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Mission Projects
August Newsletter
Before I go ahead and tell you about the Mission Trip to Puerto Rico, maybe its best to start with some of the effects of the trip. The trip had many good effects on our youth here at Amazing Grace, and they are all worth sharing. All from a one week trip to another country called Puerto Rico.
1. The high schoolers want to start Sunday School early. Yep it’s a true story. They came to me shortly after the Puerto Rico trip and said, “Tyler, do you think we could get in a few extra times of Sunday School before the other youth groups start up in September?” “Haha, seriously I said…that would be awesome. Great idea!” We are starting Sunday School a few weeks early this year on Aug. 29th.
2. The HS youth needed a Puerto Rico reunion only one week back from the trip. They had such as great time getting to know each other and hanging out in a far away land, they thought they should hang out more in Anchorage. Another great idea. They went hiking as a group up Flattop only a week after the PR trip. Also, during the last week in July, we planned a one night retreat to Annie Hoefler’s cabin on Nancy Lake with the Puerto Rico group. If somebody didn’t come, they got a phone call to tell them that we missed them. We made sure to tell them how much fun we were having on the lake and boat!
3. The youth want to do more service projects this year. If you remember last year’s efforts, it may be tough to beat. I think we can do it though.
4. Aaron Densmore has Puerto Rican hip hop music on his ipod. It cracks me up every time!
5. Everyone got to know the adult chaperones better, who by the way, were the best chaperones ever! I got to know the youth even better too. Peter Wemeier, Shannon Orley, Heather Nissen, and my wife Katie Malotky will go down in history as the coolest Alaskan chaperones in Puerto Rico.
6. We had youth going into 9th grade on the trip and also youth going to college right about now. Its didn’t matter, everyone was included in the group.
Ok, so that’s some the main effects from the trip, but there are many more details to share and talk about. After a few long flights we arrived in Puerto Rico and had some free time before the opening worship time. Worship introduced the theme for the week as “Undeserved” and talked about the story of the prodigal son. We then got into our work groups to gear up for the service work we would be doing during the week in PR. Every group was split up into work crews for our service days at camp. There were kids from Indiana, North Carolina, Michigan, and Ohio in each of our work groups. One project included painting an elementary school to get ready for the school year. Another group’s project helped out in a nursing home doing some light maintenance and cleaning. My group worked in the community botanical garden where they were getting ready to have a community wide celebration for their mayor that recently passed away. Another group worked at a day care and played with kids all day. Yet another group did some yard work at a school, then went over and helped paint a church another day. So we were all over the place in our minivan rentals swerving through Puerto Rico Traffic.
Each afternoon after our work projects were done, we had free time. Usually we played ultimate Frisbee on the front lawn of the camp with a bunch of kids. As if working for hours in the hot sun wasn’t enough, we had to continue the sweatiness and fun!
Every night we had devotions reflecting on the days work and worship service. I remember one night we sat up and talked well past the lights out time for the rest of the camp. We sat under the stars and talked about our faith, life, and service work. I think we started the discussion on “who is Jesus”, but ended deep in thought about the work we were doing in PR.
All in all, I think it was one of the best youth trips I have ever been on. All the kids had a great experience in a different country, made new friends, and had some new experiences with their faith. I’d go back with the same group tomorrow.
1 Timothy 4:11-13 (NIV)
11Command and teach these things. 12Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.
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