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.

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.