HS Mission Trip Day 3 - LOVE

Today was another great day up here in Camden.  Tonight’s post is probably going to be a little shorter because we are all exhausted form the work that we are putting in each day.  There are so many projects that need to get done and Ernie and Linda’s house that we didn’t end up leaving their house this evening until about 5:30.  During the extra time that we spent there nobody complained or asked once how come we haven’t left yet until I joked with them that since we work a little late that we weren’t going to be able to get back to the high school to shower.  Other days missing the shower might not have been a problem but since today we ended up tearing down two sections of the kitchen ceiling (something that was not on our to do list but then somebody’s foot went through the roof again… so what’s another project).  Ernie and Linda we actually thankful that it happened because that section of the roof so bad and had been leaking for so long that the sections of ceiling that we took out really needed to be replaced anyway. 

This week the students have been reading through the book of 1 John during their devotion time in the morning and then we have been discussing the passages of scripture at night before bed.  It is great to see everyone working so hard during the day, I enjoy cooking dinner with the students, I have laughed so hard countless of time, but I love the time that we get to spend in the evening and dive into the Scriptures and be in dialogue with the students about how God is working in their lives and what He might be asking them to do when we come home from this mission trip.  My prayer for these students is that they will come home with a new understanding of God’s love and how that love is going to transfer to how they are going to love other people. 

Before I log off and get some sleep I want to share with you a passage from 1 John that we talked about tonight and I ask that you would spend some and meditate on the passage and ask God how he might be asking you to show love towards others.


This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

1 John 3:19-24

PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT!!

HS Mission Trip Day 2 - LOVE

Another great day at the work site today!  We were blessed to have no rain and that is very helpful when you are trying to put on a new roof.  As you will see from some of the pictures this roof is bad shape but hopefully by the end of the day tomorrow there will be a new roof on the entire house.  On Sunday night Curt and I had the opportunity to look through some projects that Cluster 13 has for the summer and since this is the first week they are in operation this summer none of the projects had been started.  As we were looking through them Ernie and Linda’s house was not on the top of our list for a couple of reasons but on Monday morning when Tom (the head construction guy for Cluster 13) showed up he told us that he thought that we should take a look at this house and so here we are.  There are a number of projects that need to be done on this house but one of the best things that has happened is that our students have had the opportunity to get to know Ernie and Linda and engage in some meaningful conversation with them and that is what this week is all about and I am so thankful that God had this all planned out for us before we even got to Camden and God didn’t let Curt and I mess up his plans as we were looking through the list of projects; GOD IS GOOD!

I know that we will come home with more stories about Ernie and Linda but the some of the students wanted to share some of their experiences with you so that you could get to know them as well.

We often presume that those who are less fortunate are not as content or jovial; nevertheless, this is simply not true. Ernie and Linda DelaRoche exemplify generosity, kindness, and love, and it is a pleasure to dedicate our work to their wellbeing.  It is even harder to imagine that they will have to choose between medical care, food, and heating- items that the more fortunate often take for granted.    To persevere through these hardships is truly valiant, and we are grateful to be serving such people in God’s name. 

Ernie and Linda are always happy to hold a conversation with anyone willing. Today, I talked with Linda and we ended up discussing our previous night’s sleep. We both had good nights of sleep; however, the more enjoyable part was seeing how happy she was to hold a discussion on a matter as simple as sleep. Later in the day, Ernie asked my permission to climb the ladder and watch the action taking place on the roof. He told me how he is probably too old and is afraid of heights, but he was itching to watch and help in any way possible.

Through working at Ernie and Linda’s house today I realized that people who don’t have a lot are often very generous. Linda is so grateful for us fixing her house and she wants to give something in return but the only she can offer up is coffee. Even though that was all, we saw how much she cared and it meant a lot that all the hard work we were doing for them was appreciated and recognized. A little act of kindness goes a long way. Ernie always wanted to help, for instance when we needed nails he immediately went and found just the right ones. Ernie and Linda both show their thanks and it makes the work much easier to do. 

Please leave comments because i will pass your messages on to the students!

HS Mission Trip Day 1 - LOVE

Hello Everyone!  Sorry that it took us longer then we had planned to get our first post up, but we got up to Camden safely had a first great day!  Some of students wanted to share their thoughts with you about the first day.  The best news that we got today (Monday) is that we are all going to be able to be at the same house because there are so many projects that need to be completed this week!  Put that also means the home owners Ernie and Linda could really use all of prayers not just for the condition of their home but their health and other life challenges they are facing.  It has been a blessing to have the opportunity to be in conversation with them and we believe they are excited to have us there to talk with them and all of the construction that we are going to get completed is going to be a bonus!  Thank you for all of your prayers and support.  I will now pass it on to the students.

*Disclaimer -  Despite what you are about to read no students were harmed in the making of our first work day! 

Today was an interesting day in the life of the Camden Mission trip. Through rain, abrasions, lacerations, and a few contusions, we showed the kind of grit and determination that scrappy gym rats could provide to perform this kind of manual labor. The roof was an interesting task: legs dangling through the ceiling, blood spewing from the knuckles of one the greatest crew members ever associated with Grace Presbyterian (no stiches need just a small Band-Aid and Neosporin ), and nails flinging through the air in a beautiful and sweaty motion. But it wasn’t this intense all day. After a grueling wake-up song, arky-arky, a.k.a Rise and Shine, sung by Curt, we hit the streets en route to the work site. We met the five cute kittens, along with Scout and the other dog. We got to work knocking down a wall inside, stripping the skirting off the side of the house, and pulling nails and tin roofing off of the roof. It all seemed to be going smoothly. But then, disaster struck. Aidan, in his first trip to the roof, was elated! He even got out a nail in his first try! Excitement quickly turned into tears (from laughter) as his leg fell through the roof like a thin sheet of ice. But Aidan chalked the abrasion, patching up and getting right back to work. And then the next thing you know, it’s raining cats and dogs. We took a break to play ninja in the rain, and eventually got back to work. And then the next thing you know blood is spewing left and right. We had to cut new tin roofing which left some sharp edges resulting in deep lacerations to the thumb for Calvin and to the hand for Liam, adding two more to the injured reserve – but they are now day-to-day game-time decisions for the rest of the week.

-Liam “the laceration” Mulvaney

Enter Calvin, Ned, Mary, Aidan and Curt.

The day was warm as the sunshine flooded through the tall green trees. All the others were on the roof or on the single wide interior.

What shall we do Curt the siding has been removed but the foul insulation material still remains? exclaimed Mary

Now that thou hast excavated the siding thou must banish the insulation material to the black bag of the void this is the wisdom I bestow onto thee answered Curt.

Ah, thou hast shown us the light

Exit Curt.

Then me and Ned and Aidan and Mary tore out the siding and the insulation and it was gross. Then we helped with other stuff. Ned and Aidan did most of it.

We then had pulled pork for dinner and played ladder ball and Frisbee games or whatever and climbed a tree yeah. So now were writing this blog.

-Calvin Stonecarver

Pictures

Today was our last day at Herald O. and I actually remember to take pictures. Before I post the pictures I just want to remind you to ask your kids about their experience at Herald O. because all of the kids touched our hearts this week. We hope to stay connected through out the school year with herald o because they have an after school program ever day from 3-6. And our students are really excited about staying connected with kids at H.O.D.



































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Location:Philly

The fifth day

Yesterday was an incredible day serving in Philadelphia. Once again our day started out at herald o. spending time with the kids, singing songs, laughing, and having them hang all over us in the pool! And yes another day went by that I forgot to take a picture but that is what today is for.

After herald o. we went to a place called Inglis House. Inglis house is a community for people living in wheel chairs. It was an awesome opportunity for our students to meet new people and for them to break down stereotypes that they previously had. We all meet people who made us laugh, this one lady, Melissa loved to tell this one joke and here it is, "what did the chicken and the hen say? Cluck cluck coo coo happy halloween." yes it makes no sense but that is why it is so funny. We also happy the opportunity to help a number of the residents practice for their keen games (there version of the special Olympics) which was a lot of fun. I could go on for a long time about all of the people that we meet but you will just have to ask us more about them when get home.

Our day wasn't over yet because last night we got to make some bag lunches and go down to Logan Square and pass them out to the homeless. There is no way that we would have been able to pass out dinner to everyone there but that was not the purpose of last night. We were just using the lunches as a mean to start a conversation with the homeless. We split up into two groups with six lunches each and it took us almost 2 hours to pass them out because of the awesome conversations that we got to have to the people we meet. This was another incredible experience where stereotypes were broken down for our students.

I could go on but I have to go down stairs and make my lunch before we head out for our last day serving this week. I don't think today is going to be easy for our students to say goodby to the kids at herald o so you can be praying for that. Thanks for all your prayers and we will see you tomorrow morning.


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Location:Philly

Day 4

Well the third time wasn't a charm because I still forgot to take pictures at Herald O. but hey we are still there for two more days so instill have time. Yesterday (yes I said yesterday because I was to tired last night to stay up and type the blog post so right now it is Thursday morning) after the morning devotions and lots of singing with all the kids we got to go swimming at a community pool. Since the vast majority of the campers can not swim we were all pretty tired after the hour and half of carrying kids around in the water but it was such a blast. It is s good thing that we had so much fun because we are doing it again today!

After Herald O. We went to the 3300 block of 9th street to meet up with founder and president of Ray of Hope, Ray. I have worked with ray in past years so I knew that we were going to be working hard yesterday afternoon. Ray of Hope does a variety of projects and yesterday we were helping beautify a city block that had just become littered in trash and weeds over the years. Our students work their butts off for almost 4 yours picking up almost every kind of trash that you can think of. Just as we were packing up the van when we were finished I heard someone say "I am never going to litter again!". Here are some before, during and after pictures of our work day.







































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Location:Philly

Day 3 in the city of brotherly love

Today was another great day. I have to apologize because I totally forgot to take some pictures at Herald O. They say the third time is a charm so we will see if that comes true tomorrow. It is amazing how much our students have have connected with the kids at the camp at Herald O. and it is such a blessing for me to take a step back every once and awhile and seeing our students help a child work on their craft, tie their shoe, play basketball, take them to the bathroom, it doesn't matter what the task is they are right there to help the kids out. Tomorrow we get to go swimming with the kids at a community pool, as long a we don't get another crazy rain storm like we had today.

This afternoon we went and volunteered at City Team Ministries in Chester. City Team provides a number of different services to the community and the homeless but the project that we were helping out with was their back to school project they have. Every year they hand out over 2,000 book bags filled with school supplies to kids who other wise would not have any supplies for the new school year. We had they opportunity to play a small part in this great ministry by sorting though donations they have received and taking innovatory on everything that we sorted which included and counting over a thousand pencils. Here are some pictures of our time at City Team.

















Our CSM host, Nora, shared with us a quote by Mother Teresa and I thought the quote really connected with not only the work that we were doing today at City Team but everything that we are doing this week. Mother Teresa once said, "it's not how much you do...but how much love you put in that action. We were just played a tiny part in the work that the city team ministry is doing for the kids in the community but our students really put a lot of love into the work they did.

We headed to south street for dinner and at at Jim's steaks for dinner even though I tried multiple times to get our host to take us to Pats for cheese steaks because they are the best at Pats! But trust me I am not going to pass up a cheese steak and everyone else was excited about getting a real Philly cheese steak too. After dinner I thought I would take everyone out for ice cream so we walked down south street in the rain to the dairy queen that I ate at last year to find out that it was closed, not just the day but closed for good. So we walked back to this frozen yogurt place we saw and it turned out to be a create your own dessert and boy was it DELICIOUS! The only problem is that you pay by the ounce so by the time everyone was done we had over 5 pounds of frozen yogurt and toppings but it was worthy every penny!

So that was our day in a nutshell. Thank you for all of your prayers and you should be proud of your kids because they have been such a blessing to be serving with and have done everything and more that has been asked of them to do!



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Location:Philly