Happy trails (to us).

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Technorati Tags: mission trip

Change someone’s life.

Change your own.

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Technorati Tags: recommendation

The agenda at our second house was to complete putting up dry wall on the ceiling, do finishing work on the windows, and finish up the new front door. Jerry M., Chris S., Leah K., Piper C., and Pastor Kent made sure everything on their list was complete and they took wrap-up photos of their work as I unfortunately wasn’t able to make my way over there today. I may try to fill in the gaps later, should I get more information from this crew.

My time was spent hammering in base boards, sawing up wood, and documenting the day. Dave S. and Steve C. finished putting in the door on the first house with Pete S., Kelly M., and Trevor N. running the power tools. A group of Mennonite young men who Ohio Nate has been working with stopped by in the morning to take care of the hot water pipes and our projects were delayed on and on since, like yesterday, they could only be completed one at a time. While the work was slow, we actually had something for everyone to do at almost every moment and we completed our tasks. We did have one injury; Kelly finished putting on the new locks on the door and accidentally pinched the tip of Dave’s finger. It hurt, but the finger lives on in our memories. R.I.P. Dave’s Finger: 1958-2009. (The finger is still attached, by the way, so don’t panic, dear reader.)

Kristen H. oversaw the kitchen, leading the trio of Kelsey W. and the Mollys on a mission to finish up all of the primer and painting duties. Luckily for the girls, their washing of the paint rollers resulted in splattering all over their clothes and faces in a way that made them all laugh and have fun. Being covered in paint was the perfect way to run out to the ice cream man, too, who drove through the neighborhood and stopped in front of our house with his wife handing out treats. I picked up ice cream for everyone because hey, how often does one get to see an ice cream truck in the neighborhood? I was especially excited to enjoy a treat I’d not had since I was a little kid: the Choco Taco.

I spent the better part of an hour speaking with the Perez family this morning. A son a few years younger than me, Isias, is a church youth leader in Houston and was home visiting for Christmas. He explained the house we were working on had been in the family since 1989 and saw damage from both Hurricanes Rita and Ike. During Ike, a tree came through the roof and did plenty of damage, much of which was fixed by the young Mennonite boys who worked on the broken hot water pipe this morning a few weeks before we arrived. He was so grateful to have us there helping his parents in their time of need and introduced me to his mother, Alisia.

Alisia let me film her while Isias served as translator. She told me how much she loved us for what we were doing for her and told me much of her story of coming to America from the poverty of Mexico thirty years ago. She still has family in Mexico and while she is grateful for the help she and her family are receiving in Texas, she’s saddened that there is little or nothing like these social services in Mexico for her family who remain in Mexico, including her elderly mother. I also spoke with Hemi, Alisia’s husband, about his work as a delivery man for the oil refinery companies and what it was like to see the home he’s worked so hard for to be so devastated. Hemi had high spirits and even pitched in toward the end of the day.

Of all the things Alisia told me, the one that stod out the most was her answer when I asked her what was the one thing she looked forward to most when work on the house was completed. Isias translated my question and she laughed, immediately proclaiming she couldn’t wait until the kitchen was ready. She loves to cook for her family and hasn’t been able to do so in weeks. Their old stove / range was in the backyard, dirty, rusted, and ancient. A picnic table with dry goods serves as a pantry until new shelves can be built. The tears in Alisia’s eyes as she explained how important it was to her to be able to provide for her family in this way brought our work to a new level for me, and after speaking with a handful of the adults, we decided to pool our money together and buy her a new oven and range.

Steve C. and I drove to Lowe’s and picked up a brand-new gas range while everyone else finished their duties and converged on the Perez home. The large trailer was a perfect fit for the big cardboard box and the Lowe’s personnel were impressed by our idea. We returned to find the rest of our group, excited for what was about to happen. Steve called Alisia over and said we have a gift for you. He opened the trailer and she read the bilingual packaging, crying out “Thank you, thank you,” as her small, five-three frame clutched tall, towering Steve in a hug that came from deep in her heart. We all had a laugh at Steve’s blushing, and I was happy to know that broken-down range in the Perez’s backyard would never go back in that house again.

Kelly and I bought Alisia a vacuum cleaner, too, and she took it with more hugs. She and her family joined us on the front stoop where we’d had lunch the past three days and we all posed for several group photos taken by Ohio Nate. He asked why we couldn’t all just share digital photos instead of him having to take one with everyone’s camera and I told him that was the exact same question I always ask the group. We’ve turned saying “Cheese!” into “ABSOLUTELY!” by the way.

This small token we could grant someone was a wonderful capper to a week of doing God’s work. There are so many projects still left in the Perez house and the other home, and there is a plethora of homes damaged in the area which we could see and I’m sure many more we could not see. I think this is when one has to choose to not be overwhelmed and frustrated by what they’re leaving undone and instead be proud and encouraged by the work they did get done. We did so much for these families and in the end, for ourselves and each other. This will not be my last mission trip and I hope the rest of the group feels the same way.

I’m late for dinner so I need to bring this to a close. There are more details and I’ll fill in those gaps later. Thank you for reading, everyone. It’s likely this is my final blog post until we return home, as we’ll likely head out fairly early in the morning. If I get a chance to get back online I will, but otherwise parents should expect text message updates from cell phones to let you know where we are, at this point. Wrap-up posts and more to come when we arrive back home.

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Some photos courtesy of Molly D.:

Steve C. and his crazy girls.

The Ice Cream Man approaches...

The Mollys show off their new paint tattoos.

Nate shows off the new paint tattoos the Mollys gave him. Thanks, ladies.

Our group with the Perez family.

Technorati Tags: mission trip

Beaumont’s less than a half hour from Port Arthur and we found parking a breeze at 10:00pm. The group took a few photos at the world’s largest fire hydrant thanks to two factors: 1. Piper’s parents posting about the fire hyrdant in their comment in this blog, and 2. it’s the world’s largest fire hydrant; it isn’t hard to miss. Group photos complete, we waked to Crockett Street to check out the party. While their website said to “bring the family,” we found 99% of those in attendance were 21+ and hanging out in warm bars across the pedestrian mall / street from a live band whose musical repertoire ranged from Elton John to The Beatles to Bon Jovi to The Beatles to The Beatles. The youth discovered a table of brown paper bags filled with New Year’s Eve goodies: hats, whistles, cranks, horns, balloons, leis, and so on. We were diving into our third bag by the time the fella who was selling the bags asked us for his nine dollars. Pastor Kent and I paid the man and we were all able to walk around with noisy noise makers without worry of committing accidental petty theft.

Our group ended up inside a restaurant that, while the kitchen was closed, told us we could have a seat and they had hot coffee and hot cocoa for us. Our server worked hard for us and we tipped him accordingly; the young man made three coffees, a Shirley Temple, a tall cranberry juice, and seven hot cocoas on his own whiel the bar staff served other patrons. He even topped off all the hot beverages with a generous dollop of whipped cream and made sure we had party hats, crowns, and horns. The horns were especially loud and annoying, but not from us. Kelly and I went to the dance floor to cut a rug while a live jazz ensemble played a slow number. During the song, other couples on the dance floor blew those loud, annoying horns while the band was trying to play something sweet and sultry. The saxophone player stared one obnoxious guy down, calmly took out his reed, and started tooting it in return. I’m not sure if the obnoxious guy got the message, but Kelly and I enjoyed our dance, all the same.

We stepped outside for the final countdown and let the confetti rain down on us from a restaurant balcony. After a few moments of laughter, smiles, and photos, we agreed that while it was much nicer weather than what was likely happening back home in Minnesota, it was pretty darn cold and it was time to head back to Port Arthur. We headed back to the van and headed home, quiet, tired, and ready for sleep to fuel us for a new day of work. It wasn’t the most fun New Year’s Eve the group has had, but I’m sure it will be a memorable one and something we can look back on with laughter, given the non-dancing aspect of the “street dance.”

Highlights included Steve C. using his New Year’s horn as a duck call, Trevor N.’s joke that the one lone light on in a high-rise just off Crockett Street was the last reporter trying to make a deadline, people watching for those in shiny, glittery outfits including one man who looked more than out of it, my getting to shoot off the confetti cap gun the grocery store patrol bought me (I need to put “Toys for Nate” on more shopping lists, I think), Pete S. wondering whether he should order a cranberry juice or a “virgin” vodka cranberry, and walking back to the van behind a couple who were clearly in some sort of argument (the woman walked about ten feet in front of the man at a pace which implied she invented the term “brisk”).

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Some photos courtesy of Molly D. from Crockett Street:

Our group stands in front of the world's largest fire hydrant. Imagine how long the hoses must be for this thing.

Celebrating New Year's with new hats and new friends.

Confetti, anyone?

Confetti: The Action Shot

Technorati Tags: mission trip

At the first house, we sanded down the kitchen ceiling we mudded yesterday and added another coat so we could sand that, too. Finally, we taped the trim we laid down and primed the ceiling for a future paint job. Considering how many hours people have put into this ceiling, I hope the task of painting falls to us; everyone who did the “grunt” work deserves to put on some finishing touches.

The adjacent laundry room got the most attention today. We needed to disconnect the hot water heater, severe (saw through) the steel pipes, take out the door and put in a new door, take out the washer and dryer, shore up part of the floor, lay down plywood, finish the floor off with… I forget. Some sort of wood that is named after a woman. I think it begis with “L” (sorry, I’m still learning all of the technical carpentry terms). Speaking of terms, Steve C. introduced me to my new favorite verb, “wang.” He told me it’s the word carpenters use if they don’t have another word. For example, when he marked off a circle on a piece of plywood and asked me to drill holes in it’s diameter so we could cut it out, he asked me to, “Wang out a circle.” Later, when Kent had me do the same thing to a piece of drywall at the other house, he asked me to “wang” it, too. Apparantly, I really know how to wang.

The laundry room was labor-intensive because it was full of little projects that had to be done in a particular order. We couldn’t shore up the floor until we moved the hot water heater, which we couldn’t move until we took out the door, and so on. Pete S. and Kelly M. became quite the power tool team, while Kristen H. lead a squadron of young women in the kitchen. Steve C. and Dave S. lead Pete, Kelly, Trevor N., and me in working on the laundry room. Unfortunately, when reinstalling the hot water heater, we found some old pipes were broken and the family would go without hot water for the evening. Definitely not ideal, but hopefully fixable as soon as possible this week.

After lunch, I moseyed on down to the other house to get some video footage of the rest of our group hard at work. As you’ll recall, this was the house needing a window boarded up, finishing work on another set of windows, and new vinyl on the bathroom floor so the toilet could go back in. Today had two new projects added to the list - install a new door and mount a new drywall ceiling in the bathroom. By the time I arrived, Chris S., Leah K., and Kelsey W. had filled in many of the holes, dents, and crags of the closed-up window and had done finishing work on the other windows. Pastor Kent was working on the bathroom while Ken S. and Jerry M. worked steadily on a new front door. I helped get some drywall on the ceiling before we called it a day to go grocery shopping for tonight’s dinner, burgers on the grill.

Highlights of the day include dissecting a long-forgotten pack of Juicy Fruit gum found underneath the hot water heater (yes the rumors are true - I ate a tiny, tiny bit and lived to tell the tale), Molly N. lying on top of a refrigerator to get a good angle to paint the ceiling, Steve C. teaching Pete S. and me how to use power tools like circular saws, Trevor N. having to walk six blocks to a Shell gas station to use the bathroom after we shut the water off in the house, Dave S. working with his head underneath rotting steps as people kept walking on them, Pastor Kent making crepe-thin pancakes with the last of the batter, Texas resident Ken being able to point out some window frames we neglected to drywall because in Minnesota we’d be used to wood, Jerry explaining to me that after seventy-plus years of life the arthritis might be starting to kick in, Kristen H.’s meeting and talking with Mrs. Perez - the owner of one of the homes - and telling her, “Your mother has a good daughter,” Chris S. finding a new disciple of random singing in Kelsey W., yesterday’s nailgun exploits for Kelly M. matched only by today’s power-sawing through steel pipe, Molly D. getting a mysterious drywall handprint on her tummy, Leah K. and me moving a ladder a mere three feet approximately three-dozen times in thirty minutes, and Piper C. responding to one of my stories with, “Yeah I know, you’ve told us that story before.” My apologies to her parents, but for her insolence, she will be remaining in Texas. :)

Tonight we head to Beaumont for the Crockett Street dance. We’ve decided to take a little “horizontal time” after dinner to rest up before going out tonight and I think I’m almost looking forward to that more than the street dance. Also, I’ve learned from the local newspaper’s website that discharging firearms within city limits is a misdemeanor with an up to $4,000 fine and a year in jail if one is caught, so I’m glad we didn’t bring any guns with us because wow, the temptation to ring in the new year with a bang is tough to say ‘no’ to, you know…

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P.S. If I have time to retro-actively post photos in other days’ posts, I will, but I don’t have time today. However, here are new photos of today’s activities courtesy of Piper:

Sanding the new drywall in the laundry room so we can move the hot water heater later in the day.

Kelly power saw's through steel pipe as Pete sprays the whole mess with a can of DW-40. The pipe still ends up smoking as the saw bites through it.

Molly D. shows us how to prime a ceiling with grace, class, and quiet dignity.

Piper poses with the new table created to lift the hot water heater up off the floor to keep the new floor clean and add some storage space.

A group of us prepare to do some final mudding in the kitchen, laundry room, and beyond.Some irresponsible adult decided it would be a good idea to give Pete a circular saw. Luckily, we all survived.

Last night everyone returned tired and hungry. Chris’s chili hit the spot and my request for the grocery-buying team to get a bag of oyster crackers topped it off, well. Steve C. and I find more and more ways to be “twins” - we’ve worn nearly the same shirts at church before a few times, then both wore Minnesota Twins shirts, laughed at / told similar jokes, and we both made it our business to dice up some white onion for our chili. Rather than say I’m frightened how much I’m like a gentleman a few decades my senior, I’ll instead propose that this must help Steve feel younger and leave it at that.

After a few showers and some time to rest, I led a brief worship service kicked off by Molly D. and me playing a guitar / ukulele duet of “Weave Me the Sunshine” and “I Like Bananas.” With The Message translation of Romans 15:1-2 as the backbone of the worship service, I spoke about our group and how we should be proud of what we’re accomplishing, as well as our courage to take a chance and travel to Texas over New Year’s to try something new. We remembered those back home who considered the trip but ultimately ended up not coming along; we promised each other not to return with an attitude of, “You missed out,” but rather, “We missed you; we hope you come with next time.” We broke out into our small groups to discuss what brought us on the trip and how we would help each other be strong throughout the rest of the trip, then wrapped up with a sing-a-long of “Lean On Me.”

The group dispersed after worship. Some chose to rest or read (most of the adults) while others joined Molly D. and me for more singing during a guitar / ukulele jam, though she was awesome to yet again let Trevor N. and Pete S. borrow her guitar to play a few songs, too. The youth room was locked so we didn’t watch a movie and weren’t able to get access to our Great Dalmuti cards, so the evening was low-key with light music playing and plenty of conversation. While I wish we had access to the room (we will on Wednesday), I’m glad for the break from things like movies and were able to have conversations.

Highlights of the evening included Kristen and me telling old camp stories to youth while Kent told even older camp stories to Kristen and me, bad jokes at dinner, Dave S.’s brother, Ken, giving everyone light-up, football-shaped plastic premiums from Hewlett-Packard (his employer), seeing Kent put the lights over his eyes and Piper C. taking photos of Alien Kent, telling youth about the comments we’ve had on the blog, seeing Kelly light up at the sight of her new fleece blanket and air mattress, a certain youth admitting while they weren’t sure they wanted to attend the trip that they’re really glad they came, and my meeting Miss Shirley, the church custodian, who will (hopefully be able to) let me into the church once a day to blog. An elder sweetheart with what seems to me to be genuine Southern courtesy and mannerisms, Miss Shirley is a lively woman living in a camper trailer in the church parking lot after hurricane season. As I say, hopefully our schedules will click for the rest of the trip so blog updates can continue.

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Hey, hey, hey! I’ve even got some photos from tonight, too:

Alien Kent and his new eyeballs.

Nate, Trevor N., and Pete S. jamming out in jammies.

Molly D. and Nate playing worship music as Piper C. and Kelsey W. stand behind them to sing along.

Technorati Tags: mission trip

Breakfast was cereal and bagels, plus a few fun surprises as everyone received a carptenter’s pencil, hot beverage to-go cup, and Home Depot tool pocket apron thing (you know what I’m talking about). Nate showed up just as adult chaperone Dave’s brother, Ken, who lives in Texas, showed with his tools in-hand to help us out this week. Ken brings our group up to sixteen (seventeen, if you count the Tom Tom GPS). We grabbed our gear and Nate lead our vehicles to our two worksites.

We arrived at the first home and Nate showed us all of our projects. Because there were not only more projects but more room we decided to put most of the group to work on that home (floors / walls / ceilings / water heater) while a small group of Pastor Kent, Jerry M., Ken, and Kelly M. went to the other house (bathroom / windows). I’m the only one who initially visited both so I could shoot some documentary footage, then Nate drove me back to the first home. On the way, I asked him about the neighborhood in terms of socio-economic levels and he said we were in a “medium” neighborhood but on the low side. He said there are worse neighborhoods around and that was powerful to hear, considering how much work there was to do in the neighborhood we’re working in today.

When I returned to the first home, people were already busy. Molly N., Molly D., Leah K., and Kelsey W. were scraping and sanding wall materials. “Drywall” Dave lead the charge in laying down a new faux-wood panel vinyl flooring for the bedroom, with Trevor N. and mother-son Team Stone helping out every step of the way. Steve C. taught Kristen H., Piper C., and me how to put “mud” on the ceiling - a sort of spackle coating to smooth out the ceiling’s nails and seams. Everyone was in high spirits as we worked, and conversation ran just as steady as floor was laid out and walls were sanded down.

Lunch was a tasty picnic on the porch filled with conversations of school and what they teach and what they don’t teach, plus tossing grapes at Pete so he could catch them in his mouth (a natural talent, for sure). We reached a point in the work that left room for only some members of our group to be of much service, so I drove a gaggle of girls to Target to pick up blankets for a few folks who ended up too cold last night. By the time we returned, it was time to do crown molding and primer painting, while my wife, Kelly, who had moved to the first house after lunch, was busy smashing nails into brand-new floor trim with the loudest nail gun I’ve ever heard in my life. She had a big smile on her face as she worked with the nail gun, too, confirming my theory that I can safely buy her power tools for birthdays, Christmas, and anniversaries and she’ll be happy (I still like getting The Simpsons stuff).

The work is hard and dirty but there isn’t one complainer in the bunch and everyone is doing a phenomenal job. Ohio Nate stopped by, took one look at the new vinyl bedroom floor we laid in, and praised us for an amazing job - something he says he rarely gets the chance to say. This really boosted our spirits and has us working even harder as a result. We’re hoping to finish up a few more pieces of important work so tomorrow we can disconnect the water heater and get that moved / fixed and turn this unfortunate house into something wonderful.

Other highlights include Piper C. slicing away with a hacksaw to make sure trimmings were the perfect size, Steve C. teaching Pete S. how to use his circular saw, the awesomeness that is Pete and my matching Kum & Go gas station t-shirts, Kelsey W. disagreeing with the concept lemon-flavored water (and also repeatedly accidentally saying we’re in Florida instead of Texas), Kristen proclaiming she had to “man up” and get over working near cockroaches, the first house accidentally taking both auxillary bags of fun lunch stuff like chips and Oreos, Ken bribing the first house with a 12-pack of Mountain Dew in exchange for a saw, Trevor and I desperately trying to lay down pieces of extra vinyl for Team Stone to set heavy furniture on before the dropped it, killing a mosquito and wiping it on Molly D’s shirt, Molly D. saying “Oh, absolutely!” in the most Minnesotan accent possible, and a gentleman driving by our group and stopping to let us know, in a perfect Texas accent, that, “What y’all are doing is tremendous, thank you so much.”

I’m heading back to the worksite after this blog post while Chris wraps up the finishing touches on tonight’s dinner, homemade chili. I believe tonight we’re breaking up into small groups to process the day and talk about tomorrow’s work, plus maybe a movie, definitely some more Great Dalmuti, Molly D. and I want to have a guitar / ukulele jam, and hopefully I’ll get word from Barry that we have the ability to post photos on the blog (and hopefully I find a way to get into the church library to blog again!).

Just in case I’m unable to blog tomorrow, we’re heading up to Beaumont, Texas for the Crockett Street New Year’s Eve party. It’s a street dance with live music, BBQ, jumbotrons to watch festivities in NYC, and more. Sounds like a blast, and many of our suburban youth have never been to a street dance before, so there’s some uniqueness to it.

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P.S. I’m passing your comments on to the group, so keep them coming!

Technorati Tags: mission trip

Picking up from my last post, we lucked out for dinner. We’re in cattle country and that means the steaks are thick, juicy, and cheaper than hamburger! Everyone helped themselves to a great steak cooked on a grill outdoors by grillmaster Steve C. as well as some salad, broasted veggies, and some brownies made by the couple temporarily housed in the church, Chris and Steph. I tried Itaian dressing for the first time and was think I found a new tangy favorite.

After dinner, the group broke up into three segments. Many of the adults retired to their books, chats, or even sleep. Two adults however, Kristen and my wife Kelly, joined the girls to watch Stick It, a movie about gymnastics which I gave a chance for a few minutes because Jeff Bridges plays the coach but I couldn’t stick it out for long (to each his her own; this one just wasn’t for me). In the meantime, the third segment, youths Trevor and Pete and I, had a guitar / ukulele jam session, playing Trevor’s favorites (”Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin), my favorites (”Strange Apparition” by Beck), and ironic favorites (”Since You’ve Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson). It was around that time we were all brought back together to get the lowdown from (the other) Nate on what we would be doing in the morning.

Nate’s forty-five minute presentation was both fascinating and heart-wrenching. Over 85,000 homes in the Port Arthur and surrounding area were damaged in hurricanes in recent years and just when it appeared clean-up for Hurricane Rita was going well, Hurricane Ike hit. These are folks without much hope, people not on the news and without Katrina response-level aid. Nate told us UMCOR has been rebuilding homes as fast as possible with 20-40 volunteers in the area per week and our job would be directly reated to two homes - one needs new floors, ceiling and wall work, steps, and to have its water heater moved. The other home needs a former window-turned-hole in the wall to have its air conditioner removed and be patched up, its other windows to be finished, and new tile laid in the bathroom so the toilet can be put back in so family can live in it once again. Our group was enthusiastic to ask questions to our laid-back UMCOR liason, and he is excited to work with us. Nate is employed in mission work year-round in Texas, though he’s from Ohio, and he made a connection with Trevor, as they’re both originally from the Cleveland area.

After Nate’s presentation, the girls finished the movie, many of the adults went to bed, and the guys wrapped up the guitar / ukulele jam. The youth and I got together to play a few hands of The Great Dalmuti, a card game that rewards royalty and punishes peasants which, if it sounds odd and out of the mainstream, completely is and yes, belongs to Pastor Kent. This game has been a staple at past youth outings like Camp Du Nord, the boundary waters, and Confirmation retreats, and it only seems appropriate to bring it on a mission trip. The highlight of the game was watching Leah K. go from the Greater Peon, the lowest position of play in the game, for two rounds in a row to the Greater Dalmuti, the highest position of play in the game, for two rounds in a row. The look on her face when from bored frustration to triumphant glee in no time. Then, it was bedtime since Nate arrives at 8:00am to take us to our work site.

Other highlights of the day include playing with cute puppy Mischief, taking those wonderfully soothing showers, the girls picking me up a pink bath scrubby, meeting the men’s group from First UMC who are staying here tonight, too, after a weekend of mission work, and of course, did we mention the steaks?

We love your comments. Keep them coming! :) I found out from Barry the blog underwent it’s overhaul and the lack of picture-posting ability is likely due to that new coding. Hopefully we’ll have it fixed by tomorrow night.

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Technorati Tags: mission trip

Yesterday morning, the Excelsior UMC church service featured our group getting sent off in style complete with prayers, votive candles, a prayer shawl, and the passing out of work gloves, which I know will come in handy. Nan was wonderful enough to make sure we had everything we needed to make some delicious sandwiches so we could take off and get a few hours and miles between us and home without worrying about stopping for lunch. Everyone arrived at church before me, by the way, which is just how I roll, of course.

The drive down was smooth sailing, though Chris might tell you a few tales of insane drivers weaving in-between semi trucks across four lanes of traffic and well above the posted speed limit. We traveled in two vehicles - Nate, Kelly, Chris, Jerry, and Kent took “Ruby,” the Excelsior UMC / Camp Kowaken minivan, and adults Steve, Dave, and Kristen with youth Trevor, Pete, Kelsey, Piper, Leah, Molly D. and Molly N. took the 15-passenger white van. They had another guest, Tom Tom, to act as our sixteenth group member.

I drove Ruby the first four and a half hours or so to Des Moines and traded up, making sure adults were rotating driving duties. I was on again for the 3:00am-7:00am driving shift, as well, and I kept myself awake singing along to Eddie Vedder songs in the CD player while everyone else slept. Meanwhile, in the other van, Dave and Steve alternated driving the youth were asleep by the time we passed through Faribault - roughly forty minutes into the trip. They also woke to say ‘hi’ to each new state on the journey, though the seats didn’t lend themselves to quality sleep at all.

After a drive down mostly Interstate 35 and a few side highways, with a stop at a restaurant, gas station or two, and IHOP, we arrived in Port Arthur just before 2:00pm this afternoon. I’m blogging from the cozy confines of the Procter Baptist Church library while the rest of the gang unloads their gear, stretches the canvas of their cots as taught as possible, and takes some much-needed showers. We’re staying in a large gym on the side of the church and the girls have already claimed several pieces of furniture to set up all of their stuff, while the guys have kinda thrown their stuff in a corner, more worried about finding outlets for cell phones than comfort. We met some of the church staff and another volunteer group from a Texas UMC group who are staying overnight, as well. There’s also a couple staying here, too, Chris and Steph, along with their cute little puppy, Mischief.

Highlights so far include Molly D. buying some stylin’ pink plastic sunglasses, watching a server cough over a big plate of butter in a restaurant kitchen, attempting to get Pete to eat chicken fried steak at every meal, sing-a-longs, naps, stories and jokes, huge plates of chocolate chip pancakes, and I almost paid $3.99 for a cup of ice. The action was probably in the other van; my van was full of adults only and we’re pretty boring, don’t ya know (that said, I did learn the iPod-to-radio hook-up didn’t work so Steve’s choice of smooth jazz lead the youth to don their headphones).

As I say, we’re chillig out for a little while, and hoping Nate (not me, another Nate) stops by tonight with directions on what sort of work projects we’ll take on tomorrow morning. We’ve set up some small groups for work / discussion, and half the group has gone grocery shopping. If I have more to report, I’ll try and blog again tonight.

Speaking of blogging, I’ve been informed that my access to the church library will vary. I may not have access after Tuesday, but tune in just in case. Some staff may be in and out of the church to let me in but with the New Year’s Eve holiday, I can’t say for sure. I also seem to be having trouble with uploading photos but I’ll see what I can do.

Don’t forget to give us a comment so I can pass it along or subscribe to the RSS feed.

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Technorati Tags: mission trip

Write it up and see what happens,

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Technorati Tags: surprise yourself, writing exercise, writing prompt