Mission trip 2011: The play

I already shared a bit about the work involved in the YouthWorks mission trip I recently participated in, along with nine First Lutheran youth and their pastor. But, as I said, no mission trip is all work. We had some fun too...and the work and fun tended to blend to a significant degree.


We made a Starbucks run a couple different times. This trip involved a whipped cream beard. Another involved a Lego tower.




We hung out on the shores of Lake Michigan, and some of the students were brave (or crazy) enough to venture into the very cold water. The rest of us lounged or played on the beach in our sweatshirts.




Three of our boys warming up the crowd for evening praise and worship. Apparently they found some very large, very stretchy pants.




And here are two of those same boys, called upon by one of the leaders to express their love for their dear pastor. One had to tell Pastor Luther how much he loved him, while the other had to show him how much he loved him (hence the shoulder rub happening here). It was a lesson about words and actions, of course.



But worship wasn't all silliness, of course. By mid-week, the kids (and the adults, on occasion) were moving with the music.




Unity Lutheran Church was our gracious host for the week. Here's the chancel of their beautiful sanctuary. I love the stained glass, along with the woodwork and rich fabric on the reredos.




And here's our whole group just before our departure from Milwaukee, on the steps of Unity Lutheran.




We undertook our voyage in a 15-passenger van, with 11 passengers and a bunch of stuff. It looked okay at the beginning of the trip, but here it is midway through the return trip. We stopped at the Kalahari in Wisconsin Dells to let the kids play at the water park (sadly, the $34 day pass was too steep for everybody, so we didn't stay). But they rummaged through their stuff looking for their swimsuits, so the van ended up a bit of a disaster, with stuff on all the seats as well as under and around all the seats.




It was a great experience for the kids, and they've been keeping in close contact with some of the new friends they made.