On Our Way Home!

We are driving home...right now!  

Yesterday, after we made the dorms and the grounds cleaner than we found them (our goal) we hit the road on our way to the Grand Canyon.  We were very lucky to go see this majestic place off season and on a Friday.  There were no lines anywhere, there was no traffic, and we got to be there when a lot of people in our group saw the canyon for the first time.  I believe, "WOW!" was the most common statement.  A few people commented that they felt really small next to this immense wonder of the world.  

Some others in the group also decided that it might be fun to try to give me a heart attack by posing for pictures sitting or standing on the edge of the rim.  We got back to the vans and I'm happy to announce that at least ninety seven percent of the kids made it back.  

Following the trip to the canyon, and as a sort of celebration for a week well done, we all piled into the Road Kill Cafe in Selligman Arizona last night.  Imagine, if you were ever a waiter or waitress, that you are in charge of "CPC , party of thirty six!"   The waitress was a good sport and we all ate amid the fun theme of this place.

After dinner we made the last little jaunt toward Kingman and arrived during the first substantial rain of the trip.  I have to hand it to Andrew at Kingman Christian Church, he welcomed us with a smile, stayed longer while one group got fuel, and all while we dripped rain all over his clean floor.  

I, having never gone on a youth mission trip before, didn't know what to expect.  I was ready for sleep but that would have to wait.  It was time to exchange prayer partner gifts.  We had been partnered up before we left and each night after chapel we paired off and got to know each other better, talked about the lesson, and prayed together.  It was not very rigidly designed with only guidelines about how it "could" be done.  There was one caveat however, you must make a gift for your partner.  It should be meaningful, represent something to the two of you, and should be made from materials you used at the job site.

The gift exchange ranged from funny to hilarious, from touching to heartfelt.  Even in my sleep deprived state it was a wonderful conclusion to our time together.  Matt then opened the floor to acknowledgments and appreciations.  I don't want to go into a lot of detail here but let me say that all the adult leaders are extremely proud of these young men and women!

When I told people I was going on a mission trip with a bunch of high school kids, they scoffed, "oh, sounds like fun."  I was honestly excited about going on this trip but I didn't know then just how awesome it would be.  If you are ever lucky enough to be asked to help with the youth of our church, I suggest you leap at the chance so you can see what I see...a wonderful next generation!  

Finally, thank you all for following along with us, supporting us, and praying for us.  It was an experience none of us will soon forget. 

Last Day in Ganado...(sniff)

Today marks our last full day here.  We are all tired, a little sore, closer to the people we've traveled with, and very proud of the things we've accomplished.  

The list:
Patched a roof...done
Repaired and painted women's bathroom...done
Repaired another disaster room...done
Cleaned mold then painted...done
Readied another dorm room for visitors with paint...done
Installed donated computer monitors...done
Reconnected internet service for Pastor Audrey...done
Cleared brush...done
Hung pictures in very appreciative woman's house...done
Began a garden...done
Built a deck and shored up an entryway awning...done

And yet the physical work wasn't what this trip was all about.  

Some of us reconnected with friends we made last year.  Some of us made new friends.  We got to know the people around us a little better.  We ran an after school VBS.  (double the number of kids on day two)  We sang worship songs.  We studied about love.  We attended a Navajo worship service.  We heard testimonies that were amazing, both from or group and the Diné people.  We broke bread together.  We lifted each other up and encouraged others.  We had a great time!  We fell in love with Ganado and its people.  We are sad to go.  

What we are looking forward to:  
Staying connected to new friends.  Enjoying closer relationships with people we already knew.  Taking what we've learned home to our daily lives.  Going back to school. (sorry that was mine...nobody else mentioned that for some reason)   Being able to take a long shower then asleep in my own bed. (also mine, but I suspect I have others who agree with me) Knowing what love is.  

Each of us has been touched by something on this trip.  I have had the privilege of working with the youth at or church for a few years now, so I more or less knew what to expect.  But the other new adult leaders were all impressed with these wonderful kids.  

Now if I am going to get these wonderful kids home safelyi had better wrap this up and get some sleep.  Tomorrow starts early and we are driving to the Grand Canyon.  We thank you for your continued support, your ongoing prayers, and entrusting us with your children.  Thank you. 

Everyone is Healthy

Everyone is healthy!!!

 Just thought I would lead off with important things first.  After a couple days of people feeling a bit under the weather we are finally up to full strength.  Thanks to all who have been praying for us.  We are moving on toward completing our tasks.

 I'll try to explain what we've been doing as far as work crews are concerned, but I  won't have a lot of specifics for some jobs since I am only at some of the sites.

 First, there was an issue of the house our children's ministry was collecting money to supply with a water heater.  Our advance team came and surveyed the job.  They determined that there was no use installing a water heater into a house that would fall down after the leaky roof rotted it away...it also didn't have utilities yet.  So one team has spent a day and a half sealing a roof.  Don't worry about the water heater, it is being stored in a safe place for a future group to install.  That is the beautiful thing about mission trips like this...there are always things to do.  And Matt did explain that we would need to be flexible.

 Next, there was another gentleman who needed a porch to be built on his house.   Groups of youth have gone out to help build this and, following the digging that the advance team completed, it sounds like it should get finished by Thursday.

 Here at the mission grounds there have been several jobs happening simultaneously.  The women's bathroom in the dorm needed a lot of help.  The celling needed to be repaired with plaster and then sanded.  It was dusty work but it looks like it will be ready to paint today.

 There was a room that had water damage and needed to be scrubbed down to eradicate the mold.  Not only did these kids look great in their protective masks, they finished the job and already painted two coats to complete the room.

 Then there was the Christian ministries room.  This room was in sad shape.  The celling was coming down and one wall had extensive plaster repair needed both due to a leaky roof.  Additionally, there were four holes in two of the walls, and it seemed to be used as a storage area for past construction jobs.  This was a busy hive of activity.  The water damage has been scrapped off and patched, the holes have been filled, and all the construction debris is gone.  It may very well look like a room before too long.  This was where I was supposed to be leading the charge.  Luckily I had more than enough help and I (unofficially) turned over my leader hat to people who were VASTLY more qualified than me.

 While that was going on there were other less extensive but equally important jobs going on.  Shrubbery from the front of the pastors house was cleared and readied to be hauled away.  Weeds were pulled.  Computers were moved.  And we even had a few volunteers stay back to help with cooking for our very hungry crew.

 I even took a look at Pastor Audrey's computer in her office.  Apparently she hadn't had internet for months due to a storm that played havoc with the electrical system.  I was able to get her up and running when all of a sudden...snap...all of the internet was down for the whole mission.  In my best Steve Urkle voice, "Did I do that?"  Luckily, no.  We have been having a large amount of wind so I'm hopeful that it will be repaired soon and they don't lock me in the van where I can do no more harm.  :-)

 We celebrated a worship service in Navajo.  One of the ruling elders of the church, Custer, led the service and greeted us all from the bottom of his heart.  He, on behalf of all of the church and the elders,  accepted our monetary gift from the church, along with a blanket decorated with the ten commandments. 

 Following their service we continued our series of Love is...sacrificial. Mark led our chapel time talking about sacrifice that others have made. He talked about how everyone here had made some sort of sacrifice by giving up a week of free time from school to come here. Some have even had to do school while here since their schedules didn't align with our trip, but also how our sacrifice pales in comparison to God's sacrifice of his son.

 The "common room" (the place where we can all meet together) seemed a little subdued last night. I think the hard work, the physical exertion, and the good food have made us all ready for nice long naps. I am so happy to be here with these awesome people. Now it's time to get to work on Thursday...we are almost done here and it will be sad to leave.

Today We're Tourists!

Today I need to explain that I am writing thesse posts on my smart phone and I cannot figure out how to change formatting on the blog. Therefore it is coming out as one long paragraph. I apologize and will re-format it once I get my hands on a computer. (Since this is no longer one long paragraph you can assume that I was able to get to a computer...actually I had nine computers at my disposal.  The same nine that we donated, built a room for, and wired for internet over the summer.  I was thrilled to be able to use what we had set up some months ago!)

Today we're tourists!

Today we went to three of the places that Pastor Mark and I investigated while we were here a couple of years ago. We went to the Hubble trading post, Spider Rock, and Canyon de Chelly (pronounced CAN yun...just kidding, pronounced de SHAY).

We spent most of the time at the canyon,where everyone who went on the trip made the two and a half mile hike down and then back up. Since I was the last person to make it up out of the canyon, I was complaining about how unfair, unfortunate, and unfriendly it was that we had to start out by climbing down and THEN have to climb back up to get to the car and lunch.

There were some who moseyed.  Even more strolled.  A few even ran up the path (Matt included)!  My hiking buddy and I meandered. We all got to the same place even if it did take me a half hour longer than most. 

The canyon really shows God's handiwork and is an important part of the Navajo people's history. Before we came on the trip we all read The Long Walk and discussed the importance that this place held for the people Kit Carson was ordered to evacuate by any means necessary.  From there we drove to Spider Rock which has a rich history as well. After that we drive back toward 'home' and spent the last few minutes of our day trading like settlers did way back when. Although I'm pretty sure they didn't use the same currency we used..and they probably didn't buy Dr Pepper in aluminum cans.

We had a few more people feel under the weather and we have pretty much concluded that their circumstances will be dramatically improved if we drink more water at this altitude. (about six thousand feet) We are taking care of everyone who felt a little ill and there is no need to worry. If it was something that fluids and a nap didn't make better,we would be calling you. Again, don't worry, pray for healing, but don't worry.

In an effort to keep everyone on their toes, and adhere to what was written on day one of the mission trip instruction sheet, "Be Flexible!", our plans for chapel time changed. What was supposed to be a movie night with a Bible study group from Ganado turned into awesome singing and a wonderful message from Matt. He spoke about how "Love is required."  Not that we need to earn God's love by loving others, we are love others because God loves us unconditionally. He also spoke about expectations for the trip and how we can assume that we are coming to a mission trip for one reason but God will reveal His plan once you're there.  It was a very powerful message and I count myself lucky to be one of the people who was blessed by it.  I am wrapping this up and posting this on Wednesday morning.  For some reason I couldn't keep my eyes open to finish last night...I blame the canyon.

We Made It!

We made it!

Day one at the mission is winding down and we are settling in to a long (ha ha) night's sleep before we get up to be at chapel at 7:30 sharp.  Following the long days of driving that  we've had I wouldn't be surprised if some of the teenagers wanted the 7:30 to be pm and not am. 

Actually, that is unfair.  I am ceaselessly impressed with the youth that choose to give up their free time to go on a mission trip and do work for the Kingdom of God.  Together we endured, eighteen plus hours of driving, potty breaks (that even included one on the side of the road), motion sickness, spending the first night in a strange place, robotic cigar selling statues, exploding shoe polish bottles, windshield caking bug storms, and even impromptu karaoke battles on walkie talkies!  And even with all of that, when we drove up and met with the advance team who surveyed the jobs to be done, these awesome high schoolers jumped at the chance to scrub a bathroom, move furniture, sweep, and wipe construction debris off of the beds we were to use.  I was ready for a nap and these kids leapt at the chance to help.  When they asked for four volunteers, fourteen hands went up!  I would say that I was surprised but I am becoming more accustomed to awesomeness.

As I lay here on my bunk trying to process the events of the day and condense them into a hopefully coherent account of our trip, I am struck by how the bunk seems to be moving a bit.  Nobody is in the top bunk yet (and it would take a winch and some scaffolding to get me up there) but still the bed is swaying.  I think it is similar to having spent the day on a boat...when you get onto land again it takes a while to not feel the waves.  Possibly related to that, two of our travelers are feeling a little under the weather.  They are being taken care if by a mom, a grandmother, and our emt...not necessarily in that order.  If it was anything serious we would have called, no worries. 

We met with pastor Audrey and she welcomed us with open arms.  The group was given a bit of a lesson about the culture, their needs, and some of the nuts and bolts of a mission trip.  We all had about a half hour of free time before dinner.  Tonight we were fed "Navajo Tacos" by Cheryl, the pastor's daughter.  If I were mean spirited and I wanted you to feel bad, I would mention that you should be angry that you didn't get to experience these treats!  In the interest of public relations, I will simply say they were yummy.

After dinner and a little cleanup time we had our first chapel time.  The band led songs, Matt discussed some of the  do's and  don'ts, and Rachael led us in the first discussion of Love is...  (our theme for the week)  She talked about the difference between the Bible and Webster's definition of love.  We all agreed, the Bible won the definition contest. 

And finally, I had asked all the leaders to keep their eyes open and tell me about things that might be interesting to folks back home.  I was inundated with funny things that happened in the vans on the way here...and I promptly forgot most of them.  One story, however, stuck in my memory.  We were all wearing our matching t-shirts on day one.  A few people went out to the vans to get breakfast ready for us when they met a lady allowing her dogs to...ahem...do their business.  The sight of everyone wearing the same shirt caught her eye.  She looked over, mentioned the shirts, and then asked if we had "just come back from The Price Is Right!"  There in the middle of the California desert, confronted by matching shirts, and this woman made the leap to game show contestants.  They explained our purpose and she went about her business since the dogs were done with theirs.  I'm disappointed though...I wanted to play Plinko!

We've Had Our Glitch

Before Take Off

Saying good byes

Just like the infamous Apollo mission, we've had a problem.  Unlike the astronauts, our glitch didn't send us hurtling around the moon and if we want fresh air all we have to do is open the window, and still, we've had our glitch.  Fear not!  Everyone is safe!  No one was injured!  But there has been a casualty...my shoe.  In the middle of the California desert I took one step too many and my orthopedic shoe broke. For a while I  hobbled like a one-legged pirate.  Luckily, Walmart was open til midnight and I am now sporting brand new tennies.

Other than that we are all doing very well.  We are two thirds of the way to Ganado and everyone is settling in for a short night's sleep.  Up and at-em at 6:15 tomorrow morning.  We were greeted at the church in Kingman by a very friendly Andrew who showed us around, helped us get settled, and entrusted me with the secret to the WiFi.

Movin' east

We left the church fairly close to "on time" and (aside from my own personal footwear malfunction) everything has been running smoothly.  We are traveling together the entire trip, in sight of each other and in communication via walkie talkies.  The whimpering you hear from the east is the sounds of credit cards as we fill these three beasts of burden with gas.  By the way, the third van has been named...The Great White Shark!  Not sure how Matt got to be in the van with "Great" in it...but I have a fairly good idea.  That's OK, we like being in Blanca Beauty.

We are looking forward to getting an early start and even though we have had a long day, when the possibility of having a worship time came up, there were many takers.  I couldn't be more proud of the youth in our charge.  They are truly the salt of the earth.  We decided against an impromptu worship though, since we have another long day ahead of us and less than six hours of sleep planned.

I will continue to keep you updated as time and reliable WiFi permits.

Now I can tell you the real reason that I decided to update this tonight rather than wait til morning.  I wanted to give everyone else a head start falling asleep.  I have been told, by people I have gone on trips with before, that I "snore like a rusty chainsaw that has never been oiled!"  I shouldn't be too worried though, I have been sequestered into a room by myself for some reason.

God Bless,
The Ganado Team

And...We're off!

Let me begin by saying, He is Risen!  Happy Easter Everyone!

In addition to this being the most important day for our faith, it is a very important day in the lives of 36 youth and leaders who are going to Ganado, Arizona, for our short term mission project.  We leave after first service this fine Easter morning and even though we have approximately twelve hours of driving ahead of us today, I am up an hour before my alarm clock says I should be.  Like the boy in the Disneyland commercial years ago, "I'm too excited to sleep!"

We will have to wait and see this tomorrow.

For all of our planning and preparations we have been rewarded with detours and hiccups.  Despite list after list of who's who for the Ganado trip, some of the players have changed.  There have been additions and substitutions, injuries and school troubles, illnesses and cleared schedules...and with all of the juggling and rearranging we are faithful that this final list is representative of precisely who is supposed to go.  It is quite often the case that people do not realize why exactly they have gone on a trip like this until they are actually on it.  The last trip I went on, people said as much.  One person even stating, "I wasn't quite sure why I was supposed to go, or even if I was supposed to go, but I know now!"  I am hopeful that I will be able to relay some of what people are sharing from this trip.  Our schedule is pretty tight and we are going to be exhausted (I'm sure) but I have committed to being the liaison via this blog so everyone will know a small portion of what we are accomplishing, the relationships we are building, and the fun we are having!

In approximately five hours at 10:30 A.M. we will load into three rented vans, "Blanca Beauty", "Milkman", and (a player to be named later) and begin the travel toward Kingman, Arizona, for the first stop on our trip.  I had written before that the church we were planning on staying at could not host us this time and we had no alternative.  We kept planning, praying, and preparing to stop in Kingman without any hesitation.  Even when we hadn't heard back from any of the other churches we asked we pressed on.  Then one day we heard back from ALL of the churches we asked within 45 minutes of each other...all of them offered to host us for our trip.  See, no problem for those who have faith.  It all worked out.

One of the beautiful windows in the church.

At approximately eleven o'clock tonight, after too many miles, hours, and bathroom stops to mention, we will fall asleep in the gym of a church in Kingman.  After too short a night's rest, we will get up, load up, and continue on to the Presbyterian mission, in the Navajo Reservation, at Ganado, Arizona.  We appreciate all of your prayers for safety and good travel and we are looking forward to a week that will fly by, I'm certain, much too quickly.