Off to Summer Camp!

Oh, I dearly love camp. Never got to go as a kid so I have more than made up for it as an....ahem....adult. Besides being hot and smoky, it should be an amazing week! Zip lines, mountain biking, swimming, fishing, ridge runners, kayaking, giant swings, ropes course, blobbing, mud pits...it just never ends. I might even knit a bit during free time and try to get some fresh young recruits!

Appalachia 2008 Video

"We want to work!"

After a quick trip to Oregon, I am back and can continue the story....

As I said, we had a couple of days of feeling like we needed to do more. From the beginning I mentioned how much I love these kids. Hopefully you are beginning to understand why and maybe love them a bit yourself....I should highlight that these kids worked hard to get the money for the trip as well. They did car washes, yard work, dog walking, jobs, babysitting, and asking friends, family and business for donations. Each of them came up with 700.00 and I am darn proud of them! They raised the money to go and spend a week working and darn it, they wanted to WORK!

My group spent a couple of days doing things around the camp but never interacting with many people. They felt like they hadn't met any families or been very challenged by the chores they had been given.

Arrival of days 3 and 4 were awesome! After whining to Head Honcho Rob, we were able to switch it up a bit and my group was able to head out into Kentucky at long last.


We met up with our CAP worker, and headed off to the home of a sweet lady named "D". She is a single mom who is raising her two children, 4 abandoned kittens, and a classic Southern front porch puppy! I spent a bit of time talking with her and found that her family went back in this particular holler as long as anyone could remember or know. She was one of 15 children in her own family, and they all remain in the holler and are quite close. She said she hardly knows anyone outside of her own family, and besides, who needs friends when you have that many siblings!



D was in a small mobile home and it was in great need of updating. CAP is a local organization that is amazing!! Go check it out HERE
Basically they determine need and work it all out with the people they serve. They have on going projects and we just come in and help them where they are at on specific sites. Unlike Mexico, there isn't a clear completion of a project (like building a house) but we still made a lot of progress.

D's house had already been roofed and new decks built. She had a door that opened to nothing and a deck was made for it. We showed up and finished the deck, railings and spindles. We also finished much of the new siding and soffetts around the house. Oh, and did I mention how much I love my highschool friends? They used their lunch time to build a dog house for the puppy out of scrap material! We were also able to clean up all of the debris left over from the project, which was a huge pile in her front yard.









We instantly loved this little family and she was so kind to all of us. She was out with us all day, each day, appreciative and open to conversation about everything. We learned so much about her, and I know none of us will ever forget this amazing woman! I think we all made a loving impression on her as well.

The days were long and hot, and the work was rewarding. I think it is also safe to say that the kids I hang out with came away with what they wanted to experience...truly helping someone out and making an impact for the better. They learned that you make an impact in the world in big ways that are tangible and in small ways that may never be seen. While the work at D's house seemed like it was the most significant, I know for a fact that the work we did around the camp was profound. It was helping the people who serve there day in and day out. It was coming along side of people who also get little recognition and giving them some encouragement in what they do each and every day. We got to see both sides of serving, great humility and sweet reward.

...and the next day

I am a mom. Any mom out there will relate to this part of my story. When you are a mom, and then work with kids on top of it all, you tend to see them all as yours. I feel so loyal to these highschool friends of mine that I not only want to protect them, but alternately want to see them get the best out of life...especially on an adventure like this. I wanted EPIC for each and every one of them.

Day 1, while good in it's own way, was a bit of a disappointment. I felt it, and the kids were feeling it too, which didn't help my mood any what so ever. I bit my tongue and hoped the next day would be an improvement. It was not.

Day 2 dawned and we were told that they have this beautification campaign going on in Kentucky and they are encouraging people to clean up the roadsides. Fair enough. Remember that we were in a very poor area, in fact the 3rd poorest county in the United States. When you have to pay for trash service, and you can barely survive as it is, you tend to not pay and toss your trash out into the roadsides hither and yon.


The problem for me was not only the safety part of it, but the lack of organization. It felt like they didn't quite know what to do with us and so they gave us this task as "busy work". They also handed us a box of latex gloves (and fancy orange vests) as the only protection for picking up all manner of trash....tires, broken televisions, bags of abandoned trash, and lots of broken glass.


It was a tough sell, I am not going to lie. The work stunk and the kids were doing their best but it wasn't easy for them to stay positive. I was really wrestling with how to approach Head Honcho Rob at the end of the day. I did not want to seem like a whiny complainer, but yet I felt like my group was missing out. I knew Rob, while Head Honcho and all, was really not the one calling the shots with what each group was assigned to do for the day. In the back of my mind I kept thinking "Well, we came to serve and not complain"....yet it didn't really feel like we were serving.

We made the best of it and by "we" I really mean ME. I tried hard to chuck my own nasty feelings and look for the opportunities. There were many and in the end I was appreciative of the day.

Being able to walk along roads that few people ever do was wonderful. I was able to get into some really deep conversations with my small group that might not have happened otherwise.

One of our topics was how we can poison each other with our words. If I am not enjoying myself and think picking up trash is infuriating to say the least...then I tell everyone about how awful I feel, soon enough others begin to feel the same way. How we talk about each other, or the things we choose to share can really matter. In life we need to be so careful about how we talk to others because our opinions or bad attitudes can go much further than we realize. Words matter and have meaning...choose them carefully.

I watched the kids begin to encourage each other in the most precious ways. In the end we had somehow turned it into a silly competition about getting the most trash. Final tally: 14 tires, 3 televisions, a car bumper, one dog skull (yeah, ick!!), and 21 assorted bags of trash!


Another thing that came up was about our contribution those first two days. No one was ever going to know we were there. No one was necessarily going to appreciate what we were doing and we would not receive any kudos or reward for it. We did quite a bit of work around the camp as well (a summer camp for local kids) and none of those summer kids would ever appreciate or see us. I did my best to explain that this is like real life in so many ways (can I get a "here! here!" from the moms out there...). Being the kind of person who will work and serve with humility is a great lesson for any of us, but these kids really learned it...pressed in deeply. They "got it" and it makes me want to blubber and cry just thinking about well they "got it".


I will wrap up with leading into day 3. I did finally work up the nerve (aka "momma bear" fight) to talk to Head Honcho Rob. I was on my way but and ran into my good friend and co-leader, Eddie. He was coming back from the same talk I was heading towards and so I didn't feel like I needed to keep going. It had been said.

The next morning we were all in a leader meeting and getting our marching orders for the day. Turns out we were supposed to spend the day at camp AGAIN and do some raking. I took a deep breath and layed it out there...fighting tears if I have to be honest. Sticking up for kids who had worked hard to raise 700.00 each to come on this trip. Kids who were here to meet people and do something that mattered, and that would last beyond them a bit and they weren't getting that experience.

Head Honcho Rob heard every word and even though he could not do anything about what was assigned to us, we did some juggling internally with our groups. Next thing I know I am telling kids to pack their lunches....we are outta here!!

First Day's Work

We all woke up and had breakfast. Many of the kids packed lunches, but some of us lucky few had lunch provided where we were working that day! With a group our size, we break the kids into work teams and all head off to different work sites. In Mexico last year we had 3 teams and we were able to build 3 houses. This trip is we split into 5 work crews and all head out in different directions.

The crew I had with me didn't get too far. We went into a little town called McKee. If you have never heard of it, don't worry. I hadn't either and I don't think too many people have. Although it is an adorable little town of less than a thousand people, it is certainly a kind of "blink and you'll miss it" place. I will say that the local gas station was quite happy when we pulled in and filled up 6 vans! They even said THANKS!!

Our job that day was to actually help out Sister Mary at the church she tends. It was obvious someone told her a group of teens were coming to help and to make a list. She pulled out her little notebook and walked us around the place, pointing here and there, and explaining what she would like to see get done. I was able to get the kids to say what they wanted to do, and we were nearly finished before lunch. Sister Mary fed us all hot dogs, beans, salad and an amazing home made corn relish.




I told her we had some more time and to think of anything else we could do while she had us at her disposal. She found a few more projects, and I would say that we did above and beyond what she expected. I know for a fact that we saved this sweet older gal weeks of working on her knees, and probably a few aches and pains to go with it.





A special treat came at nearly the end of the day. A couple of the girls were doing some final work near the front shrubs. They noticed a bird fly out of a very tiny hole. Thinking this was odd, they carefully looked a bit closer.....such a nice treat to see. We carefully walked away and didn't tell anyone else our secret find.


At the end of it all, we felt like we had made a new friend. Mary had told us all about her life before coming to this area as well as what she does in reaching out to this small community. It did seem a bit like we were just helping one person, but in reality we were helping a lot of people. Giving Mary a needed break from hard physical work frees her up to love the people that come to see her each day.

Good Morning Day 1!!

Recap: Dinner and Rock Band with high school friends, go nigh-night, wake up at 2am and head to airport, spend all day flying all over the place, drive, break down, eat and have Club, drive and finally arrive at camp in Kentucky waaaaay past bedtime.

Morning!

Wow, what a beautiful place! If I didn't already live in one of the most beautiful places created I would venture to say that Tennessee and Kentucky could run a tight race for that award. Let me just share a sampling of what I got to see!




I would be remiss if I did not mention the Red Bud Trees. They were everywhere! I think spring was an amazing time to go because the trees were all just beginning to bud so you could see the halo of green yet could still see through all the branches to the hills beyond. But the Red Bud, well, it was everywhere and I was ooohing and ahhhing at all of it. I so wish that it would grow in my yard!


Please, if you do nothing click on this last picture, it is soooo pretty!

Head Honcho Rob, Man of Many Mysteries

If you know anything about Young Life, you know we are a bunch of jokers and clowns and fools. There are things we will be dead serious about (like loving Jesus) but the rest of life we don't take too seriously for the most part. That is why we are able to shuck all wisdom and hang out with teens. Not simply hang out with teens, but we actually LOVE them....and we like to pack up a few, or 40, and we take them across the country, or to a foreign country and work them like whipped mules for a week. So in that spirit of silliness I show you our fearless leader:

I am certain he doesn't care for this picture but we all seem to have an embarrassing shot that gets used each and every time it's needed, I have to go with it, cause it's how I roll. I will add that besides cropping out his full name for the sake of the net and all, I have sadly cropped the most significant part of this photo....his roller skates! Yep, he is wearing skates with all that safety gear...and this photo is from more years ago than any of us know, note the mustache as proof...and we can thank his wife for sneaking this to us.

I should actually back up a bit and toot the horn of praise for our our fearless Head Honcho on this trip. His name is Rob and I will just go on record and say that I adore this guy. I have a lot of reasons, too many to list, and I feel so honored to know him and get to work with him...gush, gush, gush!

At the first leg of the trip, in the first airport pit stop he gave all the adults a small card and said "Guard this with you LIFE!!". I think he knew that if he gave it to any of us dorky adults leaders (a term I will use loosely but hey, that is what they call us!) we might not have shown up with it on D-Day. Smart man. Not only was this precious card something we might need, with every conceivable phone number, emergency number, White House red phone number....but the sucker was laminated!! I know better than to be impressed by him, cause this is how he rolls, but I am continually impressed. And since no children were harmed in the cross country travel, they are all home safe and sound, I will now confess that I lost my precious card. I really think it was during the final drive back to my house. I kept it in my cell phone case and all the kids were passing my phone around to call parents to be picked up in 45 minutes. I know I had the precious card before I gave my phone out, I know I did!

Anywho--back to on the way there--we had a lay over between Vegas and Nashville that allowed for a food court hang out time. It was here that Head Honcho Rob felt it wise to give the adult leaders the run down for when we landed in Nashville. He had giant zip-lock bags that had a big number inside of them. Behind that was a mapquest map for the trip from the airport to the church we were heading to for dinner. Behind that was a AAA map, the route highlighted in yellow, in case any of those famous mapquest mistakes happened to be on the first map. Oh, and we all were guarding with our lives the laminated card that had all of our numbers for each other (and the White House red phone) in case we got lost. My job? The only thing I could think of? The thing I said right there in the leader meeting...."Don't lose me! I will not get lost, I will follow, but for the love of Pete...please don't lose me in Kentucky!"

Nope, Head Honcho Rob did not actually give us these precious zip-lock bags. He merely showed them to us and explained their significance. We were told that they would be on the dashboards of our vans when we got to Nashville. We would receive a van key, with a number on the tag, and that number was the first thing in that bag on the dash and this would be our car for the week. I think he has done this before, don't you?

Since the only food provided on this next flight was a few broken pretzels and a small plastic cup of soda, and Head Honcho Rob knew this going in...he got a donation from a local deli in town to give us sandwiches for the trip. This was the fun part! Somehow the lunch cooler was loaded into the plane galley and I was one of the lucky leaders who got to play flight attendant. They didn't let me do the "emergency directions" part, much as I would have loved to point to all the exits and explain how the seat doubles as a flotation device in the event of a water landing...over Texas?.....I digress...I got to pass out a real lunch! On the plane! Nothing makes you a hero more than to give hungry kids some yummy food! Except for the rest of the passengers looking sadly at their bag of broken pretzels and plastic cup of soda, I was in heaven.

Thanks Head Honcho Rob, for setting me up to look so good! One more reason I adore ya!



We landed in Nashville and grabbed our traveling buddies. Another detail assigned to us. Each leader had four kids that they were responsible for getting from point A to point B. We also have our own version of security checks with leader Jeff, because he is the tallest and most visible, and he had his trusty clipboard. He would check us all past a point in the airports, then run ahead to our own personal security check point, and check us all past again. This is how we know we never left anybody. We each had our own kids to watch, but leader Jeff had his clipboard! (another detail provided by Head Honcho Rob)

So we are finally on the road. Head Honcho Rob, in all his wisdom, knew that kids stuffed into vans for a 5 hour drive and all their stuff stuffed into a van for a 5 hour drive AFTER being on planes all day...well, he knew it would be rough. He planned for only 6 people to be in each van, though there were seat belts for 7. He wanted us all to have a bit of breathing room, even if it meant the expense of an additional van. Do you see where this is heading? Do you see why I just love Head Honcho Rob?

The van. The piece of junk van. Need I say more? I explained that our group was separated by a traffic light and those of us who made it through pulled over to wait. I know I never wanted to be lost in Kentucky, nor did I want to lose anyone...so we waited. The next light turned and we all started to move forward. I hear a "ding" and look at my dash lights. Hmmmm....I notice a check engine light come on. I also feel a funny vibration, and start asking "do you gals smell that?". I pull out my precious laminated card and skim past the White House red phone to get Head Honcho Rob's number and ask my navigator/teen to ring him up. He answers, I explain, and do you know what this man perfect planning says? He says "Well, we are almost to the church, can you hold on?" What part of engine light, weird vibration and odd smell sounds like I should keep driving? Did he hear me?

Well, it turns out he was right. We literally were at the turn to the looooong uphill driveway to the church and all I had to do was pull in and park. I did calmly tell the girls that there could be a car fire that I could not see, and to get out as soon as I stopped. I deduced this from the large amount of smoke pouring from my car. Head Honcho Rob never saw any of this and he immediately started pointing to where we should go to eat, and it made me wonder if he had even heard what I said....ya know, the car issue?

I will end the suspense and say simply that we were all able to find those extra seat belts that had been allowed for comfort, move all gear from the abandoned van into the remaining vans and carry on to our next adventure.

I also want to thank Rob. He is simply the best! He makes all of us look good and true to his word, he did not lose me in Kentucky!

Appalachia stole my heart...and Young Life Rocks!

Beginning on Sunday night, kids started arriving at my house before dinner. We had the bar-b-que scenting out through the neighborhood and parents giving their hugs to kids being dropped off for the adventure. Kids were whispering to me to get their "parents outta here" and parents were whispering "take care of my baby"...being in the middle, I hugged everyone and winked and nodded to both. That's how I roll!

The evening was spent laughing loudly, eating a lot, playing Rock Band, and generally doing some early bonding. I also would glide around giving shout outs of the countdown until bed time, but no one seemed to take me seriously. I was never wrestled to the ground, or had dirty socks stuffed in my mouth, so I kept at my plan. I had no illusions, but the goal was to get SOME rest before our early rise to get to the airport an hour away. For highschool kids, I was quite happy to see that they had fun, but also seemed willingly be in bed by 10pm....thank you Lord! I am the one who needed rest!

We did wake up early (2am), got dressed, tidied up the house a bit, and loaded into the car. Off to the airport we went and there we met the rest of the group. About 35 kids plus 10 adult leaders made us a group worth noticing. Many people think I am nuts to hang with teens but I have to tell you they are better than most adults I know. I don't know what it says about me, you can judge for yourself, but hopefully you will see by the end of this why I love them all so freakin' much!! We flew from Reno to Las Vegas. My daughter was so excited when I told her she could exaggerate and say she had been there, though her feet never touched soil. She didn't care, she just knows she saw the same buildings that are in the opening credits for CSI....and that is not an admission that she is allowed to watch this show, but who hasn't seen the beginning credits?

Early at the Reno airport. See how dark it is? See how happy the young folk are?


See the sleeping "adult leader" there catchin' it where she can? That is resourceful!!

(never been to the Grand Canyon, but we got to fly over it, can I say I was there too?)

This is me. This is before the rest of the adventure, early, early in the trip now that I look back on it. See how happy I am? My hair is clean, I have a bit of makeup on, and I am feelin' fine! I had even earned my Southwest wings already...

These are two of the kids that I encouraged to get to bed. Before....

I explained that they would be tired and would need their rest for the next day and the next week. They laughed at me and continued their Rock Band concert tour....I should have known they would do this to me. Oh sure, they think they are young and can stay up all night, but NOooooo....party poopers!

A quick layover and then off to Nashville. I have to say that I was so pleasantly surprised at how beautiful that city was. Green, hilly and so different from my neck of the woods. Once there we piled all these kids into vans and began our 5 plus hour drive up into Kentucky. For those of you who are wondering...yes it was a looong day, but not nearly as loooooong as the return day. We had time change on our side going East.

Our group was caravaning and we got a bit separated at a stop light. Those of us who made it through the light pulled over to wait and it was at this point I heard a ding, saw a light come on, felt a weird idling vibration. The light changed, we all began to move together again, and then I noticed smoke coming out of my car....in Kentucky! I was SO far out of my "comfort zone" I can't even begin to tell you, and all the promises of taking care of "babies" were weighing on my mind, and then came the smoke. Pouring out of my car!! Did I mention I was in Kentucky? Fortunately, I looked up and we were at the driveway of the church that was hosting us for dinner/pit stop. As I am pulling into the parking lot I calmly told the kids that when I stopped they were to exit the vehicle from the two side exits. We had just been on a few plane rides, so they seemed to know the "emergency plan" intuitively and didn't ask about oxygen masks, or taking carry on, they just knew that when I stopped the needed to GET OUT! Stay tuned....the adventure does continue!

Go take a breath, get some coffee and ya'll come back soon!

"You do me honor"

Have you ever had one of those experiences that changes you? Or at least you really truly hope you are changed...for good? I have them now and again, and they usually are a "God thing", but I am sadly not always permanently changed. Being honest I would have to admit that. I want to be different, pray to be different, even give God permission to MAKE me different yet in the end I tend to go back to my habits. So sad.

This weekend I had such an experience and I hope it sticks. I am a Young Life leader and we have a weekend each year that is officially a training sort of thing, but I find it to be much more of a retreat. It is for adult staff and volunteers (like me) to get together and encourage one another, and it is something I look forward to each January.

In spite of my dental issues this week, I packed up my bag, my even larger bag of drugs, one husband and an open heart. I was not disappointed. The speaker started off the first session referencing a verse that I had been studying for a while and had sort of come to this weekend with packed in my heart....insert Twilight Zone theme song...

Without getting too out there, I will zone in on one particular part of one particular event and try not to butcher it :-)....

We were treated to a biblical dinner Saturday evening. This was a 3 hour meal that was taught as much as eaten. A pastor came and while wearing period clothing, he lead us through a feast that was "Last Supper"ish in it's design. Not really Passover, but a feast that would have been typical of that era among friends. Each aspect of the meal was explained. From the invitation to the feast, and how the person was invited and what it meant, to the individual things that occur during it, like offering a cool drink of water and washing the guests feet. So much that I cannot go into for fear of being too "religious" and because the meal was 3 hours people!


Anyway....One part of the meal is a time where bread is broken and it is dipped in olive oil. You then feed this to another person and say "You do me honor". This was explained to mean so much more. See, in this era (and locale I imagine) there was no such thing as self esteem. It really was a humble time, and other people were regarded as higher than oneself. During the meal if you were about to place a bite of food in your mouth and it looked good to your friend sitting beside you, it was an HONOR if they took it from you and ate it. If you asked for a bowl of olives to be passed to you, the person passing the bowl to you would say "You do me honor" because it was an honor for them to serve you in some small way.


Wierd eh? It was an experience I'll tell ya! To be honest it was wonderful in ways I can't describe but not without its share of giggling!

So back the the bite of bread. During the feast at any time you are allowed to get up and go to someone else and place a bit of olive oil dipped bread in their mouth and say "You do me honor". This meant a lot of things. It meant "I forgive you forever", it meant "I hold you higher than myself", it meant "I would die for you, friend", it meant "you mean so much to me, I esteem you"....this simple gesture means so much and I hope I am not doing the aforementioned butchering of this element.

I was trying to take it all in and really get it. I was awkward because I was not feeling great and that was a distraction. I was a bit uncomfortable because this sort of thing almost makes you feel silly for its lack of normalcy...we were eating with our right hands for crying out loud. (No silverware at ancient feasts and your left hand was what they had in place of toilet paper) I was also astounded at the real meanings behind everything. It was living history and that always gets my heart and mind going.

Then a sweet friend of mine came up to me. She is a girl I had in Young Life but who is now a leader herself. She came from all the way across the large dining hall where she had been sitting and tapped me on the shoulder. I turned and there was her sweet smiling face and she was holding a piece of oil dipped bread and she said "You do me honor". All I could do was open my mouth and receive.....oh, and cry like a baby!! It is not part of the feast but of course I hugged her too.

All I can say is that this in one lesson I really want to "get". I really want to have a heart of humility and to hold others higher than my own silly self. As a mom and wife and person in general. I get tired sometimes picking up after everyone in my house, but I want to choose to see it as an honor to serve my family, because it is. I could make a list a mile long of all the little annoyances that life tosses my way, but if I could remember to stop for a moment and insert one humble phrase "You do me honor", I would be thrilled!

I like to think that this is a thing we can all appreciate regardless of where you hang your hat faith wise. If you have hung in there this far, I am grateful and please know I am not in any way trying to be "preachy". This gal is a firm believer in taking the giant log out of my own eye before I try to remove any specks of dust elsewhere...I am simply sharing something that I hope has changed ME.

The pictures are not from the feast I was at, I swiped them from the website of the pastor who came and shared this with us.


Speaking of Honor.....Tammy has knocked me over with her little "You Make My Day" award. I was thinking "Huh? Me?". I think the only people who read my blog are co-workers and friends and family members who I force into it. And Tammy! So to her I say "You do me honor" and I have a feeling she will "get it" too. She is cool like that.


Never having done this before, because no one has never tagged me in blogland, I am a bit nervous. I also just cleaned out my bookmarks in an effort to prioritize my time, so I don't know if I have 10 people that I visit all the time. Also do I want to admit just how much time I spend reading other peoples lives? Yikes! In no particular order, but simply because this is fun, these are the people I am willing to admit to that they have their own personal stalker....ME!

I feel like we could be buddies Tammy Knits
Her wit kills me Knit and Tonic
Not nearly as "Crusty Old Broad" as she thinks, Freaky Knitter
My dear friend who is far away and I miss terribly, Dot-San
Always a good read, Marie Grace
Who doesn't read Yarn Harlot ?
never comment, but I often read Green Apples
a well rounded gal, Madre Adoptiva
An Irish girl loves an Irish girl, We Do Not Have A Knitting Problem
From a town I adore, and a customer I miss seeing, Busha Full of Grace

That was fun! Made me think of how much fun I have looking in on everyone and their lives and knitting and such. Oh, and TAG, you are all "it"...your turn to share who makes your day!

The day Love came to town....

I like the idea of blogging but "the time" is what I need to have more of to do it well....if at all. Oh well, I take comfort in friends like me who barely get this done, and yet I still enjoy reading their occasional posts. Besides, there are so many other great blogs to read that I prefer the reading to the typing. I am not nearly so clever as Wendy!

Mexico was amazing, by way of catching up. The first day we arrived at our job site we were greeted by two little girls holding hands. Sisters!! Well I do love that! Reminded me so much of my own sister and I, and her two little girls (my nieces) that I was nearly in tears the first moment.

We had made a sign that said "Free Hugs" in Spanish.

I held it up so they could see it, then put it down and held out my arms...these beautiful girls came running down the hill, into my arms, and into my heart forever. We were literally joined at the hip all week with affection and games and charades to communicate. It is amazing how well you can with just a few words of Spanish, and they were so darn smart and curious about everything.

The thing that amazed me the most was at the end of it all they had a place to live. In spite of all our fun! Our group of highschool kids took 4 days to build 3 houses, joining 2 cultures under 1 God!

I would highly recommend this sort of trip to anyone and everyone. It really makes you step out of your normal life and see we are not all that different. The extra "things" we have are different but love and family is the same. These kids were happy with sticks and a pile of sand, and my kids were changed by it. I saw 45 highschool kids affected in a profound way, right along with me.

I can't wait for next year!

Off to Mexico!!

How does a trip with 60 highschool kids, on a bus for over 12 hours (each way), camping in "roughin' it" conditions, and building houses for needy families sound? It sounds like Spring Break baby! And that is where we are headed in just a few short hours!

We are a Young Life group headed down to Mexico to build 3 houses this week. This will be a first trip for me, as I have never done this particular thing before. Usually it is Club and Camp and all the other fun stuff. I have to say, though, that I am more excited about this than anything we have headed off to do so far.

What does this have to do with knitting? Not too much. I do have a Silk Shrug I am taking for the bus ride. It is a simple mindless pattern with no fancy anything. I can pick it up and put it down at the drop of the hat, or whatever it is that a teen can do to make you put something down and run to them....The other cool thing is that I can teach whoever wants to learn. We will have a knitting circle at the back of the bus for as many that care to participate.

Send your thoughts and prayers our way this week! We will certainly need and appreciate it!

Happy Easter! He is Risen indeed!