FINAL update (FINALLY!)

I have to admit that I intended to update one final time on Friday or Saturday, but...well...you know how that goes.

We finished things up on Thursday, had a great time together Thursday night (those times will not soon be forgotten), and then headed back to the college for a night of craziness. Our guys have some serious personality. They entertained another group of leaders well into Friday morning, with the supervision of Pastor Anthony - 'cause I went to bed! I hear it was pretty funny stuff.

We left on time Friday, were making great time until we were about fifteen miles from the Illinois border. I suddenly lost power steering on the bus, and Anthony tells me there was a cloud of smoke that came from underneath. The engine apparently worked, so we stayed the course for a while until we came to the last exit before the Mississippi river - where we knew there was a gas station. My thinking was we would have a better chance of getting someone at a gas station to help us than just being on the side of the road. God had it all taken care of though, as we would soon learn.

I exited, learning that the power brakes did not work either. I still had brakes, but it took a LOT of effort to apply them. I expected the gas station to be immediate after the exit, but it was not. After driving a few miles (and being a bit worried), we saw the BP I wanted to get to.

The thing is that RIGHT NEXT TO IT was an auto repair place that advertised "we fix any size vehicle." I parked there, went inside, and about fifteen minutes and ten dollars later, we were all fixed and ready to go. A hose had come off, and the man clamped one on and refilled our steering / brake fluids.

We still had to take a detour around the river, but all in all we lost only an hour and made it home safely. How cool is that?

And now we look at "what's next." Something HAS to be next, doesn't it? I am tired of the same old "youth group" meetings. After we experience something like our Omaha project, after being involved in God's work for a week, so much changes.

And now we move forward. This blog will continue to be updated with ministry things, so keep us bookmarked. Thank you for following along on this journey. Let's do it again sometime!

Pretty cool

CLICK HERE for video of us in Omaha

Amplify Community - CONTINUED

We just returned from our final evening together. After our connection time, we met as a group and talked about "what happens now." It's really challenging to go on a mission project, because when you leave it is FAR to easy to view things as "over." The reality is that the nearness to God and the opportunities to serve are NOT gone. The challenge is to continue despite the difficulties that always come.

One of the difficult things about coming back from a trip like this is that you are absolutely exhausted while dealing with the struggles that come from readjusting to a routine. While going through this, someone often is quick to point out a snappy response, or non servant attitude, and it can be extremely discouraging to the person who just went through so much in a short time. Keep that in mind should you interact with one of our missionaries returning from Omaha.

I am needing to go round up our hyperactive guys in a minute, so here's a few highlights from our final full day in Nebraska.

• Finishing strong at Sam's house, leaving the porch, foundation, and garage looking pretty sweet. We even washed his car before we left.

• An incredible transformation at Jesse's home. Two junky rooms now look fresh and much better. Even the kitchen floor was shining as we said goodbye to our friends who love to sit on their porch.

• Learning "curb ball" and playing the king. Ask one of our missionaries about this, especially Paxon who can talk trash with the best of them.

• Great group time, a DQ run, and cleaning the bus in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

• Our guys trying to catch a deer, with Paul leading the charge. Sure he think's he's a ninja, but a ninja would have caught the deer...

• Knowing our three leaders made sacrifices to join myself and our team in Omaha. Sarah gave up a week of pay to be here, trusting God to provide. Anthony and Andrea gave up their time and responsibilities that will only pile up while being gone. I thank God for these three.

• Every time I hear some loud yelling or a noise of some sort, I can pretty much be sure that somehow, our group is responsible =)

• Jenny and Paul being recognized on our final day as "workers of the day."
  

Our team has been amazing. They so far surpassed my expectations, and really did make a difference. Be VERY proud of them. Welcome them home. Hug them no matter how they respond to you. Create an opportunity within 24 hours of getting home for them to just talk about this project. Take them out to dinner or something and make it clear that you just want to hear about the trip.

I will likely post again tomorrow, and I thank you for reading. Think of us in eight short hours as we head home. Pray for our leaders, especially since I think we might be up for a while...

You are sincerely loved. I hear loud pounding upstairs, so I better go...

DAY FOUR - Amplifying community

This entry will likely not be as great as it can be as I sit among nine or so of our students, fifteen minutes before leaving for a leaders meeting followed by our connection time.

For those wondering, our Wednesday "Workers of the day" were Alexis for the girls and Mike and Josh were both recognized among the guys.

Today was AH-MAZING. We finished our projects, said goodbye to our new friends, and came back to scrub our paint stained selves.

Ok, this is ridiculous, I can't possibly write this now. Mary Kate is correcting me left and right, and I'll write later tonight. Now Jenny and Alexis are chiming in. The guys only want me to play more music. More to come later...

DAY THREE

Wow I am TIRED...but you didn't come here to hear about me =) Today was GREAT. Our team worked really hard throughout the day, and for the past hour have been enjoying some much needed free time. Dinner is in a half hour, and I am looking forward to seeing everyone all cleaned up and ready for tonight.

At Mr. Warren's home, we worked more on the porch, obtaining some white paint to make things look even nicer, giving him a porch that looks brand new. The garage needed another coat, and will be finished tomorrow. The fence is shiny and new, and will only need to be touched up tomorrow. The base of the house looks amazing as it was painted today as well.

At the other site, Anthony worked to put up the new ceilings, mud and sand them, and is now painting the walls, trim, window frame, and ceiling. After a lot of wall washing, and dusty work, the painting is a welcome relief.


This is our team finishing lunch, enjoying being together before heading back for a few more hours of work. Each morning we make our own lunches (sandwiches, chips, fruit), and pack them for a quick mid-day meal. The guy you don't recognize is C.J., who has been helping our team out this week and has been great to get to know. He is an intern at the church that hosts our worship times each evening.

Our team is doing well, and tomorrow is our final work day. Tonight we continue to see how God is working among us, and aiming to find out "what's next" for us as we venture back home shortly.

Keep praying, and thanks for reading.

Workers of the Day

Each work day, two workers will be recognized for their attitude and hard work. Basically one guy and one girl who have the Philippians 2 thing going will be recognized as "workers of the day."

Philippians 2:3-7 says;

^ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ^4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

^5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

^6 Who, being in very nature^ God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

^7 but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature^ of a servant,

For Tuesday, those people were Mike and Mary Kate. The great thing is that we can really say that pretty much EVERYONE worked well, but we chose to recognize those two. Thought you'd want to know =)

Thumbs up - DAY TWO

What a GREAT day! Beautiful weather, great projects, and amazing workers. The Lord has surely gone before us in this project. In devotions this morning we read Colossians 3:1-12, and were challenged to "take off" one of the characteristics in the passage and "put on" another. We then put on name tags with that characteristic. I was walking around today with the word "kindness" on my tag as I aimed to have the Spirit grow kindness in me today.

Most of our group wrote "patience" on their tags. It proved to be prophetic. At one house they are tearing up crummy plaster ceilings, scraping paint off walls, and cleaning a house that has not been cared for in the 30 years this man has lived in it. The second house's project involves scraping paint off a garage and porch, and then painting a fence, garage, porch, and the foundation of the house.

Midway through the morning we learned the color (which we thought was too bright) was wrong - so we had to re-do what we had done. The other group working on the ceilings and walls needed materials as well. These unexpected situations meant an hour plus delay. Hmm. Patience anyone?

We received what we needed, and worked like crazy to get much done today. There are new ceilings being built, walls ready for paint, and a coat of paint on a garage, porch, and fence that have drastically changed the look of this home.

The people who lead this project work with a social organization to find senior citizens who need assistance. We are blessed to help two of them, Samuel and Jesse, and their families. It's crazy really. We are working in a neighborhood we would lock or doors going through, due to our own prejudices, and having our stereotypes broken down. I heard comments today such as "I have never worked in a whole week as much as we worked today" and "wow, we are so rich." This neighborhood was scary at first, but after a day we feel very comfortable in it. We are meeting people, smiling at children, and some even enjoyed buying ice cream from the ice cream man. No chance of any of us being the same after what we have experienced today.

Tonight we get to debrief this stuff, so PRAY for us. God is near, and we want to hear what He is saying in the midst of all this..