last week i was on the music ministry trip, with 3 other leaders and 10 teenagers from Desert Hills, Phoenix. somehow i'm finding it hard to really explain all that went on-we had an incredible time, with a lot of challenges, and a lot of great things happen. the kids are brilliant, each and every one, and i already miss not being with them! we had a band with steve on bass, tom/ jess on drums, gonzo on guitar, and me and erin singing. it was a lot of fun and the guys worked hard at the songs and sounded brilliant. we led worship at some youth groups and played some outreach gigs too, incl. a water/ theme park! there was a drama involving beth the theif, julianna the slut, ashley the addict, erin the gossip and charlie/ brian as jesus. it was really powerful and spoke to a lot of people. americans are generally very open with their feelings/ opinions and so we actually got some pretty encouraging feedback which i hope the kids hold onto and know they really did make a difference. there was also a dance which allie and carly choreographed themselves- it was really good and added a new dimension to our programme! beth also learned sign language and signed along to a song which was so beautiful, and again another way to communicate with people God's love.
the theme of the week was based around the story of the prodigal son, and we had a few common verses or ideas that kept popping up!
- proverbs 3; 5-6- "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do and he will direct your paths." one of the guys spotted someone at disneyland with the verse tattooed on their arm, and none of us could remember what it was (terrible i know!!) then in our devotions time God put this verse in my mind, and all of a sudden it clicked and we were like, oh yeah!
- philippians 4:13- " I can do all things through God who gives me the strength i need." this was mentioned at a couple of our group times, and at the Los Angeles Mission we were each given a bracelet with this verse on it!
we had a plan for the week, but as so often happens, our plans are not exactly the same as God's, and so there were a number of challenges and changes that occurred! here's a wuick rundown of the week:
DAY 1- SATURDAY
we spent the whole day driving from Phoenix, Arizona to Los Angeles, California!! the drive was fun and i was kept entertained by the guys in dick's van!! we checked into our motel, had some fast-food (yuck, i feel like its all i ate all week!), a team time and some fun chat!
DAY 2- SUNDAY
we drove to Lakewood for 9am and spent the first hour or so in their morning service. the preacher was great and very encouraging! our team then led the youth group service- it was our first time and not highly polished but that was ok because i think it motivated everyone to work hard in their role and become more committed to what we were doing. it went really well and we got Krsipy Kreme donuts too! we spent the afternoon there, rehearsing thru our programme, the girls choreographing their dance, and the band learning some more new songs, incl. dick's rockabilly/ gospel ones! i struggled singing them initially but once i got into the swing of things it was fun!!
DAY 3- MONDAY
our van broke down! we had travelled in a minubus and dick's van, and the ignition switch in the van was dead. we were supposed to be doing outreach at the water park, but couldn't get everything and everyone there so our plans changed and we spent the day at disneyland which was right next to where we were staying! thsi was supposed to happen on thurs as a day off for everyone, but i think it worked out better this way as it gave us all a chance to get to know each other and bond as a group! it was such a fun day- i was with allie, carly, steve, tom and gonzo, who are hilarious! they made me laugh all day and they had fun mocking my accent and finding out about scotland! space mountain was the best, we went on it twice! charlie also arrived and met us at disneyland so our team was complete.
DAY 4- TUESDAY
we set off at 7:30 am for the Los Angeles Mission, situated in downtown LA. the area is very poor, run down and there were so many homeless people sleeping on the streets as we arrived. it was a real eye opening day- we were volunteering at the mission and working alongside the other staff and the students on the rehabilitation programme. the work that goes on their is incredible and a real example of serving the community and living as Christ calls us to. we were broken into smaller groups and given different tasks- me, erin, allie and jess were working in the laundry and clothes sorting area where we spent a couple of hours sorting through all the donated clothes and sorting underwear into the correct sizes. as we worked we chatted with Elsa, a student on the prog who is such an amazing person. she has had such a hard life and told us her story of how she began taking mild drugs and how it led her down the worst path- she became a crack addict, a dealer and after getting shot in the leg she realised she had to change. the programme at the missions is intense, involving a 13 month rehabilitation where all rights are basically taken away to give them the best possible chance of recovery. the success rate is very high and as we walked down a corridor i was so overcome to see the 'graduates' of the prog in their year photos, dating back over 20 years. please pray for the work of the LA mission, there;s so much more they do incl. providing a bed, food, showers, clothes, etc for over 180 people every nite. we ate lunch in the hall with some of the other students, and it was just such an amazing time. God is so busy transforming the lives of thousands of people and so often we don;t even think of what goes on outside of our own world.
the afternoon was spent at the Hollywood Urban Project, based in another part of LA, right next to Paramount Studios. Again the area was pretty run down and there are a lot of problems with gangs, drugs, shootings, and graffitti on absolutely everything (some of it was pretty impressive, but the gangs each have their own 'tag' and we learned of the different types of tagging and how locals are forced into one or other of the gangs). HUP do a lot of outreach and are based in the centre of the neighbourhood- they take on year long volunteers but at the moment there is just Sam running everything. they are about to merge with another organisation so they can acccomplish more together, so please pray for the merge and the continuing work and witness of these volunteers.
DAY 5- WEDNESDAY
today we travelled over to Whittier community church and spent time meeting with the youth there and practising through our programme. in the evening we ran the service, and it was a lot of fun- most of the youth workers/ pastors we'v met have been in their twenties and very lively, so the evening was entertaining as well as really meaningful! they played this game ' how well do u kn0w ur bible' where each leader picks a kid to answer a bible related question- if the kid gets it wrong the leader is shot in the arm with this little air gun thing! actually, when i explain it back there it doesnt sound so fun, but it was at the time! God really spoke to a number of people that nite, again on the prodigal son theme, and i think that for our kids, even tho they'd heard the message a number of times before, they seem to 'get' new things from it each time. we had a really open small group time with our girls and God was really working in them too.
altho we were there on a ministry/ outreach tour, the main ways God worked was perhaps in the kids themselves, as they were challenged, stretched and not all of them are strong christians so it was interesting and encouraging to see the changes in them throughout the week.
on the way back from Whittier we stopped at Denny's and a couple of the guys were messing around. one choked the other (to see what would happen) who passed out and cracked his head open on the floor. they had run on ahead into denny's and i got there just in time to see it happen. it was so scary, i got such a fright to see him lying there unconscious with so much blood pouring from his head but one of the customers called 911 and i sat there with him until the ambulance arrived. he needed 6 stitches and is fine now, but it was horrible at the time, and interesting to see the ways it impacted on the group. a number of the girls were really upset and got a real fright seeing their friend like that. we had a really open time of sharing the following nite with the girls and i think God used that whole episode in allowing them to share their reactions which were related to other difficult situations some of them are trying to deal with. please pray for the kids who came on the trip, that God would really speak to them and be real to them in their every day lives, as they go back to school and as they deal with all the things that being a teenager involves.
DAY 6- THURSDAY
after an abundance of phonecalls Brain managed to reshedule our day of outreach at the waterpark, Pharoah's Lost Kingdom. we drove there early, unloaded all the equipment and started setting up on this massive stage next to the food court and the entrance. it was burning hot sun with no shelter so everyone was roasting! we set up, plugged in, turned the system on... and got nothing! our sound board was blown! dick and brian spent a couple of hours trying to fix it, and trying to hook it all up to a sound board the park found (which was from the 70's and not responding either!) while we killed some time in the water park itself! the flumes were fun, especially the black one which u go on in a double/triple inflatable ring! we spent some time praying that God would fix it, and not long after that, he did!!! it was so great, and we then spent the next couple of hours running thru our programme, performing on stage and sharing the gospel with people who were passing by! we weren't playing to a massive crowd or anything but everyone who came or left the park, or bought some food or drink, heard and saw what we were doing, and it wasn't til afterwards we really appreciated the way God used us! a number of folk spoke to our team and said how that was just what they needed to hear or that they had been encouraged, etc! especially one man who was about to leave for Iraq with the army. it was a great time. we then all went on the bumper boats, which have water guns on them (stupidly i didnt realise and had my skirt on, which got completely soaked!!! but the sun is so hot it dried really fast!)
DAY 7- FRIDAY
once again, we had a change of plan! today we were going to travel 4 hours back toward Phoenix but going to Lake Havasu to run an outreach event with a group there, and stay in people's homes. however, the temp. is at an all-time high at the moment, and at Lake Havasu it was 122 degrees! i cant even imagine how hot that is, altho we had 116 the other day! so we prayed and had a number of options. we ended up driving back to phoenix and in the evening we ran our programme for all the parents of the kids on the trip! it wasn't what we had planned, but it actually was maybe the best thing as it gave the kids a chance to show their parents exactly what they'd been doing. not all the parents are christians so it was a great opportunity to share God with them, especially as it came from their own kids! we then stayed over at the church on our final night, and had some hilarious times! we played some crazy games, rocked out to some heavy music, and made a movie which is amazing, if i do say so myself! altho it's probably one of these things where we all find it the funniest thing we'v ever done and no one else gets it! no matter, it's for us anyway! steve also got stuck in the guys bathroom- the handle just completely broke and we couldnt get the door open, so gonzo got a ladder, lifted the ceiling panels out of the girls loo and hauled steve over the roof!!! erin and i could not stop laughing! we then all watched a movie which was really sad at the end, i cant remember the name but keanu reeves was in it as a baseball coach for some inner city kids, and at the end 1 of them gets shot! we were sleeping in the youth building, which has a yucky scratchy carpet and was freezing due to someone turning the thermostat way down! i had no blanket/ pillow/ sleeping bag and got about half an hours sleep all night! at about 20 to 8 gonzo woke and was like, oh there's a spare sleeping bag here- arrrrggghhhh!!! so for the next hour i was cosy and asleep! in the morning we watched our movie, ate donuts for breakfast and had a final team de-brief! i felt so sad, having to say goodbye to them all. i'll hopefully catch a few next sunday at church but a number of them are going away this week so i won't see them again :(
so all in all we had an amazing week! i just wanted to get all this down while it's still fresh in my mind, not even for people to read but so i can have it all here to come back to! i'v been trying to keep a journal but its easier to type it all out!
