I was really nervous when I first got in my raft, especially since our guide was telling us all the things that could go wrong.  In my raft I had Jessica and Sami in the front leading the raft.  They were supposed to be the strongest, but really they were the most experienced.  Right behind them were Logan and myself and Braydon and Trent were hold us in the back, after switching a bunch of times.

When we first started we were easy riding.  All of the sudden we hit a class II rapid without notice.  We were all caught off guard when Jess fell off the easiest rapid of the day.  That fall set the tone for the rest of the day.  The rest of the raft was very scared for the class V rapids.

The first stop we made was to jump off a big 10 foot rock.  It was so much fun!  No one in my raft wanted to go first so I took the spot and went!  The second event that happened was going through our first class V rapid called the Meat Grinder.  It was so scary!  While we were going through the Meat Grinder we all cheered each other on and once we got through it we all put our paddles together and yelled really loud!

The rafting experience showed me everyone’s personality in a deeper way.  We all came closer and now we have a great memory to look back on.

Wednesday was a day spent on the river!  We got up early and headed down to get our gear and meet our guides for our white water rafting adventure.  The first half of the trip were some easier rapids, though Pastor Jess fell out on the first rapid of the day, a class II – how embarrassing!  Then we stopped for lunch.  The second half of the trip were a lot more class IV and V rapids.  It was super fun!  One of the guides shared some of the history of the small, abondoned coal towns that lined the river.  We also jumped off a big rock.  We saw a bald eagle and took in the gorgeous scenery of Wild and Wonderful West Virginia!  We even sang a little “take me home, country roads!”

On Tuesday night we were hosted by Direct Action Welfare Group (DAWG) and Teen-DAWG in Charlesotn, WV.  We had a wonderful meal and heard about the great work being done in West Virginia.  Teen DAWG shared about a conference that they host each year that has a youth track with workshops planned by youth and for youth on such topics as protecting yourself, drugs and alcohol, and more.  DAWG also shared that they are in the process of acquiring the two buildings next to their office.  One will be made into a youth center with games, food and fun where youth can hang out after-school and in the evenings.  They will also host more of their workshops at the youth center.

Then we had lunch on the lawn of the Capitol building while we waited for the van’s tire to be changed.  Then we set out for Kayford Mountain.  Larry Gibson spoke to us about how mountaintop removal mining was destroying God’s beautiful creation.  The mountains around Larry’s home have all been mined by mountaintop removal and the coal company would like to have Larry’s land too.  But Larry is an inspiration and example of standing up for what is right in the midst of adversity.

Lamar found a large “bump” on one of the tires and we determined that it would not be safe to drive anymore with the tire like that.  We were lucky that we hadn’t blown the tire already!  We stopped and had lunch on the lawn of the capitol building while Lamar & Colleen took the van to have the tire changed.  Everything went off without a hitch and we only lost about 1.5 hours of time.

As I told the youth, I honestly believe that God was watching over us.  Even though we were hot and sweaty in our long pants in the heat it turned out to be a minor annoyance instead of a major catastrophe.  We should be truly thank for God’s provision and blessing in that situation.  Thank you for your prayers for our safety.

More to come about our trip to the mountain and our time with DAWG to come soon!

Today we went to the Weaver Church of the Nazarene to help with their construction project.  We all soon figured out it was much more than just building a youth center.  The church started out as nothing, just like the creation of the earth, and in a poor community they really had no resources to start a new projcet.  But God gave these people a vision and all the hope in the world.  Through prayer and worship they planted that vision into the soil of our earth and created something that doesn’t happen in our present day.  They sprouted a miracle.

Stepping into their rec building, called “The Arc,” we all could see that there was a lot to be done.  Knowing that this project was already on their fifth year, to some of us it might have seemed to be a wasted effort.  And through cleaning the place after a previous group had done construction, it seemed as if we didn’t really make much of an impact.  But our leader, Raymond, assured us that every little form of help counts, and we all could se the determination in his eyes.  He told us that we were now a part of this community and we would all be remembered as Angels of the Arc.

So traveling to West Virginia to clean a rec building might come across as somewhat silly, but we truly touched the hearts of the people of the Weaver Church of the Nazarene.  Although the creation of the earth was an unseen miracle, the creation of the Arc was a miracle our youth group will never forget.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oCFIHCNAis

On Sunday June 13 went to church at FBC, South Bend.  In Sunday School we studied “The Gospel According to Dr. Suees” and read “Horton Hears a Who.”  We had a wonderful discussion about how God listens to all people but how we often ignore those that are different from us.  It was a great beginning to our mission trip.  We then worshiped at FBC and heard Pastor Janell preach about mistakes and forgiveness.

Thank you, FBC South Bend and especially Brian and Janell for your wonderful hospitality and a great start to our trip!