Week Nine

*I finally got to internet again!!

Sunday

11-1 Church
2-5 Prepare for Groups
5-7 Prepare Dinner/ Mingle with groups
7-8 Leader Orientation
8:30-9:30 Prepare Club/Participate
9:30 Staff Meeting
10:30-11:30 Hang out with Youth/ get them to bed

Monday

7:30-8 Devotional Time w/ Students
9-3:30 Work Projects
4-6 Prepare for Hike (prepare water coolers, make snack, organize First Aid kits…)
7-9 Lead Hike/ Lead with Club (night service- lead worship, speak, coordinate)
10-10:30 Staff Meeting
10:30-11:30- Spend time with students/ get them to bed

Tuesday

9:30-11:30- Lead students to museum
12:00-3:30- Help with Kids Club
3:30-5:30 Give out snack/ take students to Wounded Knee/ speak
5:30-6:30 Hang out with Students (playing games, mixers, talking)
8:30-9:15- Lead Club
9:15-9:45- Staff Meeting
9:45-11:30 Hang out with Students

Wednesday

9:00-3:30 Inventory Work/ Random Site work (cleaning refrigerators and such)
4-6:30 Dinner Prep/ Make/ Clean-up
6:30-8:30 Coordinate Evening Activity/ Make/ Give out Snack
8:30-9:15 Lead Club
9:15-9:45-Staff Meeting

9:45-11:30 Hang out w/ Students

Thursday
9-3:30 Host Museum Tour/ Kids Club/ phone calls
3:30-6:30 Hang out with students
6:30-7:30 Dinner Prep/ Make/ Clean-up
8:30-9:15 Lead Footwashing Service
9:15-9:45 Staff Meeting
9:45-12:30 Hang out with students
12:30-1:30am- Inventory

Friday
7-8 Lead Clean-Up crews/ Fax papers
8-9 Youth Enterprise work (selling T-Shirts)
9-10 Set up B-fast/ Lead send off prayer and final words
(NAP!!!! ☺)
12-11:30
- SHOPPING TRIP (drive to Rapid City/shop at Sam’s/shop at Wal-Mart/pack it all in/ drive back/ put away and organize $1,100 worth of food/merchandise)

Total: 70 hours
(Running Total: 560 hours)

Personal Reflection

With the many blessings of the last group, came many frustrations with this group. I’d just like to say that I don’t have anything against suburban Chicago kids, in fact, some of my good friends are from suburban Chicago. Some of our best groups have been from there. But if I heard one more complaint about how their maid should be here doing the painting or making their dinner, I think I may have just self-combusted. Two things that have been hard for me to grasp this summer are blatant disrespect and not knowing how to do basic jobs. This week I would tell students to do things and they would get in my face and just say “No.” then walk away. Many of them had no idea how to sweep, mop, wash a dish, tear lettuce, cut a tomato, stir pasta, clean a toilet…the list goes on and on. Am I alone in that my mom actually made me do things around the house?
Also, people tend to forget this is a mission trip, and honestly they are here for four days…what’s four days anyway? It’s not even a week and hardly enough time to really get uncomfortable. Our adult leaders were outrageous in their evaluations. We had a whole church group, the only ALs to complain about this, write their entire thing about how we should feel ashamed that we made them eat meals with paint and grime on them because they felt like they were being treated like dirt. They got to shower every day, but as we don’t allow them to shower with students for liability reasons they shower at night or in the morning. One actually wrote “SHAME ON YOU!!” Does it make me angry? Kind of. Does it make me sad. Mostly. Where along the line did the church begin this lie that it’s all about the warm fuzzies and making everyone comfortable? I know it didn’t start with Jesus. He was loving and blunt. I never recall him sitting with a group of people just to feed them some compliments and arrange their comfort. He gave them what they needed, first that came as his wisdom through words and second it came in his life on a cross. In light of that need fulfilled, who are we to whine about not getting a shower at the time of day that we want it?
So there’s the frustration of the week. But I realize that many of these kids, while they have money, probably have a lack of love. If mom and dad are making the money, who’s showing them love? So my job was to show them that iPods and Italian cruises aren’t the kind of love Jesus was talking about. He meant a love that was genuine and could break down walls of hurt. What an amazing opportunity it was to show that kind of love this week.

Spiritual Reflection

I want to be genuine. In this job it’s so easy to fall into just doing the things I know need to be done and not just loving people. I don’t want to love others because I’m getting paid for it. It’s a strong fear of mine as a I head into vocational ministry. I want to love others because the love of God is so strong a force in me I cannot help but do anything else. I want to be like Christ throughout all of my lifestyle. I yearn for it.