Day 5 - Hot Sand & Ice Cream!

Day 5:

Miranda and Moriah  (Morianda)

Hey y’all, as our youth leader Stephen would say. Is today day five already? We are having so much fun, and today was just a continuation of that fun. For me, Miranda, the day began with Kids Club, where I planned a bible lesson for eight rambunctious children. One kid in particular, named Brice, really connected with me. He was extremely bright and had an amazing memory! When I was reading a story (from a kid-friendly book about Jesus) he sat next to me and every time I finished a page he offered to carry the book around so everyone listening could see the pictures. Although I am a veteran in childcare on mission trips, including a trip to another Youthworks site, this was unlike anything I had ever experienced. The kids were under a specific disciplinary policy that was focused around love and not punishment, something different to what I’ve been taught. Though I got to our afternoon activity a little late, it was well worth it. For me, Moriah, the day began bright and early with breakfast duty! I had to wake up half an hour earlier than my roomies, but at least I got my chore for the day out of the way (unlike Miranda who cleaned up our breakfast mess). After, we went to my worksite, which today was an organization in Warrensburg called Beautification. We went to four separate sites, where we weeded and mulched until we were drenched in sweat. My favorite part was meeting this woman who was on the board of the organization. She was the most active grandma I have ever met, participating in skiing black diamonds, kayaking, and hiking on a weekly basis. I hope I’m in as great of shape as she is when I get that old! My other fav part of the day was watching a tiny beetle cross the road. He dodged at least five cars along the way, including one massive semi truck. We were all cheering for him! After a long sweaty day in the sun doing God’s work , we all met up at the beach! It was heavenly (get it cause we’re on a mission trip)!! We got to bond with everyone in STAGE and all the other groups here! The sand burned our feet in a wicked volleyball match, but it was easily the most fun we’ve had the entire trip! It was so nice to meet new people and cool off after a long day. The night should finish up with some ice cream and STAGE time, and then we have one more day here at Youthworks! Wish us luck!

~Moriah and Miranda

Day 5 Continued…

Hey guys! Wow I can’t believe we already completed day 5! These days are just flying by, but so much is being accomplished on the way. My group, AKA “Wisdom”, had our first day out of kids club. As much as we loved hanging out with all the kids, we finally had to get down to the dirty work today. Today we ventured off to “Jesus is Lord” campground and helped out there by finishing up some prior projects. We started off with hauling branches and sticks into a huge dump truck. As we were hauling branches through the bug infested forest we still had enough energy to sing songs. I loved singing with all the kids in my group as we worked and it just made the project so much more bearable. As the day went on the projects continued. We kept hauling, but we moved on to pine needles that they could use as mulch. We kept up the hard work and got a lot accomplished to the point where we even got to start more projects helping out. Even though the weather is blazing hot and hard to bear, thankfully our group didn’t get hit too hard with the bug infestation. After a long days work, all groups got a well deserved time at the beach. All groups headed to “Million Dollar Beach” that was located on a shore of Lake George. The water felt so refreshing and it was filled with lots of laughs and a couple sunburns. When it was finally time for dinner we all came back for a Taco Fiesta which as quite the meal. But wait there is more! After dinner, for our evening snack, we got to go the Martha’s for ice cream. They are known for their 300 plus flavors, but only offering 15 a day. The ice cream was the cherry on top of a wonderful day out. As we came back to the church to finally settle in for the night, we ended with CLUB and Youth Group time. These are perfect ways to settle down and reflect on our days. These days should feel so long, but as it’s happening it flies by in the blink of an eye. Oh did I mention I fell into the lake today during my work project? Yeah it was kinda embarrassing… But I need to get ready for bed. Tomorrow is our last full day!  Hard to believe right? YouthWorks really knows how to keep kids busy!

~Nerissa