MIssion Trip: We're Back!

We're back, Third Son and I, from the mission trip. It was terrific, and we both really enjoyed it.

We left early(ish) Sunday morning. St. Paul and I had told the kids and their families to meet us at the church at 7:30, so we could be on the road no later than 8:00. Of course, we ended up not showing up at the church until 7:55, but hey, everyone else was there and ready to go. A quick stop in the church, where we interrupted the (usually) quiet and staid 8:00 service to get a blessing, and we were on our way.

When we got to North Carolina 8 or so hours later, we met the other groups attending that week - anther small group (from Michigan) and a huge group from Minnesota. To my relief, we all seemed to fall in a comfortable spot on the religious spectrum, and the kids from Michigan and Minnesota were delightful. Our kids were a little stand-offish for oh, maybe 6 minutes 30 seconds, and then they dove in, getting to know everyone, and learning to speak Minnesotan.

In the course of 4 working days, we made new friends, painted a church (my crew) and a house (St. Paul's crew, who also experienced "Southern hospitality" from their homeowners, including a "frahhed" chicken lunch wiht "paah" for dessert), played with some of the cutest kids ever in Kids Club, thought a lot about poverty in the US, cheated at Uno with the developmentally disabled clients of Mattamuskeet Opportunities, pondered what the world would be like if we really tried to live like Jesus, washed a lot of dishes, scratched a lot of mosquito bites, ate a lot more than we usually would, went crabbing, canoeing, and to a Wednesday night service at a local Baptist Church (which our Episcopalian kids LOVED!) and got to know ourselves a whole lot better. Plus, my cell phone and Blackberry had no service, so I got to really get away from work. The weather was hot, but with a cooling breeze all week.

On Thursday night, we had a community cook-out, to which all the people we had served during the week were invited. Seeing some of the folks, whom I had thought we wouldn't have a chance to see again, was like a little glimpse of some people's vision of heaven -- the banquet table where we will meet all our friends and loved ones and party for a few centuries. The cookout was only about an hour and half though, not even one century. After the cook-out, we had a foot-washing service -- as a demonstration of "servant-leadership" the Youthworks staff washed the feet of the adult leaders of each church group, and then we washed the feet of our kids, who were awed by the experience.

On Friday, we went to Nags Head to go kayaking. The kids sang all the way -- all the songs they had learned during the week. We visited Kitty Hawk and then made our way to the kayak store. Our appointment for our expedition was at 2 pm -- at 2:01, it started to rain and thunder --and it rained solidly until 9 pm! No worries though, the church we were staying in, St Andrews by the Sea, has a beautiful youth room with (thank goodness) a TV and DVD player, as well as an air hockey table and a foosball table. So we had a hilarious dinner out together, rented a movie, and relaxed for our last night together.

So now we're home. Thanks to everyone who kept us in your prayers (or thoughts).