Goodbye Nashville!

We slept in a little later this morning and then packed the vans, said our good-byes to all our new friends and good-bye to Nashville.  It was an incredible week of service, fun, adventures and love for all of the Zion youth and the lucky adults that spent the week with them.  We could not of been more proud of all these kids and the incredible service projects they did for the city of Nashville.  We can leave the state of Tennessee knowing that we made a difference.... God's Work Our Hands.

Our trip to Peoria went by very fast and we arrived this evening at St. Paul Lutheran church.  We were greeted at the church by their youth director Amy, who provided us with lots of treats, an air conditioned youth room complete with foosball, a pool table, basketball, full kitchen and a large movie screen and incredibly comfortable couches and chairs for us to spend the evening, all of which are filled with our youth. We ordered some food from a couple of restaurants and when the food arrives, we will enjoy a great meal watch a movie, and then head for bed.  We are going to rise early tomorrow to head home.

This may be my final blog (Dan) about this trip....but I may add lots of pictures when I get home.  I want to thank Anna for the incredible job she did planning the trip,  thank Jodi for being such a fantastic co-pilot, thank the youth from Zion for including this guy in everything they did and for the great example they were for all of Nashville, thank God's Work Our Hands for providing an incredible week, thank all of Zion's parents for sending your youth to Nashville to serve....and most of all ... I want to thank our amazing God for being there with us through it all!  We will be back in Stewie tomorrow...time for a little bit of food and rest to prepare for our final day of travel.  Have a good night everyone, See ya tomorrow!

- Dan

Our Final Day Of Service In Nashville

Our final day of service for Dan's group (Mr and Mrs Smith) was a fantastic finish to a fantastic week.  We spent the day at 2nd Harvest Food Bank inspecting and sorting over 7500 pounds of frozen meat, pizzas, desserts, entrees, and just about any kind of frozen food you can imagine. The kids from Zion shined like every other day showing the people of Nashville the love of God in all the work they did... with smiles on their faces and love in their hearts.  We sorted all the food in the warehouse, finished early, and headed off to see the American Pickers warehouse...lots of interesting items there!

Our evening event was suppose to be pizza at the lake, swimming, tossing frisbees, bocce ball, etc...followed by a worship service watching the sunset. Buttttttttt.... the pizza wasn't ready which delayed our trip, the traffic was fairly heavy, and when we arrived at the lake...it closed in just 25 minutes.  Whoops... alternate plans had to be made.  After some discussion we headed to Bicentennial Park (where we were suppose to go on Tuesday).  Pizza under the railroad bridge by the colored fountains, running through the colored water, and just hanging out ... this evening may have been the best evening event we did. 

We finished the evening with our final worship service, not at the lake, but at the church.  As I listened to the group sing the songs and everyone sharing their stories from the week, it was obvious that the face of God was present everywhere we were.  The new friendships made may cause a few tears to be shed as we say good-bye and head out this morning, for sure there will be lots of real hugs...not just side ones.  We are heading to Peoria Illinois...about 6 or 7 hours...it kinda sad that our service is done...but I still get to have fun with the youth from Zion for one more night and 2 more days of travel.

God's Work Our Hands.... what an incredible week.....without a doubt....

- Dan

A Word from Olivia & Kallie

How would you describe today?
K: We went to the McNielly Center. The kids were so fun to play with. It was awesome watching them learn and develop.
O: A great end to Nashville.. We went to play with the kids and then helped clean up the parking lot with rocks and trimming the fence. We also colored on rocks together.

How do you see God at work?
K: I see God at work when someone that I don't know does something very kind for me.
O: The joy and innocence in the children's eyes.

What's one word you would use to describe the trip thus far?
Eye opening

A Word from Marie & Chrissy

Marie & Chrissy have an update from Wednesday!

How would you describe today?
M: Today we went to the McNeilly Center. I met a ton of awesome 3-year-olds They were so sweet and melted my heart. We played with them and helped clean up the center in the afternoon.

How do you see God at work?
C: I saw God in all of the people I have worked with these past few days. I saw God in the caring hearts of the people volunteering and I saw God in the faces of the kids I've worked with this week.

A Word from Rachel & Mikya

We're a little behind but here's an update from our kids that we asked them to write throughout the week.

Rachel and Mikya have an update from Tuesday!

How would you describe today?
We spent the day at Second Harvest in a freezer. It was a fast-paced day looking through and sorting food.

How do you see God at work?
In the friends we've made and the work we've been doing.

What's one word you would use to describe the trip thus far?
Sweaty and fun!

Anything else?
SONIC NEEDS TO FIX THEIR SLUSHIE MACHINES! (Ask your kids about this one, folks)

Wordless Wednesday

 

Day 4 Recap!

Yesterday the Dan Goodew group (Mr and Mrs Smith) headed to 2^nd Harvest Food Bank for our day of service.  It was quite a change from our previous two days as we spent the entire day in a freezer inspecting food, sorting the food into all their categories, and packing/weighing/stacking the sorted items.  It was a very productive day for us as we packed over 8500 pounds of food which equated to over 6600 meals.  

Our evening event was an incredible church service after a very good spaghetti supper which included homemade, hot chocolate chip cookies. The pastor came and gave us communion.  We have never seen such incredible “communion prep” words ever.  He said it all from memory and it was unbelievable.  The message from Travis was very good and then we talked about our faith stories and Ron shared his faith story, with all his struggles in life and poor choices he had made.  He had the entire group mesmerized and I think his message really touched us all.  I know that I got “Jesus Bumps” tonight…the real presence of God was really felt.

Tomorrow we have our final day of service in Nashville….the week has gone by very fast.  We will be having our closing worship service at the lake with pizzas being delivered.  I can’t imagine what we will feel as we sing praises to our God and watch the sunset over the lake.  I know it will be amazing.  

-          Dan

Day 3: Mr. & Mrs. Smith Group

Another great day in Nashville for the Dan's group AKA “Mr and Mrs Smith”group.  Our day began with morning devotions after breakfast and then we headed out to the daycare center for our final day working there.  We played outside today…. Lots of bubble blowing, ball tossing, slides, trike riding (I kinda got stuck on the trike but our kids fit just fine, not).  The young ones greeted us with outstretched arms when we arrived and we all got morning hugs from so many.  One after another running to us asking to be picked up so they could give us hugs.  They loved having us come back.  I did have one little girl sit on my lap and asked me what my beard was.  And then she proceeded to gently pull it…over and over and over.

Part way through our morning, we were asked to remove the carpet from the dumpster we filled yesterday.  Another teacher decided she needed it.  It was on the bottom of the dumpster so and so after multiple attempts I finally crawled inside the dumpster and started emptying it out to get at the carpet.  Almost everything we put in yesterday came out….and finally so did the carpet and then everything went back into the dumpster, except the carpet…which is now standing on the corner in the teachers office, because she is not sure what to do with it.  Oh well…. God’s Work Our Hands.

Our afternoon was spent rebuilding a walkway from the parking lot.  We centered all the blocks and used two, flat-tired wheel barrows to move lots and lots of river rock to the path.  Once again our youth were amazing….no complaints at all…. And man can they work!  I am beyond lucky to experience this trip with them….love these kids!!!

Our evening event got side tracked…or rather derailed…when afternoon storms hit and all outdoor plans were changed.  So as I type this blog, some kids are watching a movie just feet from me and some went back to Broadway for a little more shopping…. I am just fine with hanging out and updating the blog before the midnight hour.  Tomorrow we switch places with the 007 group…and we head to 2^nd Harvest Food bank.

-Dan

Day 2: Mr & Mrs. Smith Group

Today was an absolute incredible day especially for the "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" group. Our day began with a trip over to the  McNeilli Center, which is a day care center in Nashville. We had the great privilege of spending some time with some two, three, and four-year-old kids for the morning, which included playing lots of games, puzzles, reading books and for myself..... the unbelievable stare down with a three-year-old.... he won.  The kids at the daycare were absolutely thrilled to have us play with them and they are really looking forward to tomorrow, when we come back.

Then one major highlight for everybody would have to be those wonderful hot showers. For our Zion youth, two days without a shower was a major undertaking and inconvenience.  We did not hear any complaining from them yesterday's "no shower" time but we really heard about how wonderful the showers were today. And after cleaning up we headed downtown to experience Broadway in Nashville.

We found an absolute incredible restaurant to enjoy a live band while we ate some incredible food. There are not a lot of restaurants in the area they could accept as larger group as we were, and we definitely made the right choice. The food, laughter, fun, and music made for a very enjoyable evening for sure.  And then top that off with an ice cream cone from Mike's.... the ice cream place on Broadway...oh yeah, that is one fantastic evening of eating.

We then closed the evening with a very nice worship service that included a incredible message from the youth director in Atlanta, Ron.  He challenged us to continue to serve as we did today and to look our fears straight in the face, not running away.  To step out of our comfort zone, as many of us already have, to continue to serve our amazing God and the people of Nashville.

Zion parents you should be very proud of everyone of these kids. It is truly a pleasure to have the opportunity to serve with them. The smiles on their faces and the love that they have shown to the people of Nashville will put a tear in your eye and a smile in your heart.  And through it all they have done it with no complaining, even when the tasks were extremely hard. Thanks so much for allowing us to enjoy this time with them!  More of the same tomorrow....can't hardly wait!  (though a good night of sleep is ahead)

-Dan

Day 3: 007 Group

We're at the end of our 3rd night in Nashville! As expected, time is flying by.

We have seen the Holy Spirit at work in so many ways this week:

-through the leaders who have welcomed us to serve in their community

-through our gracious discipleships guides who are making our week happen! We couldn't do it without them.

-for the other youth and adults we get to work with each day. What a joy to learn from and with one another.

We have much more to do in the days we have left before coming home but we have done so much already. Continue to pray that God's love would be evident in all that we do.

Here are a few photo highlights today from Anna's group AKA "007":

Sorting ice cream with our friends from Atlanta at Second Harvest food bank

What a great crew!

Unpacking palates of food donated to the food bank!

We got another opportunity to enjoy ice cream in Broadway. YUM!

A family of singers who entertained us on Broadway

Grace and peace from Nashville,

Anna

Some Words from Angela & Laura

How would you describe today?

A: I would describe today as a success. We pution a solid 4 hours at Soles 4 Souls. It really made me look back and question how blessed I really am.

L: Today I went to Second Harvest. To describe today I would say satisfying and god-filled. I felt good about myself and I could feel God was pleased with my work.

How did you see God at work in the people you met?

A: I have seen God at work because the people I worked with serve with their own time just for the sake of the people they will he helping.

L: I could see god at work because the people I've met come to work every day  and some even work in the freezer to help the people who really need it. They are thinking of other people before themselves like God.

One word to describe the trip this far?

L: Eye-opening.

Anything else?

L: I am very thankful that I am able to come to Nashville and do some good for people that are less fortunate.

Day One at Second Harvest Food Bank

Today was our first day at our different sites! Anna lead a group to Second Harvest Food Bank. We spent the morning in the freezing cold (-22) separating meat into boxes for the food bank to use. The food bank serves 46 counties in middle Tennesee and has tons of mobile pantries.

After a wonderful lunch together joking and telling stories we kept on serving but this time we unloaded boxes and boxes with various food items and helped sort them. Our group really worked as a team to get as much done in the time that we had. I'm so proud of each of them. It's been a joy to see them open their eyes and hands as we meet many wonderful people and experience life in Tennessee. They each show their servant heart with pride.

The evening included lots of fun. Here are some pictures from our adventures in Music City!

It was Abby's birthday today! We loved sharing her first day as a 17-year-old.

We sang "Happy Birthday" to her, made her wear a birthday button, convinced a country music player to serenade her at dinner and ended the day with celebration cupcakes! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBY! (This is her blowing out her imaginary candle...)

-Anna

God's Work Our Hands, Nashville Here We Come!

Today was an incredible day of travel, covering four states. We traveled through Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, and finally arrived in Tennessee. It was very exciting to watch all of our Zion youth get so excited about arriving at Tennessee. Some were even in tears as we drove over the border! We were greeted by some very welcoming people, our discipleship guides.

When we arrived at the church, we were greeted by the fantastic smell of barbecued chicken on the grill. However due to the fact that it was in the freezer, that they thought was a refrigerator, the cooking time was greatly increased. And that is an understatement.... However we now have a new favorite drink, peach iced tea.

But let me back up to our incredible worship service/potluck at our host church, Christ Lutheran in St. Louis. That was definitely a high for not only the adults in the group but also for many of our youth. The service was very much tailored for a mission trip group, talking about fear versus hope and stepping out into the unknown. We really felt that the service was speaking to us all. And the welcoming of our host church was incredible with not only fantastic food to get us going with full stomachs but also the way all of the families treated all of us. It was truly a God present moment.

Playing instruments in worship

Eating the wonderful food at the Christ Lutheran potluck! They even invited us to sing in worship this morning, too!

Tonight, after a much later supper, we gathered for the meetings to go over all the rules and talk about the schedule for tomorrow.  Then we played some games with her new friends from Atlanta and we all received the group that we would be going with and we all know where we are going to be serving the city of Nashville and our amazing God.  Thanks so much for all your prayers for safe travel and the love that we still feel from the great state of Minnesota and the fantastic town of Stewie!

Playing with our new Atlanta friends. Can't wait to get to know them.

(A few highlights from Mackenzie and Natalie) It was an incredible adventure of trying to have Dan and Anna stay together in the heavy traffic. We not only had the challenge with the multiple cars, motorcycles, and crazy drivers to deal with, we also had to deal with lack of cell phone coverage for communication purposes.  Dan drives fairly fast, but not faster than all the traffic, and Anna just doesn't seem to keep up at all. We kind of refer to her as the grandma driver.  It was a long day of driving, but we are here safely and are looking forward to a great day tomorrow.

Makayla & Abby's Take

Each day we're invited 2 young people from Zion to share about their day and their experiences on our service trip to Nashville. Here's Makayla and Abby's take on Day 1!

Here's Makayla and Abby cleaning the bugs off the window

What did we today?

We drove about 7 hours to Missouri. We stopped for lunch in Iowa at a beautiful park. Once we got back in the van we continued on our journey to the church we are staying at tonight in Missouri. We unloaded our stuff and got back in the vans to head to the City Museum. There was lots of fun things to climb on and do at this Museum. We all had lots of fun!! We recommend you taking your family there. 

Who did you meet?

At the Museum a couple if us met a kid from Iowa City, Iowa. We saw a wedding reception going on at the Museum which was super cool to see. 

What have you learned about your faith so far?

I learned that Anna has no faith in our advice about driving. Dan drives super fast. Anna a.k.a. Grandma drives like a old lady. Okay on a serious note we learned that god will keep us safe on our travels to Tennessee, throughout the week, and on our ride back home. We learned that our faith will always expand and our faith will expand as a group. We are excited to continue our journey to Tennessee and experience their Lutheran church style. 

Take Us to St Louis!

What a first day! We spent most of the day couped up in our 2 15 passengers as we traversed down to St. Louis from Stewartville! 

We were a little late getting on the road...but it all worked out in the end. Everyone was patient and kind as our lunch time was pushed back.

We're glad to say we made it to St. Louis  tonight at 6pm. Once we unpacked in our gracious host church, Christ Lutheran in Webster Groves, we hit the scooted out the door to downtown to experience the wonderfully fantastic City Museum.

It's an incredible place of fun and exploration and the group enjoyed it a lot! Here are a few of today's highlights for you:

Grace and peace to you all! Keep us in your prayers as we continue on to Nashville tomorrow.

Love,

The Zion Crew