Tuesday in Lake Traverse

Above is a picture of our Tuesday morning devotions introduction before our quiet time with the Lord. YouthWorks leader, Jesse, telling a personal story to help us connect to Jesus' presence and gifts to us. We've already been painting homes, painting the city foodshelf-clothing donation center, supporting summer community VBS, and summer school district elementary programming.

Susanne Miller's group is at Green Leaf Assisted living Center in Sisseton this morning spending time with delightful seniors! Below are two pictures.

It's a beautiful day in Sisseton! 

-Randy B

Quad Cities Day 2: Hulk vs. Iron Man

Hello Everyone!

Our two groups have had a GREAT day!

Brandon's Group (also called Hulk) played games and then went to a swimming pool with 36 kids for the Salvation Army day camp. It was a blast and we will be with them again tomorrow.

Dana's Group (also called Iron Man) went to CCC Food Pantry. It is a food pantry and sooo much more.  We spent the the day with Sister Marilyn cleaning up the neighborhood which involved trimming and weeding the yards of abandoned houses and working in a community garden. We will back there on Thursday.

Below are 2 photos from Iron Man.

Many blessings to you all!~

Dana and Brandon

Quad Cities: Day One in Davenport

Hello Parents!

We are getting ready to go to the water park but I thought I would drop a quick line:

We have been split into two ministry groups.

Dana's group is going to an adult day center in the mornings and leading Bible activities with kids at Joyful Noise Trailer Park in the afternoons. This group includes Logan, Mariah, Emily, Grace, and Elizabeth.

Brandon's group is volunteering with Salvation Army and today we cleaned, pulled weeds, and played with kids at their family rescue shelter in downtown Davenport. Tomorrow we will be helping with the Salvation Army Kids' Club by doing crafts and games in the morning and then taking the kids to a water park. This group includes Jamie, Trent, Andrew, Cierrah, Christina, Kira, and Abi.

Both groups are combined with students from other churches. On the right is a photo from the Salvation Army site this afternoon. Time permitting, tomorrow will be a photo from the other ministry group.

We are having a GREAT time and are looking forward to an evening of story sharing, fun, and hopefully a lot of sleep.

Much peace and joy,
Brandon Newton

P.S. We wanted to let you know we are staying at Grace Lutheran Church instead of St Paul. The emergency contact info is the same. Everyone is having a great time! -Dana

Getting to Work in Lake Traverse!

Pastor Randy has already sent a few updates from the road. Enjoy!

Lake Traverse YouthWorks group: leaving on a beautiful morning!

Arrived in Sisseton, SD, staying at the Catholic Parish- great, easy trip, sunny warm day, and ready to meet and greet new friends in Christ!  

Monday morning: starting the day after breakfast with a quiet devotion time outside using the YouthWorks devo booklet. "You Are Here" is the theme for the week... Here to love God and love others - today we pause with a focus to worship our beautiful God who loves us and all people!

And now a first work project for some of the Lake Traverse Mission Trip: volunteering in support of a summer program for children in Sisseton. This is an art class experience.

Below is a video of the group singing "Grace Like Rain"

Brief Notes: Joplin, Lake Traverse, Quad Cities

Sunday was a busy morning at SOTV for Summer Mission Trips. One group gave its report in worship and another two groups hit the road!

Joplin Trip Report

The two groups who traveled together to Joplin, Missouri for Disaster Relief did their trip report during worship at The Table in the Great Hall. It was made even more special by having Amanda Krauter lead the Table Band that day, and having other trip participants read prayers, help with Communion and serve as greeters and ushers.

Thank you to so many of you who came yesterday, it was a great showing, with only a handful of people who couldn't make it. It was wonderful to be able to share stories and photos from the memorable week with so many members of the congregation. If you missed the presentation, I will post a video soon of Pat Buss, Sadie Sheldon and Courtney Schultz speaking.

Quad Cities

Brandon Newton and Dana Ellingworth left around 9 with a group of eleven youth to travel to the Quad Cities to serve with YouthWorks. Here is a brief description of their mission:

The Quad Cities region, including Davenport, Bettendorf, Moline and Rock Island is located on the Iowa/Illinois border. Today, the Quad Cities has a population of 400,000. In recent years, the region has suffered the effects of downsizing at local factories leading to high unemployment and poverty. Students may spend all week at one service site or switch between sites during the week. They may serve at children’s programs, elderly centers, soup kitchens, or thrift stores. Evening activities may include a prayer walk through the city or a trip to the water park. During this week youth will be challenged to walk alongside God’s people as they build caring relationships. 

Lake Traverse

Pastor Randy Brandt left around 10 with a group of four other adult leaders and 24 youth to travel to the Lake Traverse Reservation in South Dakota to also serve with YouthWorks. Here is a brief description of their mission:

The Lake Traverse Reservation covers an area of over 400 square miles within six counties in South Dakota. The Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux tribe has a population of 10,408. The original reservation was greatly reduced to its present size through subsequent homestead acts to provide land for non-native settlers. Youth will serve on the reservation, particularly in the community of Sisseton. This Native American community struggles with poverty and unemployment. The current unemployment rate is 59 percent on the reservation. The need for jobs will only continue to grow as nearly 30 percent of the population is under age 18. Youth will serve by helping with Kid’s Club or doing home improvement in the name of Jesus Christ while learning from tribal members.
 

Busy and sweaty work in Joplin

Monday morning the two groups got right to work.

The Camp Noah group headed out in its two vans early. Breakfast could wait - teachers needed to prepare their classes, and actors and musicians needed time for last run-throughs before the kids starting arriving for their first day around 9 'o clock. Monday was a "getting to know you" kinda day. Over thirty children came the first day, and a few more joined us on Tuesday. The kids learned new songs, enjoyed activities in their classrooms, and played outside. After lunch was a Birthday Party - for everyone! Since many kids' lives were disrupted by the tornado, Camp Noah makes a point to celebrate the normal and fun things that kids look forward to, including birthdays! Everyone enjoyed birthday games, had cake and got a present. All in all it was a fun day for everyone. A local news crew surprised us by showing up and doing a story on us. See the video on KOAM TV 7's website.

On Monday, the Rebuild group worked at a Habitat for Humanity house shoveling and raking dirt so that the ground slopes away from the house and getting the yard ready for grass seed to be planted. It was an unforgiving day of dirty work in over 100° heat. Tuesday through Thursday the group split into three teams: one team painted the parsonage behind Immanuel Lutheran Church (where Camp Noah is). The other two teams worked on  Habitat houses putting up siding, support  beams on a porch, mixing concrete (by hand!) and continuing the hard work of shoveling and raking dirt.

Throughout the week, the two big groups would spend time when not at our work sites touring Joplin to see firsthand both the destruction and rebuilding happening all over the area. We also met each night as a large group for worship, a testimony and devotions in small groups.

My goal of posting every day while we are here has obviously fallen by the wayside, but there will be more posts, photos and videos to come. We've all been very busy but are enjoying our time growing in faith and developing deeper relationships with each other. Hard to believe that we come home tomorrow!

Please pray for our safe travels.

Trip Sullivan
@ Abundant Life Center in "JOMO"

So What is Luther Dell Anyway?

Luther Dell Bible Camp finished this year on Friday, June 22 for our SOTV youth. If you followed any of the posts on their blog last week, you may have wondered, "so what is Luther Dell anyway?" It may have looked simply like a bunch of fun and games, but as any camper could tell you, there's much more to it than that. There were two groups of SOTV youth there that week for Youth Camp  and ROOTS. Here are the descriptions of those two groups from Luther Dell:



Youth Camp (4th - 9th grade)

There is something special about a week away with your friends that will be full of laughs and memories. Just knowing that every day is packed full of activities, games, music, and worship sets the stage for experiencing togetherness in a powerful way. Youth Camp at Luther Dell is focused on building relationships as we play, worship, and make friends and memories that will last a life time. The week is more than just fun, excitement, laughs, friendships, and games. It’s a journey that we take together in pursuit of God’s heart. Come and join us on this week long adventure!

ROOTS (10th - 12th grade)
The roots of a plant go below the surface to provide strength for plants to stand and to supply them with water during dry times. As students are facing the challenges of high school and preparing for what is next, a ROOTS week at Luther Dell will challenge them to consider where they are choosing to root their hearts. Together, we will continue to develop our faith through worship, relationships, activities, and service. Come and grow the roots of your faith with us!


A Final Word on Luther Dell from Brandon Newton

The summer theme at Luther Dell was ‘The Upside Down Story’ and Bible studies focused on the parables that just seem backwards (like the Good Samaritan, Prodigal Son, Workers in the Vineyard, and the Unmerciful Servant). Students were challenged to reflect on the questions ‘where did you see grace,’ ‘where do you see Jesus,’ and ‘who do you identify with in the story’? It got a little soggy at the beginning of the week but afterwards campers enjoyed a mud football tournament, Muddy Muddy Scoop Noodle Challenge, Medic, Skittles, Luther Dell Olympics, and camp worship in the morning and evening. In the end grace was found where it was least expected, friends were made, clothes were muddied, and spirits were overflowing. Thank God for the ministry of Luther Dell.”


Want more Luther Dell? 
Come to worship at The Table in the Great Hall this week on Sunday, July 1 at 10:30 a.m. to hear their trip report! Also be sure to check out their blog, the Luther Dell Times.

Sunday Worship in Joplin

Our first full day in Joplin began with Sunday morning worship. Both groups received warm welcomes at two different churches. People that we met were very grateful and happy that we were going to be working in the area.

Camp Noah group before church on Sunday

The Rebuild group visited Peace Lutheran Church. Their building was destroyed in the tornado and they are temporarily worshipping at Bethany Presbyterian Church. After lunch, the group enjoyed some free time in the afternoon at nearby Shifferdecker Park. The afternoon was very hot, but the water at the pool there was nice and cold. On Monday, this group starts a week of working outside in the 90's. 

Sadie and Angela by the Camp Noah display at Immanuel.

The Camp Noah group worshiped at Immanuel Lutheran Church, which shares its campus with Martin Luther School where Camp Noah will be held all week. Although Immanuel and Martin Luther's buildings survived the tornado intact, its surrounding community took quite a toll. Buildings were destroyed just a block from the church and school. Soon after the disaster, Immanuel dedicated itself to working extensively to the rebuilding process by forming the organization Transform Joplin.

After church, the Camp Noah group began to start preparing for the week of camp: getting the rooms ready, going over the curriculum, rehearsing songs and skits and lots of other little details.

Both groups returned to where we are staying at Abundant Life Christian Center for dinner, worship, devotions and free time. There are many, many other groups from around the country also staying at ALCC and involved in many other areas of disaster relief. It's a big place with plenty of room, but it is very full.

Some of the youth who have attended YouthWorks mission trips in the past were surprised that we wouldn't be working with the other groups staying with us and were interested in meeting and interacting with them. Hopefully there will be chances in the days to come to hear some of their stories, and share our own. Toward the end of the night during free time, I did in fact see many of your youth playing and talking with other groups.

Sadie and BJ practice their puppets

As I finish this post, we are halfway through a successful first day at Camp Noah. A few adult leaders got a chance during the morning to take popsicles over to the other group at the rebuild site. It's a hot day, and that crew is working on two houses nearby that are right next to each other. I plan to post more pictures and updates from both groups either tonight or tomorrow morning.


 

Disaster Relief Begins!

Picture time before we hit the road.

On Saturday, June 23 2012, twenty youth and sixteen adult leaders trekked 11 hours in four vans from Shepherd of the Valley to southern Missouri for a week of Disaster Relief. We will stay until Saturday, June 30.

This year our Disaster Relief will consist of two projects in Joplin, Missouri, which suffered destruction at the hands of a catastrophic EF5 tornado, just over a year ago on May 22, 2011. Both groups traveled together and will stay together at Abundant Life Christian Center. The groups will split up during the day to their respective worksites and spend the evenings together for worship, fellowship, devotions and small group time.

The two groups are:

REBUILD—When there is news of storms, floods, or earthquakes, we send adults and youth to help rebuild people's homes and lives. SOTV youth have traveled to the Gulf Coast to work on hurricane-damaged homes, and will do similar work in Joplin.

CAMP NOAH—Through Lutheran Social Services, Camp Noah is a fun, safe, and caring day camp for children to process their disaster experience. Participants will help lead small groups, skits, crafts, and games with children.

We arrived safely but now the real work begins. Please keep us in your prayers throughout the week. More posts, photos and videos to come.

Trip Sullivan
from the road in Joplin, MO

Youth Summer Mission Commissioning

Youth and adult leaders were commissioned on Sunday, June 10 at 10:30 in both the Sanctuary and the Great Hall worship services. Below is video from both services that day. Were you there? Can you spot yourself?