Kansas City Mission Trip

This is the last week before we pack up for our Mission Trip to Kansas City. I am going with 57 Junior High Students to work with the homeless for a week. I am actually looking forward to it. It is neat to see a group of Junior Highers who really want to help out.

Last Year we went to Kansas City for the first time. And like all firsts you find yourself in, I was a little scared. I didn't know what to expect. I mean we were taking a group of 13 and 14 year olds into the heart of the inner city. I am from a moderately small town in the south, and I have had very limited access to inner city environments.

Since I am the leader of the group, I didn't want to seem scared, because my feelings would be echoed in the group, but there was no denying it, I was a little scared. We went to go and work at the City Union Mission. I hadn't met anyone there and I was interested to see what I would find. As is normal, most of the time the people I meet places are pretty cool, and thankfully, this time they were cool.

By the end of the week, we had made a new set of friends and we were looking forward the next year.

The Bad News

This year, we just found out that there is a new person that we will be working with. Now the rules have changed again. Last year, we were able to work all day, which in the case of a mission trip is a good thing. We really don't have anything for the students to do while we are there, so the less down time the better. If we have too much the students get bored, and 57 bored Junior High students can be very dangerous.

Knowing that, we just found out that the City Union Mission will only have work for us until 1 in the afternoon. That leaves a ton of extra time. Also, that means that we are going to have to find something else to do. So, this year we are splitting up where we are working. In the morning, we will be working at the Mission, and in the afternoon we will be working at the camp we are staying at.

We also have good relationships with the people at the camp so it is exciting to get the opportunity to serve them. Fun Times.


--BTW--

It is nice to have a place to write where I don't feel the compulsion to edit myself. If I make mistakes, well that is just part of the deal. I don't want to have to re-read my stuff...it just takes too long.

We have some cupcakes here in the house, and my kids are obsessed. The cupcakes just sit there on the counter calling out to them. Come and eat me. All that to say...I have said the word "no" about 12 million times today.