We left Friday afternoon with 10 students, 4 adults and Jaxen.
We piled into a 15 passenger van. And let me tell you something that I did not previously know... A 15 passenger van is only comfortable when you have 15 teeny-tiny little children in it. Not when you have grown (big) teenage boys and not-so-small adults. Through the trip one of our sponsors and I took turns sitting on the outside seat where half of our behind was hanging off and the seatbelt was literally choking us.
But enough about the 'comforts' of our trip.
And I have to tell you... Nik kept reminding us (about 115 times) that "We are on a mission trip...that does not always mean you will be comfortable". Thank you, Pastor Nik, for that reminder. I have spent days now recovering from that van ride.
So that plus some major traffic in Houston made for a long day. But we arrived, finally, to Beaumont TX! That was the destination for our trip. Our focus for the week was to help a new-start church, Northpoint Community. They have been open for less that one year. So Nik setup with the pastors there to work with them, however we could for the week.
The church has begun to make relationships with different ministries in the city. So Saturday everyone prepped for an event with the Boys Home (lunch time) and the Girls Home (dinner time). We had water balloons, slip-n-slide and other water games along with food to grill so we could enjoy a meal with them.
It was fun for our teens to interact / get to know / find stuff in common with the boys and girls who lived in these homes. They had a great time playing games and you just never know what will mean the most to them. One of our teens handed out bracelets he had made. They loved them. And then a simple game of Ninja really got some girls to open up and feel included. When we left, they asked if we could come back again! We assured them that other people from the church we were with would be back the very next weekend. What a great relationship this church is making with these homes and those that live there.
Sunday we enjoyed worshipping at Northpoint Community Church. After church our teens worked to prepare 150 sack lunches (which included homemade cookies) to hand out to the homeless and others who did not have much food.
Our teens went out with some people from the church (who do this once a month) and handed out the food. Another need that many people have is trying to stay cool in the heat and humidity with no air conditioning or fans. We were able to purchase and hand out fans to those who needed it. They worked out in the community for about 3 hours that afternoon.
This post is pretty long so I will wrap it up. Stay tuned for Part 2!
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