Hello!
I'm Elizabeth, and I'm not the person who usually writes this blog, so I thought you should know that. I'm fifteen, going to be a sophomore, and I have been a part of the Hershey Free Church for eleven years. I really didn't know what I was getting into when I signed up for this trip. Honestly, I didn't have expectations for anything. I just thought I'd roll with what's going on and so far it's working.
The first full day we spent here was Monday, and my group, the Pretzel Rods, went to Pastor Will Turner's area. He's going to be started a church called Point Breeze, I think. I remember the name because I thought of summer when I first read/heard it. The majority of the group went to a Day Care place a couple of blocks from Pastor Will's house. For two hours straight, we pulled weeds and swept up. And I don't mean those little weeds in your mom's garden that legitimately cooperate with your gentle tugging on them...no...these weeds were the kind you have to yell at and use all of your muscles (and a shovel too) to pull only halfway out. Then, you get some of your buddies to cheer you on while you're looking like an idiot and trying to pull the weed. And then maybe the weed will come out. Anyway. It was very much an eventful first day. We got some delicious cheesesteaks that only Philly can make well and headed back to the Grace Church in Feltonville.
Everyone grouped up for the children's day camp we are running with Grace Church. There are five groups: crafts, music, sports, drama, and drums. Because I play the piano, I belong to the music group. I had to write a sort of testimony relating to the theme: God's got everything under control. I spent some time in Joshua 1 and found some notes I had taken previously. It was great to look back on. I noticed that in that chapter alone God says "be strong and courageous" four times. Why do we not listen to Him then? We're just dust in the bigger picture and we worry about things like money and who's hanging out with who. Anyway, I think I wrote out my testimony well.
The next day, Tuesday, my group stayed at Feltonville. The girls got a good bargain: we painted styrofoam for the day camp. The guys got to do some sort of manly thing that I'm not very well informed about. Then, our first day of day camp began.
We did not start off strong. Probably, you expected me to say I was surprised because it was packed the first day. But it wasn't. Each group had five kids or less; my group had one. Also, it started pouring halfway through the camp. Honestly, it was a bit disheartening. But that's okay because God works according to His plan, not ours. Fortunately, everyone received amazing news. A little girl named Malea accepted Christ! My friend Kayla was crying tears of joy, and everyone was extremely happy. Even though not many children attended, much was accomplished that day.
Wednesday. My group went to University City to pick up trash and MAN was it hot! My family group split up into teams of three or four. Somehow, there turned out to be two group of just guys and two groups of just girls. I thought to myself as we began, This is going to be a long day. And then my friend Meghan found a bag of food infested with maggots, which I thought only confirmed my previous expectations. Again, God decided to shake things up. A very nice man approached the mini-group I was with and started basically preaching to us--he was very encouraging. I will remember what he said for years to come: "You're here picking up trash outside, but that's not the point. If that's all you came here to do, you're wasting your time. It's about cleaning up the trash inside." What a wise fellow. About a block away later, we handed a flyer to a nice old woman, with whom we talked about everything from what's wrong with society to her experiences helping out the neighborhood. Again, I walked away feeling encouraged.
Afterwards, the Pretzel Rods went out for pizza. I got very hyper from the (roughly) 42 ounces of Diet Pepsi I drank. So if my perception and observations are a bit skewed, you now know why. We drove to a men's homeless shelter that is run by Christians. The girls put together cutlery sets and the guys cut soap. It was great to be working together as Christians in that way. Then, we served the men dinner. I have to tell you, I was a bit nervous because it's the city. Expectations are overrated and anything can happen. Anything. However, I was happily surprised. Many of them said thank you, and I was not majorly creeped out. Yay! I really felt used by God when I was working there.
Yesterday, which was Thursday, the Pretzel Rods went back to Pastor Will's area. First, we all did a bit of what is called "prayer walking." We handed out flyers for the church plant, Point Breeze, and talked to a few people. Then, we went out for lunch. I looked at salad like food sent from heaven after five days of cheesesteaks, which are good but in no way replace good old-fashioned rabbit food. Afterwards, we all painted a tee shirt for tomorrow (Saturday), when Point Breeze officially begins. For an hour or two, everyone cleaned up the site for the church. My friend Kaitlyn and I scraped and painted a bench and ourselves, too. Everyone else picked up tree-sized branches and threw them into a dumpster. All in all, it was fun and eventful.
It was the last day of day camp, too. I couldn't believe we were only there for three days, yet God used us to touch so many lives, and I didn't want to quit. The kids were disappointed too. Music turned out to be mostly fooling around with the keyboard, guitar, drum thingy, and ukulele. We ended with a wonderful round of duck-duck-goose and a lot of horseplay. My night finished with some girl bonding time, which was wonderful.
Today, all three groups became tourists. We visited Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the mint, and some sort of church that has been around since the seventeenth century. The majority of the group's flexibility in plans, sweetness, and servant-like attitude went down the drain, too. I don't know why everyone else was in a mood funk, but I know why I was. Pastor Craig told me to call my mom in between the time we went to Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. I knew EXACTLY what was up. I'd been expecting some sort of call all week.
My great-grandfather died at three in the morning. At first, I felt fine and I small-talked with my mom since I haven't had contact with her since Sunday. But a little while after I handed the phone to my brother and told a few people, I started feeling it. Everyone gets deep when they grieve; it's just who we are. What is life? We're just going to die in the end. He must have felt so alone. Why are we wasting our time sight-seeing when we could be changing people's lives? For about ten minutes, I walked around quietly, thinking. My friend Becca noticed after a bit and asked me what was wrong. Basically, I fell into her arms and started sobbing. It was weird how many people actually care when you get down to it. I could really feel everyone trying to help me feel better. Several people asked me if I was okay and told me they're here to talk. Many assured me he's in heaven and doing better now. I can't say I felt amazing, but I was definitely encouraged.
Around lunch-time, everyone cleaned up their act and apologized. I started to loosen up and actually have fun. We drove home, with everyone tired, and afterwards, a group of us went to the gas station to get snacks. I sat down here and wrote.
I haven't a clue what I'm going to be taking away from this trip, but I can tell you at least one thing. I feel loved. There are so many people around whom I didn't even know cared about me so much. I love my youth group family and I am loving this week. We have one-and-a-half days left, and I don't regret a thing. God is teaching me much and "I'm lovin' it."
Love,
Elizabeth
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