Spring Break 2009
ATL Service Trip
remain
Sunday, March 15, 2009
After our 14 hours of traveling, with 3 very efficient stops, we arrived in Nashville about 10:30pm Saturday night. The guys settled into the gym and the gals into the sanctuary for a much enjoyed night of rest. We woke up early, loaded the vans at 7:30am and then joined Christ Lutheran Church for worship at 8:00am. Two of the youth were invited to help serve communion, and the rest of the gang offered special music during the offering. We shared a rousing rendition of No One Like YOU and Grace Like Rain. The Pastor Larry encouraged our team thru his message; he spoke about grace and works… works are not what we do just to do them or to make us feel good, but they give us a purpose and focus for building the kingdom. We had a nice lunch and then continued on to Atlanta. We arrived at our host church in Forest Park (Praise the Lord for our home!) just before 6pm. After unloading and getting organized, we grabbed supper at a pizza buffet- Cici’s and then made the 20 minute drive to meet Miss Kathy and company to finish out our evening.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Good morning!! With a 93% chance of rain, we made plans to meet at the house, not the camp. We slept in a bit, had breakfast, then made our trek to College Park. We spent some time worshipping in what will be an indoor chapel at the house, just breaking it in… and broke into small prayer groups as we began our days serving here. After a PB & J lunch, Lee gave out projects and everyone is now at work. It’s still raining lightly outside, but in the midst of the mud and wet, they are getting lots done inside and out. Today’s projects inlude planting tress & shrubs, relocating supplies, cleaning the pool floor, cleaning the van a couple of bedrooms, priming walls in the chapel, scraping paint off of windows, and Jacob V. is evening climbing around in the attic checking for leaks! We’ll see what comes next.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Good morning sunshine!!! Yay… the sun is out and we are ready to roll! After assigning projects, we split up between the house and the camp. So, for some, this was their first time there. For those of us returning, we were excited to see the progress of the deck turned into a gazebo, now sitting beside a beautiful waterfall and pond, as well as a new trail and few other small projects… like the sweet picnic tables built from large stones. We spent time doing some general post winter clean up. Miss Kathy and company have mostly been working at the house, so there was some general clean up and organizing in a couple trailers at the camp, to be done, as well as a few repair projects. They had an electrical outage, so we had to clean out one trailer that was housing some canned foods and a small freezer that quit! Yuck. In addition, a couple of the cats had broken in and made a mess. At the house, we continued to work on some window clean up, scraping off paint and progress in the chapel- priming, sanding sheetrock, and getting ready to paint. A few people had a fun time pounding out the old tile floor. We all had lunch at the camp, and got back to work for a bit before heading out to one of the old neighborhoods Miss Kathy has taken us to many times…
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
We got a little later start than usual after our late night… plus we needed to do some clean up at our host church before we left, since they were having evening Lenten services, a meal, and a few other meetings. It’s cloudy and cooler than yesterday, but still nice. We are back to work, split between the camp and house. Many of our projects this week are mid-stream… not start to finish. We can see that is frustrating for many on the team, but are reminded that we are here to meet the needs they have, and not our own. What a blessing we have to be able to lift up the ACC Ministry. One of the couples that Miss Kathy has taken in is helping with the ongoing projects as well. They are just out of rehab and working to now get their 3 children back from foster care. The bunk house that’s been built on the back of the house will be used for this family as a temporary residence until they can get back on their feet. Meanwhile, they offer organizational skills and experience in woodworking which are a blessing to the ministry! In the afternoon, we wrapped up project time and loaded up for a new outreach location, with familiar faces. 3 of the boys Miss Kathy has often given a home to live in this neighborhood. During our first
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Last day of projects… the sun was out in full force, and for the first time it was easy to get organized in the morning, as most returned to complete projects they had already started both at the house and the camp. In addition, Matt and a crew set out to locate where water was leaking into the bunk house bathroom, which involved digging a trench. Another crew cleared an area and planted grass seed. As a treat, we grilled lunch at the house and enjoyed it around the pool. After we made as much progress as we could in the afternoon, the youth decided to take a quick dip in the unheated pool; a bit chilly but fun! We dried out and then packed up our little grill to head downtown for our last outreach. Lee and Molly took us to a park in the Martin Luther King Historical District near an overpass where they had been before. We grilled more than 100 hotdogs; and gave everyone of them away. In addition, we shared fruit, and some of the homemade goodies that had been sent with us from
Friday, March 20, 2009
Packing Up: After breakfast, cleaning up, and loading the vans, the team made a quick stop down town. Some went to the Underground Mall, rode the Marta, visited CNN, walked thru the Olympic Park, and at a good lunch. Then, it was on the road again. We arrived in
Saturday, March 21, 2009
It’s “home” day! Most are excited, but hold a bit of reservation thinking of our time in