Shoshone Base Camp

The next four days of camp comprised our work week. It was a whirlwind of activity, each day full of work, fun, and socializing. Although there were new challenges and experiences each day, we generally had the same schedule.

Here’s a brief overview of our daily routine: An early morning bell rang at 6:30am, but most of the Grace group were early risers and enjoyed quiet mornings in the quad. Hearty breakfasts were served at 7:00, followed by Restore Chores and gathering supplies needed for the day. Groups were assigned different tasks, such as making meals, cleaning the bunkhouses, and gathering the garbage. Next in the schedule came “Personal Time With God,” or “PTWG.” Campers were encouraged to find a quiet spot to be in the Word, pray, and reflect. Following PTWG, all gathered for First Word to hear about the theme for the day, sing a song, and have a short devotion. Soon the teams were on the way to our job sites in the communities of the Silver Valley or at camp! We worked in our servant teams, so our Grace youth had the opportunity to work with many new friends.

Early morning sunlight paints the mountains surrounding camp

Megan and Matthew worked together on servant team #3. They spent two days working at camp, stacking firewood, peeling logs, and sanding. The other two days were spent working at Roy and Karlene’s farm where they stacked more firewood, and worked in the yard and garden. Megan was the “guidebook” for her team, so she worked to make sure everyone had a job and remained motivated. She also reports that a highlight was getting to use a nail gun, which she used very effectively and without injury!

Leah and Nicole worked on servant team #1. They traveled each day about forty minutes to a Habitat for Humanity work site. They learned many useful skills, such as siding, taping and mudding. Another useful tidbit of knowledge they report is that it’s not good to drop hammers on people’s heads. Good advice, ladies. Nicole was the “fire starter” for the group and led devotions at the noon break and prayers at the beginning of the day. Leah was the “chow hound” and grew in her sandwich making abilities.

Audrey was on servant team #5. She worked two days in the valley at Karen’s house weeding in her yard, and two days at camp, mostly working on the tents for the new Ranch camp. They finished some tents and prepared the foundation for another tent, as well as continued the task of peeling logs. Audrey was the “quartermaster” and organized the supplies needed for each day. An enjoyable aspect for Audrey during the week was seeing how her team grew and coalesced together, and those who started out on Sunday night as strangers grew to be close friends by Friday morning.

Chris worked on servant team #4. He spent one day working at Jackie’s house doing yard work, two days working at Virginia’s house doing a lot of weed-whacking, and one day helping at a hardware store that was going out of business. One of Chris’s highlights was meeting Virginia and working for her. He described her as Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies, and it sounds like she had plenty of spunk. Chris has an entertaining wheelbarrow story; be sure you ask him about it. Chris worked as the “quartermaster” of his group and gathered supplies.

Aaron, Josh, and Nola worked with servant team #7. They worked all four days in the valley at Leta’s house and garage, covering brown paint with a light shade of green, which can still be seen on some of them today! This group of very motivated workers wanted to see the project through to completion, and as a result asked to go in early on Thursday. When a two-week painting job was completed in four days, the kids presented Leta with a Bible from the camp. The experience was emotional for both the kids and Leta, who spoke of her appreciation often and worked alongside the team. Josh was the “quartermaster” for the group, and Aaron led the devotions as the “firestarter.”

Kim worked with servant team #6 at camp for two days, and two days in the valley – one day at Wendell’s house weeding a garden and one day at Elsa’s house doing odd jobs around her yard. A highlight of working at camp was taking a piece of rocky, weedy ground and turning it into a blueberry patch.

After a day’s work was completed, teams made their way back to Shoshone for the afternoon activities. Popular stops on the drive back included moose viewing and ice cream eating. A specialty of the area is huckleberry ice cream, which is a refreshing treat at the end of a long work day. Back at camp, the kids met together in their leadership teams to debrief. Leadership teams were all the kids who had the same leadership role – all the quartermasters, fire starters, etc. They went over their day and discussed tactics to try for the next day as they grew as leaders. Often they had a team-building game or used the challenge course to focus on teamwork.

Recreation time came next, which gave the kids some flexibility to chose their activities. Because of the warm weather, tubing in the river was a popular yet cold choice. Since the Coeur D’ Alene River is fed from snow melt further upstream, tubers could be heard exclaiming as they felt the frigid waters for the first time, but by the end of the tubing adventure they had either acclimated to the temperature or were so cold they could no longer emote. Rock wall climbing and the zip line were for the more adventurous. We also enjoyed shooting hoops and just hanging out in the sun enjoying the outdoors, chatting, visiting, and soaking up the sights and smells of the north Idaho woods.

Supper was always a hearty and filling meal, which tasted even better after a hard day’s work. Next came “all camp run around,” during which the kids ran around playing a game, laughing, and being silly. Afterward, we all filed into the chapel to watch a slide show of the day’s work. It was inspiring to see pictures of the projects the other teams had worked on. We’re looking forward to sharing some of those with you upon our return.

Evening Study Time

Next we gathered our supplies for the speaker and met in the quad to learn and think more about the theme for the day. The theme for the week was “Splish Splash,” based on John 4:14, “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed the water I give them will become in them a well of water springing up to eternal life.” During Sunday night’s opening we discussed the verse, focusing on God’s love as a “whoever” love for everyone. The next days used this water theme to discuss different aspects of our relationship with God. On Monday the object lesson was a water bottle. We talked about the thirst everyone has for God, and how He alone, and not the things of the world, can quench that thirst. Tuesday’s object was an anchor, which represents God’s love in the cross and the gift of eternal life as anchors of our faith. Wednesday’s speaker and Bible study used the life saver to represent how God saves us and keeps us surrounded with His love through difficult times. Thursday’s focus was serving as disciples with a servant’s heart and was illustrated with a paddle.

Hiking in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest

After speaker time, most donned long pants, jackets and bug spray to spend time worshiping at campfire. Each night was in a different location and included songs and a short talk, also focusing on our theme for the day. Wednesday’s nights campfire was especially meaningful for the kids. It was designed to be a quiet, reflective time for prayer and singing. Worshiping God next to a mountain stream, lined with ancient trees and beautiful wildflowers brings a special joy and peace to those in attendance. Some favorite songs from the week included “Blessed Be” and “WTL.” The sounds of many of those songs have filled our van today, and have brought a smile to this driver’s face. After campfire, the trading post was open for campers to purchase t-shirts and other souvenirs. A popular item was Thomas Kemper soda, which could be enjoyed in several flavors. As the trading post was closing, we rounded up the Grace youth for our family time. All shared their stories from the day and what they were learning. This was a great time for our youth to connect and process. And then it was time for bed. As one young reporter noted, “I slept like a bag of rocks!” The morning seemed to come earlier each day, and our beds seemed more comfortable each night.

All too soon it seemed the week came to a close. Friday morning we enjoyed a breakfast together before meeting one last time as a big group. We made our good-byes to the new friends we had made. All were slow to get in their vehicles and finish saying good-bye, knowing that a very special week had come to a close, one that changed the way we see the world and how we can live out our calling as God’s servants.

Coming down from the mountains on the drive home

Some say carpets make a difference in how well one rests, some thought that perhaps exhaustion was what made the difference, and one or two lucky travelers actually slept on a sofa. Regardless of the environment there was general agreement that all slept better than the night before. The author notes that we set a pretty low bar the night before.

Worship in the morning was a special service for Independence Day. The congregation was very welcoming, and we were also surprised meet up with a church from Prior Lake, MN also on their way to Shoshone. After some mingling and coffee, we started our mountain drive into Idaho. Some stomachs in our group are more acclimated to driving in the plains and prairies and felt a little queasy.

As the mountain driving increased, so did our anticipation for the upcoming week. Leaving I-90 after many miles, we started our trek up to Shoshone Base Camp. Pulling into camp, we were greeted by a familiar face, Andrew Wingren, who is working in Idaho and was able to join us for the week. After checking in and completing registration, we had some chill time to check out our surroundings and lodgings. All campers stayed in Big Creek. One side of the building was designated for guys and the other for girls and both had comfy bunk beds.

Soon the whole group was assembled. Campers from New Mexico, Washington, and three groups from Minnesota comprised our group of sixty-one. We congregated in the quad of camp to meet our counselors and learn about our week. We met our servant teams for the week, and got to know them better during our evening meal. The service teams designated each member with a leadership role – “chow hounds” fixed meals for their team each day, “quartermasters” rounded up tools needed for each day, “fire starters” led devotions and prayers, the “guidebook” made sure the group arrived at the correct destination, and the “chronicler” took pictures to record the work being done.

We had an abbreviated campfire discussion that night so that those who were interested could watch the fireworks in Murray, a small town a few miles down the road. Watching the fireworks in north Idaho was definitely a new experience for our youth. Yes, we were at the town dump, and there was that one firework that veered a little off course, but we ooohed and aaahed and enjoyed the evening. It was a festive end to a long day!

Sunrise over Rapid City

Day 2 of the Summer Servant Trip 2011 started with an early breakfast at Zion Lutheran in Rapid City. We dined on cereal, fruit, and granola bars. We are thankful for the shelter and hospitality the church provided for our night’s sleep. Although the tiles were not as soft as some might have liked, other chaperones remained cheerfully optimistic, and pointed out that there were no roots or rocks under our sleeping bags.

We made our way south out of Rapid City to enjoy one of the local tourist spots – Rushmore Cave. Some members showed their aptitude for spelunking, while others demonstrated their genetic propensity towards claustrophobia.

In the depths of the earth....

Yet, in the end, all triumphed over the cave before piling once again into our trusty, well-decorated GYM van for the long haul to Billings, MT. In Billings we picked up the final member of our group, who had been calmly reading for the past hours awaiting our arrival.

The impressive scenery of mountains – still covered with lots of snow – helped the time to Bozeman pass quickly. We arrived at First Lutheran around 5:30, and ended the evening with a Chinese dinner, a Bible study, and some time for relaxing. All were happily surprised by the showers that have been recently installed here.

A welcome change of scenery

We’re thankful for another day of safe travels and the hospitality of the church here in Bozeman. We’ll be worshipping with them in the morning before making the final leg of our trek to Idaho.

When they say 12 passengers, they don't mean with luggage....

Sometimes you do the best you can with the tools at hand....

South Dakota highways seemingly stretch out forever...

Long miles of highway unfold before us and stretch out behind us as we make our way across Minnesota and South Dakota today. The heat and humidity were too much for the van A/C such that it stopped the cold air from blowing into the cabin. After a short while traveling with the windows open we started making phone calls. After brief discussions with the rental agency and mechanics, we made an appointment to have it checked at the Ford dealer in Mitchell, SD, home of the greatly exaggerated Corn Palace, which is nether made of corn, nor a palace. We might have such a thing in Minnesota, but you wouldn’t catch us bragging it up like that.
It turns out the problem with the A/C was the high humidity making an ice plug in the vents and thus stopping the flow of air… We were all quite relieved that extensive repairs weren’t necessary.
As we fueled the van, a storm blew through with torrential rain, lasting just long enough to douse us as we darted from the van to the sandwich shop for lunch. the storm had dissipated by the time we finished lunch and the streets were dry by the time we finished our impromptu ice cream run and the stand across the street.

Sometimes one needs a little perspective to see which way to go.

Although it was very poorly advertised, we managed to stumble upon Wall Drug. The fascinating sites of jack-a-lope, gorillas playing the piano, and roaring dinosaurs didn’t hold our attention for long and we were back in the van soon for the last short leg of the day’s journey.
After arriving in Rapid City, we found our host church for the evening, which is situated high upon a hill providing beautiful views of the valley below. We ventured out again for supper and supplies for tomorrow before relaxing and unwinding for the evening. Despite some warnings about rattlesnakes, the youth were unable to confirm or deny their existence in the area.
Tomorrow will be an early morning departure and another long day in the van. We will be picking up Chris in Billings, and spending the night in Bozeman.
We are all hoping that the tile floors are more comfortable than they look. And so, good night from Rapid City, SD.

Zion Lutheran Church at sunset

Updates will be published here as time and Internet availability allow.
This is a long and demanding trip. Please keep our youth and their leaders in your prayers that they might have a safe and fruitful journey.

The mass event was a joyous celebration and culmination of the last four days of Gathering, singing the songs we’d learned, praising God and holding tightly to the fellowship and friendship that had developed.

Jeffrey Meinz delivered a rousing message, challenging us to be ready to tell the story as Phillip witnessed to the Ethiopian. He demonstrated just how easy it could be, including a three minute recital of the Gospel message.

Breakfast, by the way, is a group affair consisting of granola bars, fruit, and peanut butter bagels.  This not only saves money, it lets us plan and converse while we eat an entire day’s worth of fiber in one meal.

Following our meeting, we left for the convention center.  We started with a large group Bible study about Jesus’ healing of the blind man.  We learned how the disciples LOOKed at the blind man as a source of debate ( see John 9:2) and Jesus LOOKed at the man with compassion (John 9:4).

The NYG offers many choices. Speakers, concerts, service events, college fairs, challenge courses, and Bible studies happen at the same time all day long. Too often, awesome sessions occur at the same time. We are blessed with so many chances to learn about God’s Word and meet new, interesting, and inspirational people. (Some people meet special people at NYGs; we hear many stories about relationships that started at NYGs.)

With so many options, the day passed quickly and we soon found ourselves at the final afternoon session, a Stellar Kart concert. After the concert, we returned to the hotel to prepare for the evening’s mass event. Last night we had a difficult time finding each other in the crowd, so we devised a simple, yet dignified solution: balloon hats!  We donned our colorful apparel, along with a few ball0on swords, dogs, turtles, flowers and bugs, and walked our favorite mile to the Superdome.  The hats worked magnificently, and provided great conversation starters.  Unfortunately, our personal balloon guy couldn’t resist twisting balloons for several non-Grace people on the way, slowing us down and deleting the uniqueness. We soon had balloon hats orbiting all around the group.

It was a powerful evening. The Jesus Painter moved us with his dramatic art, painting a five foot portrait. Asnthe music played, the portrait changed to reveal the messages of the song and ultimately the portrait of Christ. Brock Gill, an illusionist, recreated Jesus’ calming of the storm and the Skit Guys entertained us with the hilarious two man plays about Bible stories. The plot of The Network drama took a decidedly dark turn. Throughout the night, the music and singing energized our worship.

We saw and listened to many people who had experienced great personal tragedy, from the loss of homes and possessions in hurricane Katrina, to the loss of a daughter in a car crash. We saw how God revealed himself through these events. We saw destruction and healing, devastation and joy, despair and opportunity. Our youth seemed to take it to heart and our adults are encouraged by the depth of the compassion of our youth.

The event ended with the question, “How do you believe when you are facing the unbelievable?”

After a fifty minute ride down the human river, we arrived back at the hotel. The Skit Guys performed at our hotel and the day drew to a close.

All of our youth met the midnight curfew and no one turned into a pumpkin.

On the way to morning coffee au lait

The day started bright and early for our most adventurous youth as we braved the almost deserted streets of the city for an early morning trip to Cafe Du Monde to get caffe au lait and beignets. As we left the restaurant, the streets were already beginning to fill with youth groups from all over the country.

Our group reunited at the morning meeting  where we discussed the plan of the day before heading downstairs to meet with the large group for a tour of the city by bus.

As we boarded the bus, fond memories of the trip south came cascading

back, but this time the trip was much shorter. Our tour guide Inez shared the history and colorful stories of the area, people and architecture

of the city. We stopped and toured through a cemetery where Inez revealed the mystery of the above ground burial customs.  Think recycling….  We saw the house used to film Gone with the Wind, and we ‘saw’ many

Above ground tomb in New Orleans

missing buildings that were notable prior to Katrina.  (Note: The most common words one hears in New Orleans are “Before Katrina…”).

After the bus tour, the youth whiled away the final hours before the Gathering opening with time-honored pastimes of shopping, wandering, and swimming.

Late in the afternoon in sweltering heat, we walked the mile to the Superdome for the Gathering opening service.  People with green backpacks were everywhere!  We crammed onto the entry area of the stadium as a band energized the growing crowd. Our biggest challenge was staying together as people pressed toward the gates.  At last the doors opened and we had our first view of the Gathering: the vast arena, lights, smoke, giant flashing screens, REALLY loud music, and 25,000 Christian youth filing into their seats.

NYG2010 Opening

From the beginning, the mass event had us singing, stomping, shouting, and clapping.  We watched an amazing sand painter rapidly create Biblical scenes and just as rapidly morph them into the next.  We listened to Gregory T. Manning tell us of being born blind, just like a certain man in the Bible, and how Jesus healed his spiritual blindness.  The Gathering Worship Team acted out the first episode of “The Network”, a serial drama that will unfold during the event.

We explored the question of the day:  What are some of the truths the world would like you to believe?  And we began to explore the Gathering theme, ‘We Believe’ and examine just what it is that we believe.

Imagine 25,000 youth and chaperones holding hands and singing and praying together.

The Superdome sent forth an incredible outpouring of believers at the end of the event, as a river of youth moved elbow to elbow down Poydras Street.  It took us 50 minutes to walk the mile back because of the crushing crowd and the often narrow sidewalks. People still sang and shouted praise, and observers could not possibly miss the excitement in the  crowd.

Back at the hotel, we enjoyed a dance until midnight and played cards until Lights Out. Not surprisingly, we fell asleep as soon as…zzzzzzzzz

Our group started our daily activity with a morning meeting to discuss ground rules, eat breakfast and talk about the plan for the day.  We split up, some visiting the National World War II Museum and some visiting the shops along the River Walk and the French Quarter. Lunches were eaten in small groups and one group was delighted to have the company of the Chuck and Cheri G who are also visiting New Orleans.

The Rochester group all came together again to tour the New Orleans waterfront on the Natchez, one of the few remaining  steam powered paddle boats on the Mississippi River.

Two chaperones split from the group after the boat docked and hastened to the convention center to squeak into line before the doors closed on the Early Registration period to register our group and collect backpacks, guides, Bibles and tee shirts. (The rest of the group wishes they could have seen the two guys walking back from the convention center carrying twenty backpacks!)  The remainder of the group returned to the French Quarter to sight-see, shop and find the restaurant where we would have our big meal as a youth group. At the restaurant, everyone enjoyed the view from our balcony tables, many enjoyed tasting sauteed frog legs and fried alligator tail, some enjoyed a nice plate of chicken fingers.

After the evening meal, we had a leisurely stroll back to the hotel through crowded streets, our progress occasionally impeded by street performers entertaining the crowds.

A brief evening meeting and free time in the hotel rounded out the day. Rousing card games, arcade games and going to bed early were some of the activities enjoyed by GYM members. We highly anticipate the beginning of the Gathering on Saturday evening.