June 19-24, 2016

June 19-24, 2016

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

The Mystery Mission Trip is in...... Kenosha WI!

1 John 3:18   "Children, you show your love for others by truly helping them and not merely talking about it."

June 19th, we boarded the bus for a week of service and hope, faith building, and life changing experiences.

The theme for the week is "EXTRAORDINARY"!  There is no ordinary with JESUS.  During this week together in Kenosha WI,  First Lutheran Youth will be ordinary people who God uses to do EXTRAordinary things.  And we can't wait!!


Well...... we had good intentions of writing this blog everyday that we were gone so that you all could "walk" with us on this faith changing experience in Kenosha.  However, the internet was hit and miss so this blog has turned into a "RECAP of Events".

Our days consisted of breakfast, morning program time, our assigned experiences (complete with sack lunches and small group daily devotions), chores, free time, the evening program, CHURCH TIME, and believe it or not....sleep! haha!

Each small group (which we had 8!) was assigned a place for the week. A few of our groups ended up with two different locations.  Whether is was a nursing home, rehab center, dementia center, women's shelter, or food shelf, I can safely say that every participant grew in their faith, stepped out of a comfort zone at times, and built relationships that have changed us for the better....FOREVER!!

EXTRAordinary 2016!!

It was an incredible week together, one that was faith changing and life changing....one we will remember!  The best part of this week was that we spent time with Jesus.  And when you spend time with Jesus, He leaves a mark.  We are different because of what we experienced, who we met, stories we heard or shared, and what we learned about our faith by helping others.

The last night, we took quiet time where we listened to who Jesus says we are......Each person wrote on a card " I AM......"  Here's what we heard from Jesus:

"I am beautiful.
I am loved.
I am precious.
 I am blessed.
I am God's masterpiece.
I am worthy.
I am unique.
I am a puzzle piece to God's bigger picture.
I am an example.
I am ready for anything life throws at me.
 I am blessed to be a blessing.
I am known.
I am along.
I am God's hands.
I am His.
 I am the light in His works.
I am NOT a mistake.
 I am thankful.
I am perfect.
I am blessed and extraordinary.
I am a forgiver.
I am perfectly uncommon.
I am a gift from God.
I am special in my own way.
 I am good enough for Him.
 I am without flaws. I am a servant.
 I am a light in the world.
I am gifted.
 I am friendly.
I am a light.
I am a work in progress.
I am a helper.
 I am love.
 I am a fighter.
I am grateful.
I am one of a kind.
I am loved for who I am right now.
I am blessed.
I am humble.
I am important.
 I am kindhearted.
 I am hah koonah matatah. (without worry.)
I am strong.
I am perfect in His eyes.
I am made without a flaw.
I am someone who makes a difference.
I am hope.
I am strong.
I am blessed.
I am listening.
I am there to lend a helping hand; there to be with the lonely; there to hold them up when times get hard....Who are you?""

WE ARE FLY.....


Acts 4:13     "The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures.  They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus."

Something else we learned......WE ALL HAVE PETER AND JOHN IN US.........  GOD USED US ORDINARY YOUTH AND ADULTS TO DO SOME EXTRAORDINARY THINGS IN KENOSHA....  AND FOR THIS, WE ARE TRULY THANKFUL AND BLESSED.





Random Pictures of the week!














Evening Program Time!






Everyone Had A Job!

Every crew had different positions/jobs that were filled by the members.  Here were the roles:

Break Maker:  gets the food and drinks for the crew
Devotion Leader:  leads the crew's daily devotions at lunch time
Partner Coordinator:  serves as a liaison overseeing the crew's relationship with the partnering organization
Progress Reporter:  report to the Group staff each day about the project and any updates
Work Director: oversees the crew's work to get the project completed or the day's activities
Adult Crew Connector:  make sure conversation and encouragement is always happening.

You'll notice that the adult wasn't "in charge" and the youth all learned some great leadership skills throughout the week.

Tuesday's Free Night was filled with GOD SIGHTINGS

On Tuesday night of the mission trip, the churches were all given the night as free time.  We chose to go out for a casual supper of pizza..... (or as casual as you can be with a group of over 50 people showing up at a restaurant that hold probably 65 tops! :))...and then go to the local beach area to just relax and enjoy Lake Michigan.

The pizza was amazing and the owner was awesome and kept the food and drink coming until we had to roll away from our tables.  Ha ha!  The God sighting came when a gentleman came up to me while I was eating with the others and said..... "I want to help your group with your pizza tonight.".....and handed me a $100 bill.  We were all shocked and humbled.    We had our FLY t-shirts on so he knew that we were a church group and wanted to thank us for what we were doing in Kenosha.  WOW!

After pizza, we went to the Lake Michigan Pier area at Simmons Park. Everyone had such a great time and it was fun to get out and really bond with the others. Some walked to the Lighthouse, some played frisbee, some made sandcastles, and some were brave enough the go into the cold water!  But we all had fun just being together.

The sun started to set and the view was breathtaking! Another God Sighting on this little portion was when we all got into a circle on the sand and had our church devotion. By then, the sun was almost gone. The seniors shared with the others what FLY meant to them and encouraged everyone to keep growing in their faith and with their FLY faith family.  The best part of the devotion was when all of the seniors got up and all said a prayer for the group. After the touching prayer, we all sat together in the dark and sang the song "Sanctuary" and many got emotional.  Faith-filled.....God moment!  By the end of this whole devotion, the full moon was so big and such an incredible red/orange color!  It showed once again how incredible God's creations are.  And it reminded all of us that during the dark times in life, is when we see God's light as the strongest or brightest....and without the darkness, we never would have experienced the God sighting.







Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Crew #14-- Ryne Myhrberg, Brooklyn Sukalski, Megan Kock, Zach FIscher, Noah Meister, and Alex Verkinderen

Our assigned place for the week was Water's Edge Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

The Water's Edge is a place where older people go for assistance.  It is also a place where people, young and old, go to get better.

Monday:

We met a man that was joking with us and he was talking about ways to get the ladies to like you.  Another person said, "you can't give advice.... you're 70 and you're still single!"  haha!  We could tell it was going to be a great week.  And when we had lunch by Lake Michigan, we were looking in the water and we all noticed a rock that looked like a cross.  God moment!

Tuesday:

 We sang karaoke with and to the people.  We all had a blast.  Some of the songs we sang were YMCA and Eye of the Tiger.  (pretty fitting for the Marshall Tigers).

Ryne had a God moment talking to a WWII vet.  They talked about the Red Baron planes.  While they were talking he started to tear up.

A resident was ecstatic that Noah knew how to play chess.  They played a game and we think it made the resident's whole month! :)

Wednesday:

We were singing patriotic songs and we handed out flags to the residents.  When we were finished and picking them up, a veteran didn't want to give it back.  He sat there holding the flag to his heart.  Here was a God moment where we were reminded to appreciate all that we have because of people like him.  We take so much for granted.

We also challenged the residents to a game of "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader."  We both answered the same number of questions correctly.  Could that have been Divine Intervention? ha ha!

Thursday:

We were bowling and a 94 year old women went up and the first roll she got a strike.  Her face lit up and she was cheering.

All of these are just little examples of so much more that we experienced.  It's hard to put them all into words.  Saying good-bye to the people on Thursday was way harder than we thought it was going to be.  We were so blessed by the people and this facility.  Our lives have been changed.... our faith grew.




Crew #13-- Bill Weber, Cole Remme, Alec Jahn, Isaac Marks, Madi Shumacher and Amber Downing.

We were at the Shalom Center Food Pantry.

Our crew got to help people "shop" as well as help restock shelves.  Here were some of our God Sightings and how God used us, ordinary people, to do EXTRAordinary things.

A mother came in with her daughter and 5 year old son to shop.  Madi and Amber were helping them and as they passed the cereal aisle, the boy asked us if they could take an extra cereal because his birthday was coming up.  It shocked us all that the boy wanted a box of cereal for his 6th birthday.  Luckily (or Divine Intervention :) ) the food pantry happened to have a birthday cake in the back.  The excitement on the little boy's face when he saw the cake was indescribable! It was so amazing to see how a simple birthday cake was such a blessing.  Coincidentally, the mother really wanted to help serve once she realized we were there for mission work.  Jenna who was from our Group staff team happened to be at the pantry when the mom was asking questions.  We were able to connect the two and get information to the mom so she can give back to the ones who gave so much to her!  Very cool!

Our crew was in the lobby over our lunch break, completing our devotion, and the question came up, "What is something that has happened in your life because of Jesus?"  One of the pantry employees was by our group and heard the question.  He joined in on our devotion and told us how he has survived an overdose and a heart attack.  He explained how he shouldn't have survived either of them and that it was because of God that he was still here today serving people through the food pantry.

Our overall God moment for the week, was seeing Jesus through all of the employees and volunteers and the Shalom Center.  Each and every person there was so kindhearted, caring, and generous towards us and all of the clients.  We have never experienced such an amazing staff, and could truly tell that God is present there each and every day.


Crews #12 and #15-- Bill Bell, Crista Schultze, Trevor Fales, Carson Douglas, Emily Harmening, and Kaia Sueker. AND Karen Meister, Olivia Peterson, Skylar Gilbertson, Muriel McLaughlin, Ella Kovash, and Mitchell Sueker

These 2 Crews were at  the Women's and Children's Horizons (Women and Children's Shelter)

Our groups combined to be in one site.  When we weren't doing a "day camp" for the shelter kids who stayed there for the day, there was still plenty to do.  Here are some highlights:

Monday:  We went through an orientation, cleaned clothes closets, towel closet, and book shelves/toys.  We also planned for the week's activities with the kids since they weren't there this day.

Tuesday:  We organized the diapers for the shelter.  They explained to us that they can never keep enough certain sized diapers stocked....always running out.   We also sorted through the pantry room and checked every date on every can!  We played with the kids today too!

Wednesday:  Some of us organized 3,999 videos for them! (ask about Bill's reaction :) )  The boys pulled weeds, mowed, and organized the shed.  We did a scavenger hunt with the kids at the day camp and also painted with the kids.  Muriel, Emily, Ella, Crista, and Karen went to Nifty Thrifty and helped tag, label, and sort the clothes.
Our group decided to ask FLY if they would be willing to help with their shortage on diapers and supplies... Within 20 minutes, we had almost $500!  (almost $200 from FLY and $300 from anonymous donors through phone calls.) This was going to be an awesome surprise for the shelter!

Thursday:  We delivered all of the supplies that we purchased to the shelter.  (Thank goodness we had our bus!)  We pulled the rest of the weeds.  We made kites with the kids.  Karen, Emily Ella, and Trevor went back to Nifty Thrifty to work more and the rest of the group stayed and went to the park with the kids.  It was a VERY emotional good-bye when the kids left.  Mitchell, Carson, and Skylar were especially touched when the kids were leaving.  They were all very attached to the kids and the kids were very torn up when they had to say goodbye.

Our God Sightings:

When we are about to leave the shelter one day, Bill gave a little boy from the shelter a toy firetruck, His eyes lit up and he was so grateful for the little toy.  The next day the little boy had the toy tightly in his hand all day.

We had no real extra time or any plans on how we were going to get the diapers and supplies with the donation money.  But God was looking down on us and we were lucky enough to find a ride from a church helper with a truck.  We were able to get an abundance of money in such a short amount of time. When Karen, Muriel, and Emily went to Cosco to purchase it all, the cashier was so touched by what we were doing and told us that we need more people in the world like us.  It was just another example of God using ordinary people to do extra-ordinary things. :)

Another God moment was when Karen's group was not able to work at their original sight so they joined with Bill's.  We now had 12 people volunteering at the Shelter, which was way more than what we needed.  BUT we were able to get sooo much work done for the shelter and everyone was so grateful for the work we were doing.  The boys helped out with the work in the yard and when they were finished, the maintenance lady hugged them and thanked them for what they all did.  She said she had been so overwhelmed with all of HER work lately and that the boys just did a week's worth of work for her in about two hours.  God moment!

It was our last day at the shelter and it was time for us to say our good-byes.  Some of the girls did more cleaning than being with the kids.  But the boys all got very attached to them.  It was time for the three siblings to go home and the two girls were overwhelmed.... one grabbed Mitchell and the other grabbed Carson.  The girls hugged them so tightly, not wanting to let go.  They girls started to get emotional and we could tell that our boys were starting to get emotional too and didn't want to say their final good-byes.  It was a definite God moment.  And we could tell their lives were forever changed....a little act of kindness and just spending some time with some kids, and their lives were forever changed.

At the end of the trip, we all got together and talked about how much closer we all got during this trip.  With a group the size of our youth group, you can't assume that everyone really knows each other.  This is God given time to get to know each other better.  We all have more friends now.....





Crew #11--Hans Zahrbock, Samantha Nielsen, Gabby Reese, Jonathon Bell, Coby Hilton, Logan Tomasek, and Amira Hasch

Crew #11 Spent the Week at Azura Memory Care

This group worked with dementia patients. Here's our day by day recap:

Day 1:  We cleaned windows.  Jonathon danced with a 92 year old.  Coby, Logan, and Jonathan played 5 card draw with the resident.  Hans danced with a lady too. :)  Overall, we all talked with the residence.

Day 2:  Logan danced with multiple ladies.  We cleaned all the walls and wood work.  We had an old song sing-along and played trivia with the lyrics.  We baked cookies with the residents.

Day 3:  It was a fun day-play day!!  It was Amira's birthday so Azura planned a surprise birthday celebration for her!  It was awesome!  Everyone participated in a residence walk, playing football and just being outside.  The guys played more cards.  Hans, Amira, Samantha, and Gabby danced and did a sing-a-long.  (They sure like to dance!)

Day 4:  We cleaned the grounds and cleaned the kitchen for them.  There are a lot of things that these places just don't have time to do and they end up on a "to do list".  It's nice to be able to help out.  We did exercises with the residents and, yes, another sing-along.  We played bingo and they had a surprise pizza party WITH cake too! :)  It was an emotional good bye for sure!!  We decided after the sing-alongs that we would change the words to "He's got the whole world in His hands" to "He's got the whole Azura in His hands." :)

Here were our God Sightings:

The activities director was our first God sighting.  She was so welcoming, caring, and made us feel welcome at Azura.....a true gift from God!

Even though Hans is not a dancer, God used him and he danced for almost an hour!

When we baked cookies with the residents, we got smiles and laughs from everyone as we stirred the mix.  We were even told that one of the residents before was never able to do this.....but did that day :) We bonded and God connected us!

When Jon danced with the 92 yr old lady, she also sang to him. You could tell that it meant the world to her.  You wouldn't think it was a big deal but for her it was.  You never know how God will use us.

When the activities director joined in our devotional group, that was a God moment.  She shared her story, and helped us answer questions and share thoughts......God made us perfect and that he makes no mistakes!  It was perfect!

One of the sing-along's were praise songs and everyone took part!  It truly was amazing and we got goose bumps.  Pretty emotional!

All in all....we saw that we made a difference when we were saying our good-byes!  We had many residents hug us and thank us.  We had family members of the residents ask for the church's address because they wanted to send us notes, letters, or thank yous.  We made a difference.... but we also left different....blessed by the week!


Crew #10-- Beth Roelfsema, JaRae Lamfers, Michael DeVaan, Jon Hey, Brittney Ormberg, Makenzie Enderson, and Jackson Luther

The assigned place was Kenosha Estates: Senior Living /Rehab Facility

Our service included spending time with the residents in visiting, playing games, playing music, helping with activities, and training for the "Senior Olympics".  We had a lot of quiet time to relax and BE with the residents.

Different God sightings for us were:

There was one resident that everyone affectionately called Rev or Papa. He was an elderly gentleman who was a pastor.  He was unable to speak or use his hands to feed himself.  He spends his days in a wheelchair unable to communicate.  We were able to hold his hand, share scripture and devotions with him.  When you would hold his had, he would squeeze our hands tightly.  God was at work between us!

A rather forgetful resident kept asking where we were from and another resident always answered for us....."Heaven". :)

We were singing together during one activity and one of the older residents woke up and clapped his hands and began to sign along.  We think the music and experience warmed both of our hearts.

An Italian resident asked if Jon was Beth's husband! ha ha!  (It's because Jon is mature looking and Beth looks young! right?!)

We were able to really get to know the activity aide at the nursing home.  He had told us that he got engaged the last week but was always vague. We found out that he was afraid to share that he was gay because we were a church group and he didn't want to be judged.  Once he experienced our openness and love and respect for him, we were able to connect. A definite God moment.

An older gentleman came into our room and told us that he was very impressed with the work that we were doing.  He then asked for our church information and said he wanted to tell First Lutheran that what we were doing was important to him and the other residents.

On the last day, the 101 year old resident thanked us profusely for coming and cried when we left....we cried too!!  God help touch many lives this week!


Crew #9-- Tonya Tomasek, Lexis Arnold, Karley Polejewski, Whitney Schwartz, Allie Kock, Noah Henle, and Trey Weber

Our Sight was the Hospitality Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

The different things that we did at the Hospitality Center was basic relationship building with the residents.  We played ping pong bouncing games, bingo, ALOT OF CRAZY 8's!, bowling, played trivia games and memory games, and helped transport them in their wheelchairs for activities. We participated in two worship services with them (actually led one impromptu!!). Some helped weed and plant flowers.  We even danced the Virginia Reel with some of the residents.  It was awesome! But the most important part of our week was learning and listening to them when they were sharing their stories.  Not only most important part, but our favorite part!!

Throughout the week, they reminded us to look for God sightings in everything.  God sightings are places where you can see God and God working in or through someone.  There were sooooo many!
We wish we could have taken pictures but our center wouldn't allow it or even naming the residents.
So our "sightings" are going to be nameless!  Sorry!

As we listened to their personal stories and they shared their lives with us, you could see their "younger selves" come alive.  It was a true blessing.  The activities director kept telling us that "they were our age too once".  This small sentence has such big meaning as we built relationships throughout the week.

One lady was just "classy".  Beautiful inside and out.   She had no high school education. We learned that she was widowed with four young children in her early thirties.  She reminded us that she raised kids without TV or microwaves. :)  She talked about her job at JCPenny and the "pulley system" they had because their were no cash registers! But the story that lit up her eyes the most was when she shared about her husband.  He was off to war, they were dating, and they wrote letters back and forth.  He proposed to her in a letter with the words to the song "don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me.......... and will you change your name to mine".  Definite God sighting....

There was a gentlemen that spent a lot of time talking with our guys.  And with Noah, probably the most.  We found out the last day that he never comes out of his room but there was a bond that developed on a single day that they just "brought him out" because we were there.  God moment!

A similar experience happened to our girls.  We were in the hallway and a resident came up and just started talking to them and asking them questions about if they were athletes, etc.  The activities director came up to us immediately and said she doesn't open up to anyone let alone initiate a conversation.   That is when she knew we were doing something special here just with our presence.  God sighting....for sure!

The first time we met this one resident, we thought "Oh boy, she's a grumpy one!"  But she was a favorite when she let her guard down.  She was the Crazy 8 Queen.  Her humor was amazing and she had us laughing constantly! And then......God sighting!...... She was talking about being Polish and we asked her to say some words.....she spoke the Lord's Prayer.  It was soooo cool!

There was one resident who was younger than the rest.  She had made a beautiful painting that was displayed in the cafeteria area.  She was so proud of it!  She and another resident "adopted each other" and called each other "mom" and "daughter".  (We think is was two days before we realized it wasn't true! ha ha) This resident was probably one of the hardest to say good bye to.  She had an ability to adjust quickly to her surroundings, her memory was amazing and she worked on that daily! Her approach on life was inspiring...... she was patient with people and even the ones hard to be patient with. :)  Everyone was a gift from God.  She told us that it's not her job to try to change people.  She wouldn't want someone trying to change her.  It was a decision to be happy in your life and her goal was to touch people's hearts.  And that she did!!!  The day we had to leave, she had gone to the doctor and we were afraid we wouldn't get to say good-bye.  But we stopped by her room and she looked so tired.  They had given her medication.  We didn't know that she experienced a lot of pain daily in her legs.  She didn't like to focus on it.  Emotional God moment.

On our last day, we actually left a little late.  We couldn't miss the 72nd Anniversary party for a couple who lived there.  There was cake and pictures, and a polka band!  They may be in wheelchairs but they can tap their hands and feet!  Yes, we even tried to waltz! They were so young at heart and they even danced with their wheelchairs.  They shared their story and how she had met him for the first time when she was 10 yr old and knew then she had a crush on him.  It was pretty sweet.  We think we all thought that leaving during the party would help make it easier.  It wasn't.  There were hugs, there were tears (mostly by us!), God bless you's....and even "love you's".  We are pretty sure that they touched our hearts more than we touched theirs.  It was life and faith changing.....eye-opening and heart felt!  Overall......AMAZING God sightings!!

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Crew #8 --Eric Luther, Mattea Dobrinski, Keara Jueneman, Maddie Marks, Sydney Meister, Orion Morrow, and Simon Zahrbock

Day 1 was at Inspiration Ministries, A Home for the Disabled

On this day, we did a ton of lifting and moving around of tables.  Although it was very challenging, we knew we were doing amazing things.  There are only 2 maintenance men who have many many jobs to do, so to be able to lighten their load and see how grateful they were for that, made our hearts happy.  We knew we were doing small things that made a huge impact.  In addition to this, we also got to play bingo and connect with the residents.  One man that stuck out to us was  a man in a wheelchair who has lost his ability to walk.  We got the opportunity to listen to his story about the talents he has been given by God.  He is involved in a church and teaches bible study, He also is involved in teaching one at the Inspiration Center.  He shared with us what his next message was going to be at the study and it touched all of us.  We think the biggest things we all took away was that even though they had disabilities, they all had their job in the home.  They were inspiring.  You stopped seeing their disabilities.

Day2-4 was at Harmony Assisted Living Home

Day 2:  When we first got there, the second we walked in, we knew we were about to make some life changing impacts on people.  The activities director had us help her lead some exercises that she does with the residents.  It was so much fun seeing all of the people do what they could, and make the best of their situations.  We also picked some lettuce and spinach that a resident planted.  We washed it and they got to eat it for dinner.  We also helped out making the banana splits that the residents had.  This task would have been a very complex job but because we were there, it became very easy.....proof that our crew came together right away and helped.  Towards the end of our day here, residents taught some of us to play a game called "Trains".  Although it was kind of challenging for us to pick up on (something that they considered so easy), they were very patient and helpful towards us.

Day 3:  Although we didn't do anything that we considered a huge deal, we knew just being there to connect with the residents was making an impact.  There was a resident that we bonded with immediately.  His positive outlook on life was so inspiring to all of us.  Later that day, he told us some faith stories of his....they not only moved him, but us too.  Our crew was in tears.  He made sure that we knew how powerful God truly is.  He made sure that we really knew the importance to devote our lives to Christ.  He wanted us to understand that God has a bigger better plan for us.  A plan that we may not be able to understand, but a plan specifically meant for us.

Day 4:  Thursday was our most touching day of all.  We knew, walking in, that walking out a 3:00pm was not going to be easy.  Today we spent most of the day getting to know the residents more.  A couple of people in our group went to talk to a resident that was a famous artist from Kenosha.  They listened to her go on for hours.  Her room is full of all of her work and every single piece is outstanding.  As she was talking to us, she was constantly reminding us that all of her talent was from God and she got to do the work but the credit belongs to Him.  She also explained that many of her paintings had been sent over to England and if you said her name, many would know who you were talking about.  But she also included that she had done none of the work to get recognized....it was all for God.  The most emotional part was when she took all of our hands and proceeded to pray for us.  She had definitely lived a wonderful life and would be someone we would be proud to be like when we get older.