Thanks to all of our Eastern Lights family who supported our trip in any number of ways: prayer, donations, and love. We had a great week seeing how Christians are addressing the needs of the urban Atlanta area. Our two teams helped out at day camps, retirement communities, soup kitchens, thrift stores, transitional housing, and community centers. Along the way we read and reflected on various passages from Luke and pondered the question: Who is rich and who is poor in God's eyes? We also learned a great song we want to teach the congregation. We'll be leading a worship service on our trip a Sunday this summer and will share with you more of what we learned and experienced.
Once again, thank you for all your support of our trip.
Pastor Thea
PS--And I can say with complete conviction that we had the best youth group at the site!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Today my group went to the Emmus House, its like a summer camp for younger children to help keep them occupied for the day. We went around 9 in the morning, and in order to get there we had a nice little 30 minute walk from the church. There were three groups there in the morning, all from DOOR so there was alot of volunteers. but we each got a small job to do. Our group( Ben, Brandon, Matt, Elisabeth and myself) started out with a group of kids in the art center where we helped them make little paper clown cups and then plant seeds in them. After that me and Elisabeth went with a group of kids to their dance class. They danced to all sorts of different songs from Michael Jackson to Beyonce. We got the eat our lunch with the kids and some of the other groups there helping. After lunch we all went outside and played on the playground, then came free time. The kids got to go see a firetruck and practice how to exit properly if there were a fire. After that a group of girls and I played with playdoh and games for the rest of the time. The Emmus house was so fun becuase we got to interact with all the kids and see how their daily summer routine went. Now we are all back at th church and are headed out for some icecream! Talk to ya later
-Lindsey
-Lindsey
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
wednesday
today our group went to go work at one of the DOOR workers houses. the house was bought by the church and needed a lot of fixing up. we shoveled out the rocks and rubble from the back yard, and removed brush and filled up a dumpster to the brim with crap.
we then went to the Atlanta Braves game at Turner Field at 4:30 to get 1$ tickets in the third deck. i got a Braves shirt and a free bobble-head. during batting practice i missed a homerun catch by inches. just as the game was about to start it began to rain and hail. the game was delayed one hour. once the game began jose reyes lead off with a triple and scored on a ground out. in the 4th angel pagan hit a 2-run homerun over the right field fence. it then began to rain a second time and the game was delayed again. we then gave up and left Turner Field.
it was a pretty fun day overall.
Ben Hopp
we then went to the Atlanta Braves game at Turner Field at 4:30 to get 1$ tickets in the third deck. i got a Braves shirt and a free bobble-head. during batting practice i missed a homerun catch by inches. just as the game was about to start it began to rain and hail. the game was delayed one hour. once the game began jose reyes lead off with a triple and scored on a ground out. in the 4th angel pagan hit a 2-run homerun over the right field fence. it then began to rain a second time and the game was delayed again. we then gave up and left Turner Field.
it was a pretty fun day overall.
Ben Hopp
Hi All,
-Bruce here to add a few things. It is Wednesday night and half our group just returned early from a Braves game. Our "die-hard" baseball fans are still there waiting out a second rain delay. When Atlanta has a storm they "do it right". High winds, cloud to ground lightning, and marble size hail hit us just prior to game time.
Team #3 earned their keep today with their efforts to remove massive amounts of rock and dirt from the yard of Dwell House - a christian community outreach similar to our Peniel House. They had to quit when the dumpster provided for the task became too full to hold even one more rock.
Team #4 served food to about 200 people today at Crossroads soup kitchen. On arrival, we were warmly greeted by Clyde, who has run this ministry since 1987 and loves it. Crossroads is supported (in Clyde's words) 200% by the Episcopalian church it is attached to. On a side note, we were offered a brief tour that included their STUNNING sanctuary with 20 foot tall windows of stained glass depicting all the major events of Jesus' life from birth to ascension.
Both EL teams were done early today, allowing us to explore a nearby urban mall called The Underground. Us leaders also put some miles on our athletic shoes to visit Centennial Park and strategize our Friday afternoon ahead of the return trip home. We are planning a visit to the Aquarium and a tour of the Coca Cola museum.
Personally, I am impressed by Atlanta and its people. This is a beautiful city with a rich history and culture. In turn, they are impressed by some of us, too. The director of Emmaus House mentioned her favorite volunteer group hails from Grand Valley State University.
We are grateful to our Eastern Ave brothers and sisters for supporting our mission experience and look forward to sharing more or our adventures with you soon!
-Bruce here to add a few things. It is Wednesday night and half our group just returned early from a Braves game. Our "die-hard" baseball fans are still there waiting out a second rain delay. When Atlanta has a storm they "do it right". High winds, cloud to ground lightning, and marble size hail hit us just prior to game time.
Team #3 earned their keep today with their efforts to remove massive amounts of rock and dirt from the yard of Dwell House - a christian community outreach similar to our Peniel House. They had to quit when the dumpster provided for the task became too full to hold even one more rock.
Team #4 served food to about 200 people today at Crossroads soup kitchen. On arrival, we were warmly greeted by Clyde, who has run this ministry since 1987 and loves it. Crossroads is supported (in Clyde's words) 200% by the Episcopalian church it is attached to. On a side note, we were offered a brief tour that included their STUNNING sanctuary with 20 foot tall windows of stained glass depicting all the major events of Jesus' life from birth to ascension.
Both EL teams were done early today, allowing us to explore a nearby urban mall called The Underground. Us leaders also put some miles on our athletic shoes to visit Centennial Park and strategize our Friday afternoon ahead of the return trip home. We are planning a visit to the Aquarium and a tour of the Coca Cola museum.
Personally, I am impressed by Atlanta and its people. This is a beautiful city with a rich history and culture. In turn, they are impressed by some of us, too. The director of Emmaus House mentioned her favorite volunteer group hails from Grand Valley State University.
We are grateful to our Eastern Ave brothers and sisters for supporting our mission experience and look forward to sharing more or our adventures with you soon!
Hey y'all it's Kacie, here to give you a brief summary of my week so far. Monday after a hot, sweaty clean up of the mass amounts of garbage found on the streets, we were then given the opportunity to hang out with the kids in the Emmaus House program. Even though they had just gone on a field trip to a place equivalent to Bounce Party, they were full of energy. When I walked in, I was surprised by the tug on my arm to go play candyland with a few girls. Following that I was asked to color flowers and read a couple books. And finally, concluding the day, was a game of musical chairs.
Yesterday was a whole new experience; we drove to an old folks home to give company to those staying the complex. Right as we walked in, we were greeted by a wonderful woman who gave us a better idea of what their home called Calvin Court was all about. We were then lead downstairs to a work out room, and then a couple minutes later joined by the amazing 65-95 year olds who somehow find the energy to work out. A man who worked in this work out room had given me a list of questions to interview someone with, and right away I was greeted by a man willing answer every question I asked about his life, experiences, and faith. When we finished, he asked me to go upstairs to his yoga class to join about 5 other older women. Let me tell you it's harder than I thought. Finishing the day hanging out with a knitting group, proud to show me their work and willing to teach me how to croche (which I struggled with), we decided it was a relaxing and entertaining day.
Today was definitely a powerful day. We went to a soup kitchen to serve those who needed it. When we got there, the man in charge was excited to tell us all about the organization and show us around thier facility. Then we were put to work. I was in charge of passing out the bowls full of soup, which was just one of the many main dishes they recieved, including hotdogs, sandwiches, and more. To see the gratefullness and smiles these people shared with me made my day. Its nice to see the direct impact you can make on peoples lives.
Since today was only a half day of work, we are now off to the Underground and then it's baseball time. Lets go mets!
Yesterday was a whole new experience; we drove to an old folks home to give company to those staying the complex. Right as we walked in, we were greeted by a wonderful woman who gave us a better idea of what their home called Calvin Court was all about. We were then lead downstairs to a work out room, and then a couple minutes later joined by the amazing 65-95 year olds who somehow find the energy to work out. A man who worked in this work out room had given me a list of questions to interview someone with, and right away I was greeted by a man willing answer every question I asked about his life, experiences, and faith. When we finished, he asked me to go upstairs to his yoga class to join about 5 other older women. Let me tell you it's harder than I thought. Finishing the day hanging out with a knitting group, proud to show me their work and willing to teach me how to croche (which I struggled with), we decided it was a relaxing and entertaining day.
Today was definitely a powerful day. We went to a soup kitchen to serve those who needed it. When we got there, the man in charge was excited to tell us all about the organization and show us around thier facility. Then we were put to work. I was in charge of passing out the bowls full of soup, which was just one of the many main dishes they recieved, including hotdogs, sandwiches, and more. To see the gratefullness and smiles these people shared with me made my day. Its nice to see the direct impact you can make on peoples lives.
Since today was only a half day of work, we are now off to the Underground and then it's baseball time. Lets go mets!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Hellow Eastern CRC the atlanta trip has been very rewarding and interesting. Today we went to the MLK natanal landmark and saw his church, his home and were he is burried with his wife. we allso listened to his last serman wile sitting in the pewes of Ebaneser Baptist Church. I do not know about the other youth members but I got a whole new perspective on civil rights. Hope to be home soon Matthew.
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