Mission Trip 2009

Though I made a few comments introducing these young ladies, it is their voices that spoke strongly and movingly about their experiences on this year’s mission trip.   Be sure to scroll down and read all of their words.

The Time of Singing Has Come

Song of Songs 2:8-13  James 1:17-27 

We do not often hear readings from the Song of Songs in Sunday worship.

It is a beautiful and odd part of the Hebrew Bible. It is made up of about 25 poems and fragments of poems, all of them graceful and sensuous, and many of them openly erotic. And yes, that is why passages from this book are often read at weddings.

Although God is not mentioned by name, faithful people through the ages have often heard these passages expressing God’s place as husband to God’s people, and Christians have often heard it as an allegory of the love of Christ for the church.

My own conviction is that this is, indeed love poetry, and that it became part of the Hebrew Scriptures as a way of affirming the importance of human love in understanding and extending God’s love. Amid all of the sexual intrigue and violence of the Old Testament, these verses are a refreshing and renewing breath of fresh air.

This morning, we welcome another breath of fresh air: the report of our young people who were on the mission trip to Alamosa, Colorado this summer. Their voices remind us that when we speak the truth about our experiences and our faith, we bring a kind of spiritual spring into the world, a rebirth of compassion, generosity, and Christian love. The ancient writer of the Songs of Songs wrote, “The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come,,.” [Song of Songs 2:12] For these young women, the time of singing – or at least of speaking – their truth has come, and they have come to share it with us.

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My name is Kira Kirchberg and I was fortunate enough to be one of the youth who went on the mission trip to Alamosa, Colorado this year. This year we had five youth and four leaders on the trip, all of which were female, which made this trip different from any other year.

However, as our journey on the trip proceeded, we found many other ways in which it was unique. Having such a small group allowed us to bond with not only each other really well, but also with the people we met along the way. We left Colorado with new friends that we will never forget. Friends that are struggling with homelessness, friends that are elementary kids with unbearable home lives, friends that we helped build a house for, or friends that biked all the way from Alamosa to Minnesota, just to raise money for others in need.

Our new friends are extraordinary in so many ways, it would be near impossible to sum them up in one word, but I’m going to try. Strong. If I had to label everyone we met into one group, I would label them as the strongest, most courageous people on this planet. The friends we met at La Puente had to walk through the meal line every day, admitting that they couldn’t feed themselves, but every day they walked through that line with their heads raised high and hope for the future, something that most of us could not do.

Our friends at P.A.L.S. were all under the age of eleven, but have been through more rough times that most people will go through in their entire lives. Knowing this, it tugged at all of our heartstrings every time one of the kids would hug a fellow P.A.L. when they got hurt, or even just to hear them laugh and see the huge smiles on their faces, smiles that you would never in a million years expect from kids with their backgrounds. These kids showed unconditional love to everyone they met, even though we all know very well that they are not shown that kind of love at home.

Seeing all these people in such difficult situations made us reflect upon our own lives, and start to realize what is truly important. This trip made me realize who the most successful people in life are. The most successful people are people who don’t need all the material things. They are people who have hope, they are people who love the ones around them, and they are people who have the ability to make it through the roller coaster of life with a smile on their face, even through the bumpiest of rides.

The eleven days of our journey will no doubt be days that we will look back upon for the rest of our lives and smile about. From the people we met, to the places we went, to the ways we served others, this trip was nothing short of absolutely amazing.

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My name is Rae Thompson. Working with the PALS kids was a new experience for all of us, even though we all were seasoned veterans of volunteering in Alamosa (except for poor Laurel, who had to hear story after story about ‘the old days’). PALS stands for Positive Activities Lift the Spirit, and it is a daycare program for high risk and underprivileged children. It was the first year the UCC has been affiliated with the program, andit was one of the most soul shaking experiences many of us had.

Working with 5 to 9 year olds on everything from reading books and making costumes, to stopping tantrums and fights, was way more exhausting than we ever thought, and so we would like to take a second and say thank you to all of our parents right now for all of your hard work over the years, because even after a few days of those children we were all going to bed A LOT earlier.

The children we worked with were so accepting of our love and friendship; seeing them trust us with everything and hearing what they had to say about their lives opened our eyes to a world of poverty and fear. The fact that they even had PALS, which for many of them was the one reliable thing in their life, the one reliable place to go to play and learn and have adult role models, was amazing.

This program has changed their lives, and even though we only got to connect with them for a few days, we still yearn to serve these children and the volunteers at PALS as much as we possibly can. That is why we created the friendship bracelet fundraiser. We gave all the PALS kids friendship bracelets as a tangible reminder of our presence and volunteer work in Alamosa. We are asking that you donate to our cause, and in return, you will receive a friendship bracelet as a token of remembrance of the children.

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My name is Kami Kirchberg. When you think of this year’s mission trip group, the words “amazing roofers” probably don’t come to mind. However, we found out that nailing shingles to a steep roof is one of your many talents.

This year we spent two days as an entire group at the Habitat for Humanity site. We worked on a house that belonged to Sam and Mark. Sam is a graphic designer for Habitat as part of her payment for the house, and Mark is a construction worker. They have two small children. We never got the opportunity to meet Mark but Sam made one of the biggest impressions on me, as well as the rest of the group.

Sam is one of the nicest people I have ever met. The first day she came up onto the roof and introduced herself and told us multiple times how sorry she was she didn’t bring a treat for all of us, but promised she would bring ice cream that afternoon. That afternoon she brought lots of ice cream and continued to thank us for all the work we were doing. The next day she brought very good cookies in the morning, ice cream in the afternoon, and then when it got very cold, she brought us hot chocolate. When she had to leave for the last time, Sam gave us all huge hugs and once again thanked us many times for all we were doing for her family. We were all very sad to see Sam drive away on the last afternoon.

The Habitat house was pretty far along by the time we got to Colorado. The walls were up, and the roof was one. So what was our job? To shingle the roof. Scary, I know. Although climbing the ladder and stepping onto the roof for the first time was just about the scariest moment of my life; after walking on the roof for a few minutes, the fear went away. We met the overseer for the roof, Dave, and went right to work. We got into a very nice rhythm and before we knew it we were almost finished with one side of the roof. I think we were all amazed at our newly discovered skill.

Dave admitted, when we asked him, that he was a little skeptical of how we were going to do when he met us. But who could blame him? Five high school girls attempting to shingle a roof for the first time, I was even skeptical. However, Dave did add that we turned out to be one of the bet groups, only ever getting about a fourth of an inch off, and always working hard. So we went to lunch the first day, and came back pumped to continue shingling.

After about an hour of hard working, we saw lightning. Although the youth all wanted to continue working, Linda and Karen thought standing on a roof with a metal hammer might not be the best idea. So we came off the roof and waited for the lightning to pass, hoping it wouldn’t start raining. Even though Rae and I did a very nice anti-rain dance, the rain still came, and a lot of it may I add. It was clear that we weren’t going to be shingling any more that day.

Because Linda and Karen had been working so hard all day inside the house securing chicken wire to the walls, there was nothing for us to do when it started raining. So we got to home a few hours early.

Because of our set back the first day, we came back ready to work even harder the next. Two sides of the house were finished by lunch that day. After lunch we climbed the ladder, got on the roof, and the wind started blowing. We are strong, determined ladies. We were not going to let a little wind stop us. Until a few seconds later when shingles started flying off the roof, one hitting me, almost knocking me off my feet. This time Linda and Karen didn’t even have to tell us to get off the roof. However, now there was more to do inside. We all worked nailing boards to make the roof support stronger. It sounds much easier said than done. Trying to pound a nail straight in above your head is not the easiest thing. We have pictures to prove it. We ended up getting a lot done that day, and had a lot of fun while doing it.

Although our goal of getting the roof shingled, walls up, plumbing done, furniture in, and windows cleaned didn’t happen, we accomplished a lot in the two days we were at the Habitat site, and had a really good time meeting Sam and catching up with our long time Habitat buddy, Mike.

We are all very excited to get updates on the house, as well as on Sam, Mark, and their family.

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My name is Kathleen Pender. After the postlude we will be showing a slideshow of our journey in Colorado, so we would encourage everyone to stay. Through the slideshow you will get to meet the PALS kids, kids who all have so much potential, but need our help to thrive. We are doing a fundraiser to raise money for the PALS program. We will be selling friendship bracelets that we made. The suggested donation is three dollars and five dollars, depending on which bracelet you choose.

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Prayer for August 30, 2009

Almighty and everlasting God, creator of all things seen and unseen, hear now our silent prayers, as we open our hearts to you in the sacred quietness.

God of faith and hope, we bring before you our prayers for those we have named this morning – we especially remember … Bring to each of them the gifts of mercy and grace that are most needed, according to your wisdom and love.

This morning, we particularly pray for your presence in the everyday struggles and sufferings of our lives.

O Great Physician, be with those who must accommodate their daily activities to the limitations imposed by chronic illnesses and conditions. Uphold them with the resources of patience and consistency, so that they may maintain the routines that conserve their energies and maximize their participation in family life, work, and the community. Renew them in times of discouragement, and help their companions to understand and accept their ups and downs.

We also pray for your presence with the caregivers of those with special needs. Bring them a clear understanding of the value of what they do, and strengthen them in times of exhaustion and overwork. Help them to share with us the unique joys and insights that come from intimate service to another person, and enlist the rest of us to provide support and respite for them in this loving and vital ministry.

We offer prayers today for all of the families who are in conflict or crisis. Our hope for them is that good communication, patience, forgiveness, and forbearance will bring about reconciliation and peace in their homes, and we are grateful for both the kind friends and the skilled professionals who help to bring that resolution. But we pray also for those whose distress is great that it is past mending, and we ask your presence in the difficult decisions to alter or end previously precious relationships.

And we pray today for the people with whom we spend our working time. Help us to establish and maintain environments of respect, thoughtfulness, and productivity, and to attend to our duties with integrity, energy, and responsibility. Guide us in approaching our tasks and relating to one another in ways that proclaim, without words, the Good News of the Gospel.

Finally, O God of every day, be present with us in our daily habits and routines. Let our eating and sleeping, our comings and goings, our chores and our playing, all be filled with your light and your love. Teach us to be more faithful disciples through the disciplines that we choose, and bring us closer to you through the surprises and interruptions that every day brings.

All these things we pray in the name of the one who lived among us as our human brother, and who lives among us still as our Risen Savior, even Jesus the Christ, and we pray together now in the words that he taught us …