Do trips like this really change people?

I set out on this trip to take a break from my everyday life. I was hopeful that I’d be able to help someone along the way and probably more hopeful that a large group of middle school students wouldn’t make me sorry for signing up. Along with all of that hope, I brought my own prejudices too.

What kind of person becomes homeless? What kind of food is good enough for a homeless person? Why would someone choose to live like that? I had answers before I ever experienced the situation first hand.

My first assignment was at a soup kitchen on the edge of downtown Kansas City. Within one day, all of my prejudices were challenged. The staff did not cook meals for the homeless. They cooked meals for their guests. The quality of the meals reflected that attitude. Every meal was homemade, fresh, and well-balanced even though they had to creatively create menus from whatever food donations they received.

Part of the assignment was to eat lunch with the guests. There I met Daryl, a former mortgage banker from Minneapolis. His brother had been killed in the 9/11 attacks and he never recovered from the loss. He moved to Kansas City for an undisclosed reason and when the economy fell apart, so did he. He told me about living on the street and the dangers that go along with it. He hoped he could return to working someday but didn’t know how to make that happen. His life was not absent of hope even though it seemed to be absent of a plan to move forward.

I heard other stories too. No story was the same as the next and none of the people chose to be in this situation. I learned that homelessness did not discriminate based on age, color, or gender and that I should be thankful for all of the things I take for granted every day.

In the end, I returned with a new perspective on the homeless and some new ideas on how I might make a difference for other people. I left many of my prejudices behind and returned with a new kind of hope for all people instead of hope for just myself. -- Alison C.

Logistics, logistics, logistics

There's something about a big group that makes everything ... bigger. Our kids got lots of experience with 'bulk' this week -- be it cooking dinner for our group of 76, or making lunch for 400 at the soup kitchen, or sorting thousands of loaves of bread (and 3000 bottles of pop) at the food shelf, or eating our way through 32 boxes of pizza after visiting the Negro League and American Jazz Museums.

Anna S. fills lots and lots of water jugs for our work crews.

Alison C. scrambles up eggs for a crowd.

The pizza line wrapped around the Jazz Museum pavilion.

Even our line of vans took up the whole block!

What a Difference a Week Makes

Walking into this experience I had NO idea what to expect. All I knew was that I was going to be serving people. Well turns out that all the “people” that I've been serving aren’t just people, they are way more then that. One of the places we went was Upper Room, where we helped kids learn to read. I’m pretty sure that I’ie learned more from those kids then I have from any adult. Next site was Clara Manor, a care facility like a nursing home, but for younger people. There was this man named Mikey. He had a mental disability, but never did he once complain. He was always happy and smiling at the fact that he’s alive and breathing. After visiting these sites I realized that I’m going home tomorrow to a nice warm bed and my own shower when half the world doesn’t have any of that. This has inspired me to get out there and help. I may be one little drop in a bucket but that one drop sure can go a far way. – Myesha C.

The last day of my 2011 YouthWorks experience was the perfect way to end the week of service. Along with my crew, I went to three places. One of them including a work site that was called Upper Room. Upper Room was a great organization that helped kids with their reading skills. I went to a site called Operation Breakthrough on Monday and Tuesday. Some of the activities that we did there included shelving library books, and folding flyers for potential volunteers. And finally on Wednesday and Thursday in the afternoon I went to a nursing home that had a variety of people. One of the best moments overall was when I was at Upper Room, reading with a kid named Joshua. Before I got there he had already started reading a book; he took the quiz on the book and didn’t do so well. Once I started reading with him his scores continued to improve and you could see how much a little one-on-one time can do, and how much of a difference it can make. Overall this week has been a great experience, and I enjoyed getting to know the people from the other church and the people from our church better. – Katy L.

Scenes from our Ministry Sites

One of our crews has been creating a community garden this week. Lots of weeding, raking, composting and (most of all) sweating:

Andrew C. and Mitchell M.

Marissa B., Raelynn O., and Julia Y.

Another crew helped stock an emergency needs pantry ... specifically, the diaper section. Lots and lots and lots of diapers ...

Myesha C. and Abby S.

A few groups have been working at tutoring sites helping kids with their reading skills and assisting on a field trip to the nature center.

Meredith G.

Steph R. and Katelin S.

Different

This year's YouthWorks! theme is be different. It's based on Luke 6:27-28: "but to those who are listening, I say: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you and pray for those who hurt you." Today in devotions, we spent time reflecting on how we would react differently -- with more patience, compassion, boldness or love -- when put in difficult situations at our ministry sites. There is a significant homeless population in Kansas City. At some of the intersections near our church it's not uncommon to see someone begging at every corner. But instead of looking (or driving) the other way, this morning one of our crews decided to react differently by bringing along the leftover packages of muffins and bottles of juice from our Sunday morning breakfast so we could hand them out on the way to the worksite. It took us several trips (and a few u-turns) around the boulevard to reach everyone. The kids felt great about giving a (reasonably) healthy meal out to someone in need ... and then were sobered by the thought that it might be that person's only meal of the day or the rest of the week. Being different isn't easy ... but it is being faithful.

When we say it's hot out ...

...we mean it. This was taken this afternoon on the way home from the pool (and yes, we are making sure everyone is drinking plenty of water!)

Notes for our moms

Hey Mom! I’m having a great time down in Kansas City! For the past two days my group has gone to a place called Niles’ Home for Children and worked out in the huge garden in like 100+ degree weather. I’ve been mixing compost, which consists of coffee grounds and dead leaves. We finally finished today. In the afternoon we went to Clara Manor, which is a place for older people and refugees. We met this older couple, Nova and Grover. They taught us how to play Farkle! It is so much fun! Tomorrow and Thursday we’re going to a place called Operation Breakthough. I wonder what it’s going to be like. I can’t wait to get home! -- Raelynn O.

Kansas City has been a blast! Although it has been very hot and today was 108. At Clara Manor, which is a facility for elders and refugees I met Nova and Grover. They are an old couple and they are adorable! Grover and Nova taught us to play Farkle and whenever it was Nova’s turn Grover would always be like “Your turn old lady” and it was so funny. I also met Mikey, a disabled man who was so sweet. Tomorrow we’re going back to Niles like we have the past few days to work in the heat in the garden then we go to Operation Breakthrough and we’ll see how that goes! -- Marissa B.

It has been a really fun…. Just very tired from sleeping right by the exit sign that lights up … VERY BRIGHT! Other wise we worked in the garden and met the sweetest couple at a nursing home. Their names were Nova and Grover; they were like grandparents to me and were so sweet and nice, and they taught us how to play Farkle! I am very glad to be here, but I am ready to come home. Love you Mom <3 -- Julia Y.

Jesus said, "You give them something to eat."

One of our crews spent the day at a local soup kitchen. They prepared lunch (which really was more like breakfast) for close to 350 people: scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, cinnamon rolls. Then they took turns sitting at the tables and eating with the guests. For some in the group, that was harder than hours on their feet preparing the meal. In both instances, though, they learned some great life skills: how to wield a chopping knife, and how to share God's welcome.

Sam P. and Emily T. learned the secret to chopping onions without tears (apparently spending time in the walk-in freezer really helps).

Kyle, Tyler and Andrew S. are ready for Top Chef.

First Impressions

My first impression of Kansas City was that it is a town just like ours (Rochester), but when we went on a faith walk after lunch my opinion was changed. It was run down and almost every single house was boarded up or abandoned with “For Sale” spray painted on the side of the house. I was shocked because I had never really seen something like that. Then after supper we went to “The Plaza,” which was very high-end, and again my opinion was changed. It was basically a different world. Eventually I just settled on Kansas City being a very unique diverse community with many wonderful people in it. -- Ella N.

My first impression of Kansas City was… WOW! It was amazing people said it was like Rome with the fountains but it was so much how I would’ve imagined it. I was excited to start working. When I got to our ministry site we unloaded about 1000 bottles of pop!!!! I’m so excited to keep working and learning more about the amazing city of Kansas City. -- Sydney L.

First impressions… Well, my first impressions of my work site at Metro Missionary were pretty good, considering my pre-first impressions. My pre-first impressions were not good, seeing as we were driving through what we consider to be a “poor” section of town, putting it lightly. But when we got there, my feelings went WAY up as we entered the teaching area. The students were willing to work with the helpers, and even though it may have gotten repetitive, it was enjoyable teaching the kids. Now, what will tomorrow bring? -- Bennett R.

My first impression of Upper Room (which is an organization that helps kids who have poor reading skills) was that these kids wouldn’t be able to read at all because I was told that we might have to go back to the alphabet and sound out the letters. But I was paired up with a 3^rd grader named Jahbardi. I was surprised that he was very fluent in his reading learned new words very quickly. The second place we went to was Operation Breakthrough. This organization is like a day care for kids whose families can not afford child care. Many of the children have gone through traumatic situations and live in very poor conditions. So we spent our afternoon shelving books in their library. It has really opened my eyes that something as simple as a book is such a big privilege to have. In the world we live in we always need the newer better thing but all these kids want is a book. -- Andrew P.

Loaves, Fish and Prayer

This morning for devotions we read Matthew 14:13-21, the feeding of the 5000. Then we split into groups and asked the kids What does this have to do with a mission trip? Here are some of their answers:

"We're not sending away people to get help ... God is sending us to help them." -- Ella N.

"God gives us what we have, even when it seems we don't have a lot." -- Julia Y.

"We're here to help people in need." -- Trajan G.

"We're seeing God and God's people in many different ways." -- Katie N.

"Jesus went out of his way to help, even when he had other things going on." -- Jacob G.

"It's like we're the loaves and fishes, and God is using us to make a difference." -- Ben J.

After a great (and hot) day at the amusement park, we arrived at Immanuel Lutheran Church, our home for the next week. We met the YouthWorks! staff and the people from First Baptist Church in Cambridge, Minn., with whom we'll be serving. We'll get to know them better when we split into our work crews tomorrow.

The most powerful moment of the day for me came during our closing church-group devotions. We prayed for one another, going around the circle and lifting up by name the person to our right. "God, I pray that Andrew will share his faith with someone tomorrow." "Lord, help Katy be your hands when we are at the worksite." "Give Allison energy and patience as she serves." Hearing every person in our group ask God to bless someone else as they serving, give them courage or help them show Jesus' love was humbling and inspiring. Whatever we do this week, it will be bathed in prayer (especially if you, dear reader, are praying for us)!

Hello, Kansas City!

We're here to serve! (or at least get back into the air conditioned van)

We're here and ready to serve ... but that's not on the schedule until Monday. Today was lots of driving. We had a picnic dinner in a park in Liberty, Missouri, before settling in for the night at St. James Lutheran Church in Kansas City. A vigorous game of Bible Pictionary was just the ticket before bed. Tomorrow morning: Gospel worship at St. James, then watch out, Worlds of Fun amusement park, here we come!

Ella N., Naomi T., Abby S., Katelin S., and Stephanie R. enjoy dinner (and listen to the Missouri cicadas, which are EXTREMELY loud this year).

Meredith G. and Katy L.

Kip K., Andrew P., Garrett L., and Trajan G. work their Bible Pictionary creative juices.

Bennett R. seeks help from above for his Bible Pictionary team (Raelynn O., Mitchell M., and Julia Y.)

Countdown: 72 Hours

84 hands.

That's what we'll be bringing to Kansas City, Missouri when we load up 4 big vans on Saturday.

We're going to use our hands to teach, to wave, to pray, to wash, to feed, to cheer, to serve.

Actually, that's what God's going to do with our hands...that, and so much more.

We can't wait!

(P.S. For a taste of what else Zumbro youth are up to, check out blogs from our High School mission trips: Robin's Nest Children's Home in Jamaica and the Midwest Hunger Tour.)