In July, Crosspointe sent volunteers to Minot to help the community in its on-going flood recovery efforts. Jess Brandt is a teacher at Central Cass and she shares this about her experience:
When I think back on our trip to Minot in July, three words come to my mind. The first word, MISSION, comes to mind because it was the first time a group from Crosspointe went on a MISSION trip out of the Fargo community to help the needs of others. It was our MISSION to go into Minot and help the members of that town who were still struggling with the effects of the flood from the summer before.
With strong and nervous HOPE, we arrived in Minot and learned the vision of our trip at HOPE village. HOPE village was a great place that was set up to suit the needs of all the volunteers. They gave us a cool place to sleep, three meals a day, and a warm shower to clean up after a day’s work. As we were given our tasks for the three days, we had HOPE that it would be something the nine of us could handle and accomplish. The Lord looked over us and gave us the perfect jobs for our group. Through the hard work and labor of bringing these people a bit closer to moving back into their homes, the word HOPE came up several times in conversations. As one homeowner told us, “I was beginning to lose HOPE after a whole year of working 16-18 hour days at my regular job and at my home. Then I came this week, and a whole bunch of people were working to help get us back into our home. I truly do believe in miracles! The Lord is good!” This was something that we heard each resident talk about as we worked in their homes and yards. HOPE was something that they were losing, but with our help and the help of other volunteer groups, their HOPE of returning home were coming true.
The last word I think of when reflecting on our trip to Minot is LASTING RELATIONSHIPS. The nine of us that went to Minot formed a great bond. I became so close to these members of Crosspointe while traveling, working together each day, and hanging out doing fun activities in the evenings. I truly know that each of these people are dear friends, and we have strengthened our sense of community as a church just from these few days of working together. I also know that the RELATIONSHIPS that we made with the people we helped are lasting. Even though we may not remember their names, or they may not remember ours, the connection we made will long be remembered. We were even told we can always stop back anytime and see their houses when they return home. That is really neat. The RELATIONSHIPS that God strengthened through this trip are amazing!
So looking back on our mission trip and seeing the HOPE and RELATIONSHIPS that were formed, I am passionate about telling others of our time in Minot. It is hard for me to talk about the trip without getting emotional, for all of the above reasons. It’s wonderful how even a small group of nine can make such a difference in a little time. Thank you to all who supported us with monetary donations, snack donations, and many prayers. It is truly a blessing to have a wonderful congregation like Crosspointe to call home, and this trip really made that evident to me.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
MInot Servant Trip Reflections
In July, Crosspointe sent volunteers to Minot to help in the on-going flood recover efforts. Nancy Schnabel is a teacher at Park Christian and shares the following about the trip:
I have always wanted to go on a mission trip to help others in need. Pastor Mike brought up the idea to go to Minot and help the those that were flooded last summer. It was joy to give to those in need right here in our own state of North Dakota. Nine people from Crosspointe Lutheran joined Hope Village to serve our fellow man. Hope Village was very accomodating and very resourceful. I didn't realize how devastating the flood in Minot was! Four thousand, one hundred homes were under water for 2-3 months. Many people left and the homes still stand untouched with four ft. high weeds in the yard. The first home where we worked had many memories as it had been in the family for many generations. The 3" x 3" oak timber were placed there by their great grand father, they could not let it go. After a year of hard work on their own, many doctor,counselor, and FEMA visits this family was about to throw in the towel when Hope Village appeared. The home owner repeatedly said,"It's a miracle! It's a miracle! Thank you!". They were so thankful for our help. We listened to their sad story and were so grateful to be there for them to help get the house one step closer to being lived in once again. In that short week, Hope Village did weeks worth of work for that home owner and many others. God works miracles and I'm thankful to be in God's hands to be a part of the miracle.
I have always wanted to go on a mission trip to help others in need. Pastor Mike brought up the idea to go to Minot and help the those that were flooded last summer. It was joy to give to those in need right here in our own state of North Dakota. Nine people from Crosspointe Lutheran joined Hope Village to serve our fellow man. Hope Village was very accomodating and very resourceful. I didn't realize how devastating the flood in Minot was! Four thousand, one hundred homes were under water for 2-3 months. Many people left and the homes still stand untouched with four ft. high weeds in the yard. The first home where we worked had many memories as it had been in the family for many generations. The 3" x 3" oak timber were placed there by their great grand father, they could not let it go. After a year of hard work on their own, many doctor,counselor, and FEMA visits this family was about to throw in the towel when Hope Village appeared. The home owner repeatedly said,"It's a miracle! It's a miracle! Thank you!". They were so thankful for our help. We listened to their sad story and were so grateful to be there for them to help get the house one step closer to being lived in once again. In that short week, Hope Village did weeks worth of work for that home owner and many others. God works miracles and I'm thankful to be in God's hands to be a part of the miracle.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Kenya - Day 10
Saturday, June 16
Friday ended and Saturday began at the same retreat center where we spent our first night in the country. The time in between those two nights passed way too quickly and yet it seemed like so much had happened and so many places had been visited and so many people had been met and so many experiences had been logged in those 9 days. It was hard to accept that our time in Kenya was already coming to a close. That morning we were able to debrief in a very informal way with the regional coordinator for LCMS missions in that part of East Africa, Pastor Shauen Trump and also visit with his wife, Krista, and two sons. It was a good way to get additional perspective on our time and experiences in that part of the world and again just a pure blessing to share that time with the Trumps.
We then began our sad trip back to Nairobi's International Airport with flights to London, Chicago, and Minneapolis looming on the horizon. We made a couple stops along the way. First at a western like mall area with a variety of stores and kiosks and even fancy cars parked out in the main open area. I was able to buy a Swahili Bible which I hope will give me an additional language to explore as well as a map of Kenya that has helped me to track where we were over these 10 days for future reference. We then did lunch at a nice restaurant whose name Carnivore tells you what the menu mostly consisted of. And lastly we stopped at another small street market to get a few more gifts and souveniers to take home.
A friend of mine has traveled to a number of continents and corners of the world and he always does a tremendous job of recounting those trips an providing good observations of the countries and their people, culture, and history. As I wrap up this travel journal I feel like I have just touched the surface of our experiene without penetrating very deep into the learning and the implications. Maybe I haven't quite sorted all of that out yet and maybe I wrote this to preserve the memories for me as much as to share them with you. I will try to add a picture for each day as well because I know a picture can speak a thousand words and hopefully the implications and learnings that weren't explicitly put into these posts will become evident in me and my life and my relationships and my ministry as a pastor. I can only hope that will be true and I can only hope to return someday to Kenya and to maintain contact with those I met there and to open the opportunity for others to travel abroad to experience the unity of the church that transcends borders, cultures, and languages.
Friday ended and Saturday began at the same retreat center where we spent our first night in the country. The time in between those two nights passed way too quickly and yet it seemed like so much had happened and so many places had been visited and so many people had been met and so many experiences had been logged in those 9 days. It was hard to accept that our time in Kenya was already coming to a close. That morning we were able to debrief in a very informal way with the regional coordinator for LCMS missions in that part of East Africa, Pastor Shauen Trump and also visit with his wife, Krista, and two sons. It was a good way to get additional perspective on our time and experiences in that part of the world and again just a pure blessing to share that time with the Trumps.
We then began our sad trip back to Nairobi's International Airport with flights to London, Chicago, and Minneapolis looming on the horizon. We made a couple stops along the way. First at a western like mall area with a variety of stores and kiosks and even fancy cars parked out in the main open area. I was able to buy a Swahili Bible which I hope will give me an additional language to explore as well as a map of Kenya that has helped me to track where we were over these 10 days for future reference. We then did lunch at a nice restaurant whose name Carnivore tells you what the menu mostly consisted of. And lastly we stopped at another small street market to get a few more gifts and souveniers to take home.
A friend of mine has traveled to a number of continents and corners of the world and he always does a tremendous job of recounting those trips an providing good observations of the countries and their people, culture, and history. As I wrap up this travel journal I feel like I have just touched the surface of our experiene without penetrating very deep into the learning and the implications. Maybe I haven't quite sorted all of that out yet and maybe I wrote this to preserve the memories for me as much as to share them with you. I will try to add a picture for each day as well because I know a picture can speak a thousand words and hopefully the implications and learnings that weren't explicitly put into these posts will become evident in me and my life and my relationships and my ministry as a pastor. I can only hope that will be true and I can only hope to return someday to Kenya and to maintain contact with those I met there and to open the opportunity for others to travel abroad to experience the unity of the church that transcends borders, cultures, and languages.
Kenya - Day 9
Friday, June 15
We began the morning by meeting a small group of five women who gather in the mornings at the Bible College (there are also some ELCK (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kenya) offices located there) where we were staying. They gather for a time in God's Word and prayer and song and then they work together to sew various items from scratch. I will have to admit I don't know much about knitting or whatever proper term describes their work, but they begin with wool sheared from a sheep. And they work the wool and stretch it and eventually make it into yarn which is then made into baby clothes or hats or rugs or socks or whatever else they had on hand. Everything they do is completely natural so all of the colors are derived from flowers, plants, or roots that are boiled down and then applied to the yarn.
Our only destination for the day was KaBichBich (sounds like KaBeachBeach) to see a Rescue Center that is in the beginnin stages of construction. There is a small church building there and when I say small I mean small even by Kenyan standards. We filled the one small room to what felt like capacity with our 10 plus 2 other American missionaries and a friend of theirs plus 7 Kenyans who were church officials or somehow connected to the congregation/rescue center construction plus 5 deaconesses - I think that adds up to 25. If my memory serves me correctly I counted off 12 of my shoe lenghts by 17. The kitchen/dining area is built but the work on the dorms has a long way to go. The site of this Rescue Center is way off the main road and up in the hills so the scenery is beautiful, but the purpose of the visit was so that Megan could prepare a report of the construction progress for Pastor Chuchu's office. Knowing that we would be there that day some work was being done, but there is still a very long way to go.
After some time spent walking around, we were greeted and welcomed by various church officials and served tea. That meant we were served a full lunch meal and then also brought tea afterward. Friday presented maybe the biggest challenge in a collision between cultures. It is custom in Kenya to feed your guests and it is said that they have not been properly welcomed if they have not been properly fed. So people had spent a lot of time and given up their food or finances to prepare a wonderfully delicious meal for us over a fire. But we had a flight to catch that night and still some road to cover to get to the regional airport that would take up back to Nairobi and some members of our group were extremely time conscious and worried about the schedule to the point that they could not appreciate and enjoy the hospitality we were being blessed to receive. It was almost like the kindness of the Kenyans was an imposition. The effect was doubled when we returned to the Bible college to load our luggage and they had also prepared a lunch for us - equal in wonderful deliciousness. Before our departure the deaconesses gathered us together and sang for us and presented us with gifts - a closing gesture of their joy in the Lord and how that translates into their generous and kind treatment of others. From there our drivers did what our drivers always did - they got us to the airport in Eldoret well ahead of our departure back to Nairobi.
We began the morning by meeting a small group of five women who gather in the mornings at the Bible College (there are also some ELCK (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kenya) offices located there) where we were staying. They gather for a time in God's Word and prayer and song and then they work together to sew various items from scratch. I will have to admit I don't know much about knitting or whatever proper term describes their work, but they begin with wool sheared from a sheep. And they work the wool and stretch it and eventually make it into yarn which is then made into baby clothes or hats or rugs or socks or whatever else they had on hand. Everything they do is completely natural so all of the colors are derived from flowers, plants, or roots that are boiled down and then applied to the yarn.
Our only destination for the day was KaBichBich (sounds like KaBeachBeach) to see a Rescue Center that is in the beginnin stages of construction. There is a small church building there and when I say small I mean small even by Kenyan standards. We filled the one small room to what felt like capacity with our 10 plus 2 other American missionaries and a friend of theirs plus 7 Kenyans who were church officials or somehow connected to the congregation/rescue center construction plus 5 deaconesses - I think that adds up to 25. If my memory serves me correctly I counted off 12 of my shoe lenghts by 17. The kitchen/dining area is built but the work on the dorms has a long way to go. The site of this Rescue Center is way off the main road and up in the hills so the scenery is beautiful, but the purpose of the visit was so that Megan could prepare a report of the construction progress for Pastor Chuchu's office. Knowing that we would be there that day some work was being done, but there is still a very long way to go.
After some time spent walking around, we were greeted and welcomed by various church officials and served tea. That meant we were served a full lunch meal and then also brought tea afterward. Friday presented maybe the biggest challenge in a collision between cultures. It is custom in Kenya to feed your guests and it is said that they have not been properly welcomed if they have not been properly fed. So people had spent a lot of time and given up their food or finances to prepare a wonderfully delicious meal for us over a fire. But we had a flight to catch that night and still some road to cover to get to the regional airport that would take up back to Nairobi and some members of our group were extremely time conscious and worried about the schedule to the point that they could not appreciate and enjoy the hospitality we were being blessed to receive. It was almost like the kindness of the Kenyans was an imposition. The effect was doubled when we returned to the Bible college to load our luggage and they had also prepared a lunch for us - equal in wonderful deliciousness. Before our departure the deaconesses gathered us together and sang for us and presented us with gifts - a closing gesture of their joy in the Lord and how that translates into their generous and kind treatment of others. From there our drivers did what our drivers always did - they got us to the airport in Eldoret well ahead of our departure back to Nairobi.
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