We left from the church around 8am on Thursday morning, and headed straight for our first job. We hopped in the van and drove to the other side of town where the Lincoln City Mission is located. Here, homeless people and those in need can come, sleep, eat, and live while they find jobs and places to live. Yes, it's a halfway home, but it looked like there were some permanent residents.
We picked up trash around the outside of the buildings for the first 3 hours, even though the kids did not seem to enjoy it. A couple of them complained, and asked why I was the one that got to roll around the trashcan. I told them that this was their mission trip, not mine. They have been participating in a class on Sunday mornings for the past 10 months, and I would've thought that they would understand what they're doing, but I guess not. That sounds pretty negative doesn't it? Yeah, it does... but! this was only 2 of the 6 kids that were complaining, so I guess 66% got it. That's passing... unless you're at Manhattan Christian.
After we picked up trash, we ate lunch at the mission (which later got Holly and I feeling like we just ate the trash we picked up around the buildings). We got a nice tour of the place, then cleaned/disinfected the preschool and kindergarten rooms for daycare there. That didn't take too long, and we headed to our next destination.
We headed over to another branch of the Lincoln City Mission named the Distribution Center. This is the place where people come in, tired and poor, and are offered food and clothes and all sorts of other stuff... for free. All the things here are donated, then sorted (which is what we did), then given away. We sorted boxes full of toiletries and food and plastic bags. It wasn't the most fun, and we didn't really get to help out with the distribution, but we did help out with things that would be pretty boring if it was done every day by the same people. It was a good experience for the kids, for sure. They saw that there are people in this town that need help, and that they could do something to help them.
We came to the cabin around 5pm, and relaxed. The lake there was nice, so we swam, jumping off of the dock that was there. Hot dogs were for dinner. S'mores soon followed. Then it was time for sleep. Holly and I brought our blow-up air mattress, so we didn't sleep on the cold, hard tile floor. Sucks to be them! Bahahaha...
Friday morning, we headed back to the church to do some work there. The kids dusted and cleaned out a few closets while I ran home to watch the USA/Slovenia game. 2-2, and we should've won. Again, jobbed by the refs. Isn't that how it is when your team "should've won"? Anyways, we still have a chance to advance. Win, and we're through. Here's hoping.
I came back up to the church to find the kids playing dodgeball in one of the rooms, so I grabbed a ball, and pegged a kid in the back. I left a nice welt on him. He's ok... but the ball mark looks awesome on his back. We had some pizza up at the church, then went to the Food Bank. Here, we sorted food for a solid 3 hours. We found a can of Campbell's soup that expired in January of 1992. It was nasty, but I can appreciate the pure awesomeness of it. I don't know if the workers at the Food Bank were happy that we were there or not... it seemed like we were only getting in the way, and that they were babysitting. Weird feeling there, but we did get through 2 huge boxes of food. I don't know if that's good productivity or not, but that's what we did. I felt like we were moving quickly. Who knows?
After the Food Bank, we came back to the cabin, swam, ate, watched an amazing storm come through, which created a beautiful sunset. God is awesome. I know that... but he still amazes me with His masterpieces that show themselves in creation. Sleep.
Saturday meant another trip back to the church to drop off things in the van, because we had to be out of the cabin by 8am. We packed up everything, then dropped things off at the church so they wouldn't melt in the van during the day. I decided to stay back to get some things done at the church that I had to finish by Sunday... so that meant that I would miss out on going to a swim park in another town. I worked, the others went and played. When they got back around 7pm, they all looked like lobsters! Everyone had a really bad sunburn! ...especially Holly. This is not good.
Holly literally got sun poisoning. She burnt her legs all the way up to her bikini line, and it looked like she was wearing purple, not red, stockings. This resulted in her being sick for the next 3 days, bed-ridden for 2 of them. She could not move, couldn't keep any food down, and just shook because he body was in shock. It was nuts, and I think she learned her lesson about the power of sunscreen... you have to put it on! I felt terrible for her, but she is better now, and it has turned into a nice tan, believe it or not!
I built a set while everyone else was swimming, and I was up at the church til around 11pm. I built a barn, got some other decorations and such, and things look alright. I like the set, but I could've done better with better resources and some money, but I made it work! :) That's just how I think... bigger and better... but if I can't, I try my best to make it look the best with what I have.
Sunday was a typical Sunday, with a change in curriculum, and things looked good. I got a few compliments on the set, as well as some complaints with the fact that there was rope on the stage. Oh no!! Not ROPE! ...they think that a kid could get their neck in it, and accidentally die. I'm seriously doubting it, since I've repeated made it clear to the kids that the stage is off-limits. The rope is decoration... it's not like I'm setting it out there to tempt the kids! Crazy parents. (Side note: as of now, 7/27, no children have deceased as a result of the rope.)
Nap time, because we need it. Holly was still sick and couldn't move, so I played murse and mursed her back to health. Yeah, I meant "murse"... a male nurse. Scrubs.
Next up is Kid's Live Kamp... GamePlan style. Todd and I got the script and music all set up, so we'll see how it goes. It should be fun, I just hope I have enough energy to finish this 3-week-long marathon of camps. Til tomorrow, adios.
clint
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