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!

First Day in Lexington

We had a beautiful first day here in Lexington. We first went to worship and heard about the parable of the Good Samaritan. After a quick lunch we spent the sunny afternoon in the UK Arboretum State Botanical Garden.

When we returned to the church the youth participated in a housing simulation. In the simulation they were given a scenario that represented different life situations, and then they were told to go to different agencies to acquire things like like housing, employment, health services, bus passes, daycare, and social services. They learned about the various challenges and obstacles people face everyday trying to navigate the different organizations and agencies.

After small group time, where we read the parable of the talents, we had worship led by one of the small groups. Then we had a crowd favorite event, cookies with Ken. Finally, it was off to bed!

We are ready to wake up and get going with our first full day of service tomorrow!

Arrival in Lexington

We have arrived safe and sound here in Lexington, KY! We spent the evening getting settled and enjoying a wonderful pulled pork BBQ courtesy of Ken and Stacey. The evening finished with getting acquainted with our small groups for the week.

We eagerly await the great week of service ahead of us!

Final Day of Service

What an incredible final day of service here in Ferguson! Today we had the privilege to work with St. Louis County and their Problem Properties unit who works to clear the overgrown landscaping that has taken over vacant and abandoned properties around the county. We worked at three properties throughout the day and cleared a large amount of shrubs, trees, branches, and debris from the properties.

We finished our day off with a frozen treat from Doozie’s and small group devotions. Finally we had the BOS(burger of service) ceremony where the current holder of the BOS picks someone who has shown great work ethic and impacted the group in a positive light to be the new keeper of the BOS. Connor picked Maddie because of her fantastic energy and willingness to serve in any way she could.

It was a very eventful and fun week and we are forever grateful for everyone who made it such a beautiful experience. Now for a good night’s sleep before we head back to Indy in the morning!

A LittleBit of Fun on our Third Day in Ferguson

We started off our third work day at The LittleBit Foundation who helps to outfit kids with school essentials. To help them prepare for the upcoming school year, we put together hygiene kits, school supply bags, made bookmarks, and readied clothes.

After a quick lunch, we headed to downtown St. Louis to spend the afternoon at the City Museum. The students crawled and climbed all through the maze of recycled materials that make up the museum.

In small groups after dinner, we discussed justice and what it means to us in our context. We explored this through the lease of Isaiah. After an exhausting day we went to sleep early in preparation for our final day of work!

First Day of Service in Ferguson

Incredible first day of service here in Ferguson. Today we worked with SoulFisher Ministries. We served in the Educate Now to Achieve Later program with kids ranging in age from kindergarten through sixth grade.

We finished the day off with a great Taco Tuesday that some of the youths helped to prepare. That was followed by small group time where we learned about the story of Esther and her bravery to save the Jewish people from Haman. We finished the evening with a group devotional where we made a covenant for the rest of the week ahead. Next was a group game of hide and seek before bed!

We are all looking forward to another fantastic day of service tomorrow!

Arrival in Ferguson

A great first day of travel and settling in here in Ferguson! We heard a presentation learning about the history of how Ferguson, followed by pizza and some cards in the down time. We finished the night off with a group devotional and small groups.
Excited for a great week of work!