Mission Trip and Camp Grandma

Months and months ago, we were told that our church's middle school ministry was planning on taking a group of kids to a city several states away for a mission trip opportunity.  Since both Ziggity and Dr. Jiggles are now middle-schoolers, I was excited that this might be something they could share.  And then as I prayed about whether or not this might be something to investigate for them, it became clear to me that I would like to be involved too!

There were some hurdles to jump, the biggest of which was finding someone to watch Sweet One and Little Weed #4 for the week.  Well, God covered that one quickly in a big way with the offering of "Camp Grandma!"  Both Grandmas live in states neighboring the state where the mission trip would be.  I planned to drive the two little ones to Stick's mom where they would spend the first half of the week and then drive myself the three hour drive to meet with the other 26 members of the mission team.  The kids were thrilled!  And despite the extra drive time, I can't say I was all that disappointed about missing out on the 9 hour drive in the 15 passenger vans that the rest of the team enjoyed.  ;)

Camp Grandma off to a great start!

Midweek the two grandmas met midway and passed the grandkids from one to the next.  My mom got to finish off the week and kept the kids busier that I ever could with crafts and cooking and building and playing.

My solitary adventure to meet my team that first day was uneventful for the first 184.5 miles.  Then 2.4 miles from my destination, I was crowded out of my lane and hit the curb.  My right front tire blew instantly.  I veered into an empty parking lot and stopped the car.  I got out to take a look and knew a tire change would be necessary.  And then I realized it was in the mid-90's, I didn't know the area at all, and I didn't feel safe working on putting on the spare all by myself in that neighborhood.  I noticed some movement inside the adjacent business.  I walked over and stuck my head in.  I explained that I had a flat and asked if they knew of a nearby garage or roadside assist.  The guy yelled over his shoulder, "Grab the jack.  Let's go."  It turns out these guys were the mechanics who serviced the business's fleet of vehicles.  They had me up and running in just a few minutes!  As they changed my tire with lightning speed, they commented that I was really lucky that I had run into trouble at that location.  Just a few blocks down was an unsafe section of town where I might have attracted trouble.  Gulp.  They directed me to a tire store and I headed over to replace the tire.  They got me in and out in an hour, and I met my team just as they were arriving.

Our group consisted of 19 middle-schoolers, 1 high school chaperone assistant, and 7 adult leaders.  We were to participate in service activities around the city each day and would be involved in other planned activities and talks both in the morning after breakfast and the evening after dinner.  Christ in Youth sponsored this "Engage" week and did a phenomenal job.  The service projects were all fine and dandy, but the lessons taught and learned each day were beyond awesome.  They were powerful and moving and thought-provoking and growth-inducing.  I can't even count how many times I would glance down the row and see one of our young teens with tears in his or her eyes.  And it wasn't just the kids that benefitted.  We all got to do some soul-searching.  I was so touched by the trust the kids put in us as leaders.  They opened up and discussed some really touch stuff and supported each other through it all.

The first work day we got to sort clothes for a ministry that was sending them to Honduras where they would be sold at low-cost to the needy in the area.  The manager of the project was a fun-loving guy who instructed the kids in quality selection and explained that when you sort donated clothes, you will inevitably come across some weird stuff, which he encouraged the kids to don.




Dr. Jiggles wasted no time in trying on something silly.

Two boys, one pair of very large pants.




Just keep sorting, just keep sorting...

The second project was a day of landscaping at a senior community.  I got to share that experience here as a guest blogger.  We were working way too hard for me to remember to take photos, but I wish I had one of the five of us that collapsed under a shade tree on the front lawn of some poor, unsuspecting senior.  As we sprawled exhausted on the ground, I could just picture her peeking out her blinds and wondering why me and the four kids I was with had chosen her lawn on which to take our final breaths. 

Project number three was the biggest battle of them all.  20 adolescents vs. evil and invasive honeysuckle.  Who would be the victor???

 

 

 

That's right.  We won.  The kids cleared a couple hundred feet along both sides of a state park trail.  It was impressive.  So we treated them all to some well-deserved ice cream at a local ice cream parlor. 

 

 I came away from the week with several lessons learned.  Some of them I'm still mulling over, but the most important one is this:  this age can be "awkward" (and I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I was uneasy with the idea of spending five full days fully immersed in adolescent activity), but this group of young people is composed of some super-cool, self-aware, strong and passionate individuals.  They are and will continue to be kingdom workers for their God.  I'm so thankful I got to know them and share this experience together.