Y.G.O.T.P.C.O.B.M.T.T.D.M.

14:02 CDT June 23, 2008

Our four vans safely pulled into the church lot shortly after 4:30 on Sunday with no incidents other than frayed nerves from the Chicago traffic.  The trip went well, thanks to your prayers, and now it's time for us to prepare to share our journey with you.  One more reminder : July 27th at 9am.  See you then!

Y.G.O.T.P.C.O.B.M.T.T.D.M.

00:08 EDT June 22, 2008

Today, our day off, we got an extra hour of sleep, which was needed after our week of hard work. We rewarded ourselves with a fun filled trip to the past at Greenfield Village, which was a reenactment park covering much of American history. Greenfield was started by Henry Ford, and the Ford Museum is also part of this complex, though we didn't have time to visit. We split into two groups to see the various sites. Our two groups met up at a parade through the village, and followed two baseball teams to a field for a game between the Lah-de-Dah's and the Regulars – part of a genuine historical baseball league.

On the way to dinner, we took a drive through the Heidelberg Project, which was a blighted neighborhood of abandoned and condemned homes which were decorated to make statements of the urban condition of the area. They were very expressive of the artist's thoughts on society, and very moving for us as we viewed them.

To end the day, we enjoyed some classic Coney Island food, and Cold Stone ice cream. When we returned to the church, we talked about week, what we learned, and how we would relate these lessons to our everyday lives. We talked about preparing for departure tomorrow and how to say thank you for the awesome hospitality we experienced here at the Grosse Pointe Memorial Church. After our trip, we will go over all that we did, and create a Worship Service with all these stories and more, in detail. Please come and join us at the 9am worship service on July 27th.

Y.G.O.T.P.C.O.B.M.T.T.D.M.

9:10 am EDT June 21, 2008

Today, when we woke up, we realized it was our last day of work. We went through our now comfortable routine for the last time, facing our final tasks for the mission trip.

The VBS crew had a great day at the Second Mile Center. This was our biggest day on many levels. We had our largest turnout, as well as many activities both old and new. This day was the same in that we told stories and had prayer time, focusing on the Lord's Prayer and lessons centered around Zaire, Africa. We played games such as the parachute which the kids loved so much earlier in the week. Yesterday, we picked out some craft materials so the kids could make musical instruments. Today, the kids made and decorated their own drums, rattles, horns, and guitars, followed by a brief but intense jam session! Some of the other new experiences today were centered around food! We were treated to a good, home cooked meal by one of the parents. She brought home made macaroni & cheese, collard greens, fried chicken wings, and corn bread. We provided a pizza lunch for the kids as a going away party. Some of the older girls who attended also planned an ice cream social for the end of our day, which was a great end to an awesome week! 

Our Work Crew finished out the week by painting bathrooms at a Presbyterian retirement community. We didn't think much of painting bathrooms while we were doing the work, but found out how the work was appreciated when several came over and wanted to say a prayer for the work we did. We also helped in weeding the front lawn of the community where we were given guidance by Edwin, assistant pastor at Park United Presbyterian Church, who was present at most of our work sites during the week. 

Our dinner work crew went 'easy' and bought food instead of cooking it. The meal was Lebanese, however, which reflected both the biblical culture in the food of the Middle East, as well as the passion of Ruth from the Second Mile Center, who is Lebanese. When we gathered as a group again at the end of the day, we had our devotion on James 4, and many of us really enjoyed talking about the lessons of the Bible in the context of our work day. Tomorrow's day off is already well anticipated, and we are looking forward to sharing more of the Detroit culture and activities in tomorrow's blog.