Second Youth in Cincinnati - Day Three

Our final full day in Cincinnati was a great one! 

First, we got to sleep-in a bit (Yay!). After enjoying breakfast together, we then got ready and made our way to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. The Freedom Center was absolutely amazing!  It was another space where we were left transformed.

We then made our way back the church for lunch and some time to simply relax. It was nice to have the time and space to just be - many of us enjoyed naps! 

Our evening consisted of small group time, a delicious dinner (Pizza! Yay!), Graeters ice cream (WOO HOO!), and an incredible devotion led by our two seniors, Claudia and William. 

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the coveted Cheese Danish was awarded to Philip Harvey! Congratulations, Philip!

What an amazing week it has been! 

Second Youth in Cincinnati - Day Two

Day Two in Cincinnati was a full one! We spent the day with the Welcome House at their shelter for women and children. Our task for the day was to paint an office for and four bedrooms. We were successful! 

Once we arrived back to the church it was dinner time - baked potatoes (with all the fixings!) and leftovers were our meal for the evening. Yummy! And yummy!

We then finished our evening with quick showers at the local YMCA, followed by small groups and a beautiful devotion led by Izzy, Quinn, Philip, and William.

And, of course, as we've done each night, we enjoyed cookies (and milk) with Ken before bedtime! 

It is hard to believe that we're now at our third and final full day in Cincinnati. We're excited for some time to explore Cincinnati! 

 

Second Youth in Cincinnati - Day One

 

We arrived safely in Cincinnati yesterday afternoon. 

We spent the afternoon and evening simply getting settled in, exploring the church a bit, and enjoying each other’s company. 

Last night’s dinner was Taco Tuesday! Yummy! After dinner we spent some time in small groups and followed it up with a brief devotion.

Today was our first full day in Cincinnati. We spent the day with the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition. It was a day full of transformative learning. 

Dinner tonight was pulled pork, baked beans, black eyed pea salad, coleslaw, and pickles. It was delicious!

We closed our day with small groups and a beautiful devotion led by Claudia, Thomas, Marshall, and Daniel.

We're off to bed and looking forward to another wonderful day working with the Welcome House. 

Final Day in Lexington

Well, it’s time to wrap up our final day of work here in Lexington!

Group A spent their morning at WECEP dancing with kids, and after lunch they were at the International Book Project sorting books. Group B was at GreenSource in the morning helping in the garden, they then went to E7 where they helped to garden there as well. Finally they headed to Seedleaf to, you guessed it, garden again! Group C was at the Catholic Action Center this morning to help serve breakfast and then sort cans in their warehouse. They were then at E7 where a group helped to garden and another group went to the pool to hangout and play with the kids.

Finally all 3 groups came together to help serve the Thursday night meal here at Maxwell Street. We had small groups and the seniors led their final Service Trip worship to end the night. At the Cheese Danish ceremony Sam bestowed the honor onto Frances!

 All in all in it was a splendid week of service here in Lexington. We can’t thank Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church enough for being phenomenal hosts for our week here. Most importantly a big thank you goes out to all the students for all their incredible hard work this week. It was hot and sweaty at times and they were all very tired, but they jumped on everything that was asked of them and we couldn’t be more grateful for them.

We are hitting the hay here for the final time before we head back to Indy tomorrow!

Working Hard and Playing Hard in Lexington

Today was a shorter day of service but our 3 work groups were still hard at work!

This morning Group A was hard at work at a Habitat for Humanity Lexington restore site on Southland Drive. Meanwhile in Group B, they too were working at a Habitat for Humanity Lexington restore site but on Winchester Road. Group C spent their morning preparing and serving lunch at Lighthouse ministries.

In the afternoon we headed off to the Champs Entertainment Complex where the students enjoyed laser tag, mini golf, and rollerskating.

We are getting some well earned rest before our final day of work here in Lexington!

Second Day of Work in Lexington

It was another long and gratifying day of work! We were again in our 3 work groups for the week, but today every group worked at 3 different sites.

Group A began their day at GreenSource to continue the work from yesterday. They continued to spread mulch and work in the garden. They then went to Arbor youth where they worked in the garden to plant and weed. Arbor Youth is an organization that helps at risk kids in a number of different ways.

Group B started of their day at the Catholic Action Center where they served breakfast and helped to prepare lunch to be served. In the afternoon they worked at E7 here at the church and hoped with the day camp much like the group yesterday.

Finally over in Group C they began their morning at WECEP where they worked with kids and helped them in various activities. Their next site was at International Book Project where they unboxed and sorted books to be sent out to various schools around the US and World. Finally they worked at Seedleaf and helped to weed their gardens and other part did the space.

The night was finished with small groups and worship. Bed time came quickly after in preparation for the next day.

Very excited to see what is in store for us tomorrow!

First Day of Work in Lexington

We are very tired after our first full work day in Lexington. For the week we are split into 3 work groups. Each group will get the opportunity to work with each of the different organizations throughout the week.

Today Group A stared their morning at the Catholic Action Center where they served breakfast and helped prepped lunch to be served later in the day. The Catholic Action Center serves as a homeless shelter and a place for people to come and be served hot meals. In the afternoon they worked with E7 Kid’s Cafe and played and did activities with the kids there. The E7 Kid’s Cafe is a summer camp to help provide a safe space for kids to eat, play, and grow.

Over in Group B, they started their morning with WECEP and worked with the kids there. WECEP is an organization that works with at risk kids so they have a place to go and be safe during summer vacation. Then in the afternoon, they worked at the international book project. The International Book Project collects books and sends them to countries and Title 1 schools in the US that may not have access to books or have outdated curriculums.

Finally in Group C, they spent their morning with GreenSpace at their garden plot helping to weed and mulch. Then in the afternoon they packed snack bags for the homeless at the church. Then they finished their day with the E7 Kid’s Cafe.

Then back at the church we had small groups where we talked about the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the yeast. Finally we had a lovely pool party at a member of our host congregations house. We finished with worship and another cookies with Ken before bed!

Looking forward to another fulfilling day of work tomorrow!