Genesis Youth Group departed FUMC Joshua on Sunday, June 13 headed for Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Bob and I were ready to go, unfortunately the other 13 trip-goers could not fit on the Harley....darn. Not only was this my first mission trip, it was also the first time I had been to OK. I got to cross the Red River, yeah baby!
My home-away-from-home for the week was Asbury UMC. It was an older church, but full of hospitality for 81 youth and adults coming to do the work of Jesus Christ. Our group took showers on-campus at Oklahoma City University. The facilities were nice, except the water heater exploded (literally!) on Monday. You guessed it - we had FREEZING COLD showers all week. I slept on a borrowed cot in a Sunday School room with another adult and seven youth girls. We laughed and giggled every night like teenage girls - - oh wait, they are!!!
On Monday, there came a flood (literally!) to OKC and the living center was put under lock-down by CTCYM for everyone's safety. Parts of OKC were without power and multiple inches of rain fell every hour. Fortunately, at the living center, we had continuous power and no standing water. As servants of God, we continued our mission by becoming VAPOR and doing God's work right where we were: at Asbury UMC. We cleaned every square inch of the church, including the fellowship hall, gymnasium, kitchen, nursery, and sanctuary. Each work team was assigned a different area of the church, my group had the lower level including the nursery and toddler room, where Kaitlyn and I disinfected every toy within sight. I think the bleach water was affecting our senses because we were having WAY TOO MUCH FUN!!!! After the nursery and toddler room were clean and spotless, a couple of youth decided to have a toy car race down the hall. I almost wet my pants laughing so hard.
I promise this mission trip had some work involved. Actually, it had a lot of work involved but you can work for the Lord and praise Him with a smile too. Believe me, I left several gallons of sweat in the Sooner State.....hahaha!
One of these days I'll have to teach everyone "The Llama Song," it's really cute and very clever. I performed it in front of Kevin and he looked at me like I had lost my mind.....he's probably right!
We had multiple projects to complete for her: replace one side of her fence, construct a new porch cover, build a wheelchair ramp, repair the back door, and replace the fence gate. With the downpour of rain on Monday, the yard was more like a pond and rubber boots were the only option.
My work team (go Team 8) was amazing and our client, Miss Patsy, was an angel. Patsy suffers from MS but lives alone and gets around very slowly with a walker. Her speech is severely impaired but her smile is incredible. Though her vocal communication was almost zero, she connected emotionally with everyone on Team Eight. The light in her eyes was magical, and her spirit was filled with gratitude. She is such a blessing and someone I will stay in contact with for a very long time.
What an amazing week. Truly, it is a blessing to serve as the youth director for FUMC Joshua and I had a great time with this group of awesome youth and adults on this mission trip. I've already signed up for the 2011 mission trip! I encourage anyone - I'm talking to YOU! - to consider participating on a mission team. You will be blessed beyond your wildest dreams.
To Genesis Youth Group: you guys rock. I love you and I'm so incredibly proud to be your youth director. You served God's people with a smile and accomplished great things in OKC.
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