It's been a long day......
We worked at the home finishing the painting for about three hours this morning until rain moved in and we had to call the job complete. In the past three days, we painted the exterior of the entire house, mowed the lawn, trimmed a tree in the backyard, and helped the home owner bring some items from her basement. We rushed this morning when we saw rain moving in to get it all done. 

One of the most enjoyable moments was praying with and for the home owner. We wanted to make sure she knew she was loved and that we were united through God. She was a wonderful, loving woman. 

After cleaning up and eating lunch we headed out for the rest of the day. We shopped at the Galleria Mall before heading downtown to the arch which proved to be a test to my patience. I knew there was a Cardinals game happening but I didn't anticipate the traffic and the fact that the lots wouldn't allow me to park our big extended rental van in their lots. We parked quite a ways away finally (after being stuck in traffice for about an hour) in an old empty lot and walked.

We enjoyed a nice dinner at The Spaghetti Factory and I learned that some of our kids eat spaghetti rather interestingly!

Then we had to walk quickly to the arch to get there in time for our ride to the top. We made it with 5 minutes to spare! I was hoping to see a great sunset but it was mostly cloudy and we could just see the sun for a few moments as it left our skies and ushered in the night skies. A sunset (or sunrise) never seizes to amaze me as I think about the beauty God creates all around us!

We ended the evening  by walking along the Mississippi on our way back to the van. The kids are tired and I am exhausted! 

Tomorrow's agenda is breakfast, closing worship, Six Flags and home! 

Thank you God for this wonderful week. It's been a joy to see God working through our OPCC kids as well as all th kids here at Disciples Summer Mission. 

Today was a fun day. Worked at our assigned house. The work is a little slow going at this point since pretty much everything left to pain is up high and we only have two ladders. We did more scraping, more painting, reorganized some items in the owner's carport, and mowed her backyard. 

We took time this afternoon to bless the homeowner's house as we each laid hands on her home and lifted prayers up. Tomorrow I hope that she will be home before we leave so that we can pray in her presence as well.​

During lunch we talked about the most fun parts of the mission trip. Let me preface by saying the only thing that I wish was different this week is that I wish we were working with another church group. Instead we have been at our assigned house alone. Therefore, the kids haven't had a lot of chances to interact with others. At meals, worship, and at the evening activities each group pretty much stays to themselves. One large group made up of many smaller groups. You get the picture. 

Anyway, the one thing that seemed unanimous is that the kids simply enjoy being around each other. They like to hang out, to joke around, to play games, and to work as a team. In a society that seems to individualistic it is good to hear these words from them. It also makes my heart happy because these are kids who go to six different schools. Eleven kids and six different schools...yet they find commonality in their faith. One admitted today that it is nice to also be around the larger group as it reminds him that there are others who believe in God as he does. He doesn't see that a lot with his friends in school. 

Tonight the kids had a blast. DSM rented out the City Museum and they climbed through tunnels and slid down slides for three hours! It's the first night that they actually wanted to go to their rooms, shower, and just lie down when we returned to the dorms. 

Tonight during worship we were reminded to let go of all the labels we give ourselves and that are given to us by others and society. The only label that matters is Child of God. Such a good message for these kids as they struggle through all of the adolescent junk that makes them feel 'less than'. Child of God is indeed the only label that matters. 

Today we began work at a house in Webster Groves. We are painting the exterior of the house and for some of these kids it's their first time painting. We moved items, washed down the house, scraped flaking paint, cleaned gutters and completed two exterior walls of the house. 

The kids had lots of fun, got a lot of work done, and are still getting along! 

Tonight we ate dinner and worshpped at Webster Groves Christian Church. The picture above shows a quote etched into the stone on the outside of the church. This quote from the beginning of the Disciples of Christ movement is still very true today and I am so happy that our youth are continuing to live it out in their own lives. 

Our annual youth summer mission trip is off to a good start. Thankfully the drive is much shorter this year than last as we are in St. Louis. We have joined 18 other churches from Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri to serve the people of St. Louis. Besides a minor glitch of going to the wrong place for dinner tonight (must check zip codes when putting addresses into your gps) we trip has been uneventful so far. The dorms at Washtington University are super nice and. 

A little bit of background about this mission trip. This is an organized, yearly Disciples of Christ event that began in 2011 with nearly 80 in attendance. We joined the gathering 3 years ago. Each year this mission event has grown and last year it was split into two separate locations because of the high interest. Once again, this year there are two sites: St. Louis this week and San Marcos, TX next week. There are over 200 of us working together here in St. Louis.

After checking into our dorm, we headed to Forest Park for a BBQ dinner and a large group picture. From there we went to Union Avenue Christian Church for worship were we washed each other's hands and sharing communion. Flat Jesus was able to participte as well! 

We will be working at a home the next 3 days painting the exterior of the home and a couple of the rooms in the interior. Can't wait to see waht the next few days have in store for us!