Tuesday, June 17, 2014

A typical morning at St. John's; up at 7am, breakfast, chores, and worship then off to Rosebud. The trip up to Church of Jesus this morning however was a little more interesting as a heavy fog had set in. Visibility was about 100 yards for most of the way. The threat of rain hovered over us and we expected the day to be a bit of a letdown after yesterday's experience. Were we wrong, not only didn't it rain, but we had a larger turnout and even welcomed some youth from Indianapolis who were in the area to work on a Habitat for Humanity house to be part of our team. Shawna and Olivia were awesome and fit in as if they had always been part of our team.

After we arrived, it was set up and service project time. We made some real headway on the basement cleaning and some of our team enjoyed swing a sledge hammer as we took down some old drywall. Each time a section came down, they cheered one another. The rest of the work was not as enjoyable, more sweeping, more moving, and pulling nails from stud walls. However, it all came together and we should have no problem completing what we have been asked to do. About 11:30 Fr. Tom and a couple of our team members headed out to pick up the kids. As they hopped off the bus, they were hugs and hellos and high fives as the friendships renewed yesterday were again renewed today.

When we sat down to lunch we were blessed with something very special. A man walked up and began asking about where we were from, what we were doing, and how we came to be on the Rosebud. With his questions answered he looked into Clark Hall to check things out and found himself invited in for lunch. Some of our team had a wonderful visit with him and when asked at the end of the day where team members saw God, several of them talked about their visit with Ted. A wandering soul stops by giving us a glimpse of God, and what do we offer, a modest plate of food and our time. We count ourselves blessed to have met him.

Vacation Bible school was great. As is our custom, our opening worship included a skit, some prayer, and some singing. Everyone got into the music and the motions as our youth team led us with the help of several of our guests (or do we say hosts). Many in our group have gone to Fr. Tom and said they finally understood what he meant when, before the trip he told them, how they were not bringing Christ to a place or people, but coming to meet Christ who is already here. It is no wonder many who come on this trip say they go away having received so much and energized by the experience.

Back in St. John's it was off to the pool and showers. Afterwards we enjoyed dinner and some free time. It always amazes me how much candy and snack food kids can still eat after saying they are full from dinner. We gathered in the parish hall for our evening Bible Study and daily recap. The parable we studied was the Good Samaritan and we tried to see what connection it had with the parable we studied yesterday. Don't let anyone tell you our youth are not aware of the message of Scripture. They may not always be able to quote chapter and verse, but they do know how the story of love translates into action in their lives.

We finished up the day with another team leading us in Compline. What a great way to bring the day into perspective and to give thanks for our blessings. One blessing worth noting, the building was still within 10 minutes of lights out. Tired and blessed should make for a peaceful night's rest.