mayo and the works. Tasty. Though it did knock Sara out in the afternoon. Josh, Andrew's intern, and our work partner has agreed to ride back to Wisconsin with us. Just as St. Louis has been out of our comfort zone, this will be a trip out of his. He's going to share briefly in worship and is our featured speaker in The Circle. More on this later.

In the afternoon my group ended up moving scrap steel at a large old factory building. The folks there have set up a ministry that creates jobs for those with limited experience and education. They have set up a wood shop on the 1st floor and we helped load steel from the basement. It is a young ministry, but seems to have the potential to impact lives. You can check out their website: www.morethancarpentry.org

We had dinner at Andrew and Katy's place. We watched a movie called, The Road to Freedom, the story of Dr. Vernon Johns, the preacher who preceded Martin Luther King at Dexter Road Baptist Church in Birmingham. A glimpse into a godly man compelled to live out the Gospel and God's call for justice, at great personal risk.

In wrapping up, we wrestled with the question, who are we excluding from ACEFC? The close of the discussion revealed that if we are acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God, nobody will be excluded. But we will be seen as a foolish church and youth group. (That's the group where girls who get pregnant go)

We closed the day at a local custard place and with some clean up. Its time for me to wrap this for now and start loading the trailer.

God has visibly answered many prayers and I pray he will sink this trip deep into us and multiply every effort. I am extremely proud of our group. It is a joy.

Wednesday's Work

Today our tutoring has turned a corner, there is more connection, friendship, and understanding. It is amazing how quickly relational bridges can be built. I did some video taping and the kids had a ball doing flips and antics and then watching themselves. Jajuan is a relaxed and easy going guy, but Darryl is a high energy kid who who likes to buck the system and push the limits. I enjoy Jujaun, but I understand Darryl. The highlight from morning tutoring was when we where working on drawing a picture of what it might look like if the sun stopped working. All three of us were highly engaged in sketching ice cubes coming out of a faucet. It was a moment of high connection.

As the other days, about four people stayed back to do afternoon tutoring. Tom led another group in finishing up Miss Burn's garage with a second coat. It was a slightly cooler day and we were grateful for this.

I had a group that went back to Miss Smith's house. Alice was there, as well as another grandson, Jess. Alice, after her huge angry scene on Monday, appeared at Miss Smith's new apartment at 3am with a suitcase and an apology. As we worked on final cleanout, she was still angry, but was more accepting of the situation and less volatile. Andrew explained that since age 7, Alice had been in and out of group homes because here mother was in jail or gone often.


One of the newer air conditioners that had been fought over was gone. Most likely sold for drug money. Per Miss Smith's request, I loaded the other three in my trailer to take to the church's "Free Store."

Just as we were about to leave, Penny showed up and started yelling about the AC units. I was at the trailer and she demanded, "Are my air conditioners in there?" I said yes. "Open the door and take those out!" I said, "Talk to Andrew." While she stormed over to him, the rest of the group loaded up. She then called the police and was giving our make and plates as I pulled away. Whether there was a response or just my imagination, we saw no less than three cop cars pass us as we were working our way out of the neighborhood.

Our final kid's club was another big hit. We did more face painting. Caleb (Aka Leb, Lebby) Sharpied another shirt or two. It was a little smaller crowd than the night before with some new faces showing up. We did another ridiculous skit. I asked each kid to give me a short line and I put them all together in a song. There was a Playdough "craft" (We made idols) and a short Scripture story and then a squirt gun fight. We closed with giant Pixie sticks, a major hit. Except that I forgot the scissors. It was all delightfully, loud, chaotic, and fun. To children who live often without supervision and limited resources, this free time to be listened to, loved, played with, and treated, is gold. We were touched in the process by their openness and warmth to us.

Monday Part 2

Miss Smith, through a series of horrible tragedies stretching across the years, lost all but one of her children. Penny is her only remaining child and her daughter is Alice. These two women have struggled with drugs and burned many bridges. Their eviction from Miss Smith's house is indeed a crises. Over the years New City Fellowship has spent hundreds of hours and dollars working with them. Much mercy and grace have been given.

However, on Monday, there were two desparate women who did not remove the things they wanted, and more importantly, did not want to leave. Andrew, acting on Miss Smith's behalf told us that everything had to go and we did. But Penny and Alice were "guarding" three rooms. We did our best to keep pulling as much as we could. There were multiple fridges, clothes, old furniture, and countless other abandoned and neglected items. The basement had, at one time, flooded. The smell was intense in some spots. We steadily filled the better part of the massive dumpster, even with Caleb and Brendon carefully maximizing the space.

In the pitch dark basement room we were cleaning out, Angela found a bag of what appeared to be coke and threw it out. The one light came unplugged and we stood in the darkness feeling not only uncomfortable, but realizing it was a picture of sin unchecked.

As the afternoon progressed Andrew said we needed to pull the air conditioners. I put my hand on it and Princess jumped up and yelled that I was NOT taking them. I called Andrew and he brought over Miss Smith. Things go even more tense as Andrew, Paul (another worker) and Miss Smith continued to make it clear, you are leaving and these are not your AC units.

I watched two desperate women curse out a kind godly woman who had done nothing but show love and care. It sounded like Jerry Springer, but was to me a picture of how humanity receives God's love through Christ. Mind you this woman is recovering from a heart attack she had two weeks ago. Andrew picked up one of the AC units and Penny snatched it out of his hands like it was a basketball. She threw it on the floor and sat on it. Andrew told Tom to shut off the power.

We were able to start emptying the final three rooms, but the hostilities continued. Penny made it clear that this had nothing to do with our group. But she continued to disparage Andrew for not being a Christian and for her mother being brainwashed. It took a while, but she played the race card against her mother. Andrew finally called the police.

They came and helped to de-escalate the situation. The final agreement was that they had to be physically gone after the mail came on Tuesday. The last angry threats I heard from Penny were to the effect that she was going to get power of attorney over her mother.

I asked Miss Smith on Tuesday what she did after the ugly confrontation. She said, "I came home said all my prayers and went to bed." The church's keystone verse is Micah 6:8, "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and love mercy and walk humbly before your God." From everything we see here, New City Fellowship and Restore St. Louis are indeed living out this verse.

It was a physically demanding day. It was hot, hard, and heavy work. But it was worth every sore muscle and nasty smell to be a part of the church truly being the church. In spite of the intensity, there was nothing sensational about this. I don't know where these women will end up. Sunday the pastor preached on how crisis is good, because it is the place where God can get through to us.

John chapter 1 says that when Jesus the Light and hope of the world came into the darkness of the darkness could not understand him. The same goes for every Jesus follower. To quote Andrew's favorite saying, "More Mercy."

Tuesdays News

Tuesday was a great day. Tutoring went well, though the kids seems a little less behaved. We are getting to know them more and that does help. In the afternoon we again had a crew stay back and tutor. There were three crews. One was painting Miss Burns' garage. They got the first coat of white on. Another crew did weed whacking and mowing on a weedy sketchy corner. The city used to keep it up but stopped, so for increasing the safety of the neighborhood they keep it clear. This is right around the corner from where we did kid's club.

A delightful surprise at dinner - Katie (on cello), Andy (her older brother on viola), and the school's principal did a string trio. Lovely.

Kid's clup was excellent. Don't miss the face painting pix! Actually the kids did the painting on the arms, legs, and faces of our students. Angela even got a gang sign. The crazy Moses melodrama was a bit hit with Nate as Moses, Maya as the staff, and Brendon as the burning bush. We told the stories of God providing food and water for the Israelites in the desert. The craft was writing, "God Provides" on a colored plastic cup, then drawing favorite foods and drinks. When told that he got to keep the cup, one little boy was ecstatic and then even more excited when he was allowed to write on it, For passing out snacks we did a walk up. Two girls passed out snacks out the van windows. Afterward we had a cheese curd party in the Stern's backyard.

Bonus: My Friar Mike hair cut (compliments of Doug's Friar Cutz) is thickening up.

(today's photos)

Glimpses of children

Our morning devo focused on our adoption by God and how we live into this or not. (See Romans 8) Andrew and Katy had two kids of their own and adopted one, then they had their third and adopted two more. All three of their adopted kids are from the same mother. So they have a Suburban full with 7 under 6. (7, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1) Rebecca, Hannah, Naomi, Miriam, Jacob, and Moses. It is a true joy to see kids from my middle school youth group pushing 30 with a houseful of love and chaos. They live in the sketchy neighborhood where we do our kid's clubs. Tonight Katy commented on how pondering the 5000 kids in St. Louis who need homes just moved them to action.

Our first day of tutoring was also the first day of the summer program. It was extra crazy and the college aged summer teachers still have to find their groove. I was pair with Jajuan and Darryl. Jajuan is a first timer and Darryl and old pro (This is a problem as he can be "too cool for school") Some of us have two kids, most have one. They are all over the board from well behaved to fighting and from strong readers to illiterate. We had playground time followed by worship and singing. Then we went to our classrooms for lessons. The theme is the Solar System. We do a variety of discussion and activities. As a homeschool teacher of my kids, I loved this and contributed with questions. My watch that is 6 minutes fast kept Darryl doing the math, as that he asked what time it was every 10 minutes. Overall it was a good first morning.

Doug, Susie, Maddy and Sara stayed on tutoring in the afternoon which included wood shop, dance, reading, and gym. They said it got more challenging when all the tutors (us) left for the work site.

The work site was intense. A wonderful godly women nearing 80 named Miss Smith moved out of her house and into an apartment. She gave notice to her daughter (43) and her granddaughter (17) who were still living there that she was selling the house and they had to move out. They were given the deadline of today to get out anything of value that they wanted and a group (us) would come and throw everything out. A 40 yard dumpster was delivered to the site. Well....

(Pics of the day)

The Real Work Begins

Sunday morning began with breakfast with the college interns that are working with the tutoring program. Andrew, our primary contact and my 1980's middle school youth grouper, led us in a morning devo time before worship.

The worship time went from 10-12ish and was nicely done. It had a nice relaxed feel like ACEFC. The worship band was tasty and laid down some nice gospel influenced music. There are refugees from the Congo in Africa, so some of the songs were in French? Congolese? Very cool.

This is an extremely missional church planted about 15 years ago. It is encouraging to see the possibilities. We took communion in a circle, (like our candlelight service).

For lunch we went home with host families and enjoyed a meal in a home setting. A nice change up from the large group. In the late afternoon we had orientation in preparation for Kid's Bible Clubs and tutoring.

After dinner we did our first Kid's Bible Club. There was about 20 kids of various ages. We did kickball, dodgeball, singing, Caleb and Mike's Moses/Batman lesson, and snacks. Not a bad start. Three girls went to try to do double dutch, but got denied access.

We came back and wrapped it up. We're going to try some different things tomorrow night. The AC is great and the beds comfortable. The schedule is full and the 11pm lights out should be easy to work with.

(Sunday photos)

Launch day

The trailer is packed. We're loaded for bear. There is a strange sensation the morning of a work trip. It is always a sense of waking up to another great adventure that is sure to come, without knowing what exactly will make it so.

Friday

Friday the crew was noticeably tired. I let them sleep in until 7:00am. I forgot to tell the girls and they got up at 6:30. I sent mental messages, but I guess they didn't go through the block wall. Kelly called me telepathetic. Good word. It was another cooker today. I can't imagine July and August.
We had everyone at the drywall house sanding and mudding in the morning. After an early lunch the sanders went to finish the sills at the other house. Our total buckets of mud was at least dozen. We got all the first coats done and the majority of the second coats. Not "Marv"elous like the Schauland Bros, but starting to improve.
The problem with volunteer labor here is that there is too much to get done. We picked up other groups' work and carried it farther, and another group will go the next leg. I included a picture of a typical house in the neighborhood gutted to the studs. He had mold behind the brick and had to tear it all out.
Tom, Logan, and Jake laid a few hundred square feet of vinyl squares in the church balcony. Jake's hands got to the point every tool he held, stuck. Tom sliced into his fingernail and left a few drops of blood but otherwise no serious injuries thus far. We have thanked God for this. I had a group that cleaned, organized and repacked the tools in the trailer. Jan and Kelly have been awesome at running errands, cooking, cleaning, and everything else that needs to be done. Michael H vacuumed and cleaned all three vehicles (gross job)
The group worked long and hard. Parents and church body, you can be proud of their efforts, attitude, and accomplishments.
We will be traveling to St. Louis tomorrow. This is good as we will be over halfway home. These are the hard miles for the adult leaders who have worked and led. Coffee time and power naps at stops.
While dinner was warming most of the group hung in the sanctuary singing praise and worship tunes with Kelly and Tyler. The group from NC hung and listened. Tonight we will have one more devo time and group pow wow. A great ending to the day.