Mission Trip to Asia 2007, VBS 2008, VBS 2009, VBS 2010, Mission Trip 2011, VBS 2012

June 13

Hello, this is Lily!  I just wanted to tell everyone who might possibly be interested what we’ve been doing the past few days for our summer missions trip… if the last 48 hours can be considered two days, and not the three months’ worth of activities we’ve already engaged in.  Brace yourself.  We’ve been busy.

Monday morning we all arrived and got settled in.  We were prayed over, and then our parents left with sad (or apathetic) goodbye hugs.  The excitement was thick in the air as we prayed and prepared our minds for whatever was going to be thrown at us.  I guess you can assume that we safely, happily found our rooms, unpacked, and had a friendly nerf gun skirmish before starting on our duties.  Then we, of course, prayed for safety (which we have been, fortunately, given) before driving in the [dangerous] van to the traditional Subway lunch.  The only thing we learned from that is that Isle a la Cache is very densely covered in goose… droppings.  And don’t stand near Andrew or Mr. E if you’re on a floating pier.  Mrs. E was also able to share a little about what we were doing to a curious bystander at Subway. 

We were finally prepared, mentally, spiritually, and physically, for some manual labor (cue scary music).  We cleaned out some classrooms and a closet at what was formerly Ridgewood Baptist Academy to be sold and thrown out.  Manual labor ... but really great manual labor that taught us more than we would have expected.  Helping people out by carrying desks down stairs for a few hours can have a huge impact on other people… way more than you can imagine.  After a while we got sore, but why slow down?  I think helping out people who need it is a little more important than how sore our muscles will be for the rest of the week.  Or maybe the soreness came from riding the three-wheeled-bike.  Either way, we got a lot done… and forty minutes ahead of schedule, which allowed for a quick frosty break!  Then we were able to shop for breakfast (breakfast filled an entire cart), see a few alumni at Walmart, have a few flat out hilarious moments, and retrieve whatever items we forgot at home.  Obviously, we ate dinner.

After dinner we went back to Ridgewood, except this time to play volleyball.  Let me just say, when you see a court full of older, stronger players who have obviously played more than four years against people older than fourteen who all know each other, it’s kind of intimidating.  Good practice, I guess, for being bold when we have other service projects.  After some “warming up” and riding around on that three-wheeled bike, most of us joined in.

Back at home we, of course, were hanging out, nerf battling and such, but the most important (and deathly silent) part of the night was when we were reading our book, don’t waste your life, and then talking about it.  It’s amazing how thought-provoking  fifteen minutes of reading can be.

All in all, it was a great day, even if most of us were hurt at this old, decrepit park outside of Ridgewood (six kids on a teeter totter is not a great idea).

Today (Tuesday, June 14, 2011) started off with the average morning routine.  That was the only thing average about this day.  Once relatively awake, we ate and had a devotional to do about God. The topic of God is one of those things you always hear and always ignore. 

We prayed and had an hour-long drive to downtown Chicago, home of Moody Bible Institute.  (Staying up until midnight doing nerf gun battles translates into an hour of lifeless van passengers.) We got to tour Moody.  It was really cool, and amazing, how one guy was able to make such an impact.  There was a small museum about D. L. Moody, the HQ of Moody Radio, and all those other college things which we don’t have to worry about for a few years.  It was surprising how one guy could change so many lives.

We toured Awana HQ after lunch (and a long drive… downtown traffic, you know).  Awana is much more than clubs for kids, although that is a very important and influential part of it.  It has a prison ministry, teen ministries, and missionaries worldwide.  And ironically, the founder of it was two degrees removed from D. L. Moody.  Again, one person was able to influence so many people.  Wow.

It felt like we didn’t do much.  I think today was a day of inspiration, and D. L. Moody covered our share of the work for the day.

Again, nerf wars upon our return home.  And we went through those hilarious pictures that we took to fill that empty time riding in the van to and from Chicago.

We read again, and again the chapter made your brain spin.  Great book, don’t waste your life. We practiced for the visit to the nursing home tomorrow morning and (finally) got the grade-school-level motions down.

What we learned today: our group is not skilled at coordination or learning that there are no creepy random people in our house, the purpose of life is to delight in God and glorify Him, and one person can change the world. 

June 18

Hey it’s me Sarah and yesterday we went to the pacific garden mission. It was so much fun there. I got to see how some people have to live like every day. Now when I saw the beds I was shocked because my bed is twice as big yet still I don’t have enough room to sleep. This just made me realize how lucky I am to sleep in a nice soft and warm bed. It also made me be thankful that I live in a real house with my amazing family. One big thing I learned while I was there that I often complain about not having this or that when I should be thanking God for what I do have. I had a lot of fun there and sometime I would like to go back. While we were there we watched people record unshackled. For those who don’t know what that is, it is testimonies of what happened in people’s lives. It was hard for me not to make any noise like scream or laugh but I did it! I have had an amazing time on the mission trip and I would really recommend joining it next year if you want to have fun with your friends while you serve God! 

P.S. HAPPY 13^th  BIRTHDAY KIM!

June 19 

            Hey it’s Annalyssa. Today would be our last day of the actual mission trip. Today we went to Fil-American Church in Chicago. Obviously all the people there were Filipino. While Sarah and Lily kind of fit in me, Liz, Andrew, and Ben stuck out. At first we were kind of “shy” I guess. But by the end of the day we had pretty much made friends with the youth there. What I really liked is how when we (the mission team) went up to sing our songs the kids actually sang along with us. They weren’t embarrassed to do it like we were at school. This encouraged me to go all out for God. No matter how foolish I look I will do what it takes to praise him. After we hung out and played games with the kids there we went around blocks close to the church and passed out tracts and flyers for the churches VBS that starts on Monday. I really liked doing this because we got to hang out with the kids from the church more which I really enjoyed doing.

            All in all, I really enjoyed this week. At the beginning of the week I was one of the people who were really disappointed because we weren’t going to Iowa. But after this week I think that I have seen more Christian organizations than I had ever seen before. I didn’t even know that there are so many different things to do around town. This trip really benefited me by opening my eyes and letting me see beyond Joliet. Personally, I really enjoyed this trip.

June 15

Hey, it’s Lizzie!  Today was funny, exciting, inspirational, educational, and just plain weird.  When we woke up we did devotions about God’s Word and had a delicious breakfast, courtesy of Mrs. E. Some of us woke up to the sound of a duck call alarm clock. First thing this morning we went to Morning Star Mission thrift shop to help sort through antique items.  We had to get rid of the older stuff and clean out the shelves.  Out with the old and in with the new! Well, sort of new.   I learned many things today. The most important being that Lily is not to be trusted with fragile or anything plastic, as she broke two antique cats.  We worked for four hours at the thrift shop and it was a lot of fun.  One would think that sorting through very old items for four hours would be boring but surprisingly it was very fun and entertaining. They played classic movies on some of their TVs like, Beauty and the Beast, which is always fun.  Many other things occurred there, like me kneeling on the ground and getting black, dirty knees. Overall it was very fun and the people were very grateful. Actually a lady asked us where we were from and what we were doing, she seemed kind of grouchy.  After we told her that we were volunteers and were on a mission trip she seemed to soften up.  Later we found out that she was the manager there.  We seemed to make her a little happier.  After working there we drove to the Chicago Dough Company, which is a delicious pizza place in New Lenox.  And let me tell you, the pizza was DELICIOUS!!!!!  We had a good time and took some interesting pictures.  After eating we made a quick stop at Wal-Mart and enjoyed walking around in the electronics section.  We then went home to change and get ready for the Wednesday night prayer meeting and youth at Ridgewood.  We had a good time worshipping and playing games, although some were very painful.  We also rode around on the bike/tricycle named BoBo while other people tried to serve volleyballs at us. The “knee slapping game” was also very painful.  After that we came back and did devotions. And we also had intellectual discussions…Just kidding!!!!! Overall the day was amazing and fun.  I know I had a great time and will continue to have a great time. Bye!!!!

June 16

Hi, it’s Ben here. Wow, Thursday was an awesome day. It started off with pancakes, (my favorite), and progressed into a fun-filled day. When I had first learned that we would be singing to the seniors, I flashed back to all the Grandparents Days. I was pretty nervous and wasn’t feeling too confident. The E’s were telling us that the people would be overjoyed we were there. I also knew about the upcoming, what seemed to be fun Loaves and Fishes food pantry. I was looking forward to the pantry, but not the seniors. So after our good practices filled with laughter, we were ready. At least, everybody else was. See, I didn’t know actions to all 3 of the actions songs we were doing. So when we got there, I just had to say “God, I have no idea how I’m going to pull this off, but I’m doing it for You, so take control and help me please”. It turns out I was able to do Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord pretty good, and Here I am to Worship as well. But, when we got to the Assisted Living seniors, Mrs. E said to do I am a Friend of God. Yep, the only song the 8^th grade guys EVER made actions to. For some good reason, I knew the words. I knew the simple fist pump and lean, but when we got to the slower part I had NO IDEA what to do. So first here we are hopping around all crazy, and it gets slow and the 2 guys start to kinda look at each other clueless. So, I prayed again. Did I remember the actions? Nope, but I did not make a fool of myself and made it look smooth with the people who did know them. Afterwards, I got to talk to all the seniors. I loved that part. It was great getting to see them and see their smiles as we got to know them. Andrew and I even got called cute. Yep.

Later, at Loaves and Fishes Andrew and I got dairy and bread duty. We had to stock the bread section OVER AND OVER, and we had to tell people that there’s a limit on sliced bread loaves. But getting to lift, sort and greet people really made some smile. And I saw some people that looked like they never got a friendly word. So, even if you don’t think it will make a difference, give a nice friendly smile, or “have a good day!” at the end of a conversation. Finally, we got to end the day with one of our friend’s brother who is training to become a youth pastor. His name is Nick and had a great testimony. It was fantastic and I really learned that a deep relationship with God is the key to get through high school. So, overall, it was my favorite day. I learned to give it to God, how to show someone God loves you, a good smile, and friendly hello, and that a relationship with God is the only way to grow in your Christian life. It was a great day, and we showed that even smelly, loud, and obnoxious kids can do something for God.

June 17

Hi my name is Andrew.  The activities were great the whole day. First we went to the Billy Graham center.  The Billy Graham Center taught me that everyone has a big part of influence on everybody even teenagers have a big part in influence.  Also how we saw some history like the great awakening, early church, and also Billy Graham’s life.  This made me grow spiritually by teaching me to be careful where ever you go so other people don’t get the wrong idea about Christianity and God.  After that we went to the Regular Baptist press and we help them clean like moping, organizing, or recycling or Mr. E taking pictures the whole time as an excuse not to work, um well maybe a little bit by helping us fill water for mopping but still.  Then a guy who worked there was telling us it doesn’t matter what age you are you can still serve the Lord even though people say we can’t do it. After that we went to Mr. Mike’s house for a fun time.  Some of us went swimming and then we had Smores and Lizzie dropped a sticky marshmallow which Mrs. E eventually stepped on ha ha ha ha now that was funny. Then Mr. Mike told us his testimony which taught me to listen to God especially when he put people in your life.  Then Mr. E scarred Mrs. E by yelling yeah that happened twice and she still wasn’t expecting it.  Then we went to Trinity to pick up some stuff for the puppet part.  Well that was our day have a great rest of the week this is Andrew signing off.