|
Here is a brief synopsis of the trip. We took 5 members from Beechwood, Scott Prestley, Ed Farmer, Steve Loggins, Micah Loggins and myself. As is our custom, we loaded the bus/vans on Fri. evening and pulled out early Sat. morning. Several drove their own vehicles and there were a few that flew (in an airplane, not driving real, real fast). My driving partner, Andy, from last year was replaced with Scott and Ed on this trip. Having 3 drivers was a big help. Due to the driving distance, we used 2 days going and coming, staying overnight on the road. We arrived in Wisconsin early enough Sunday morning to attend the Jacob's Well worship service. They were meeting in the local high school gymnasium. I really liked how they had a coffee and donut fellowship time before their purely Contemporary service. It was also exciting to see a lot of senior members who were really getting into the music. The new church location was on the outskirts of town located on a beautiful parcel of wooded acres. The church had cleared walking/hiking trails behind the church building. Once again, I worked with VBS each morning until lunch. This was a somewhat unique experience because we had to hold VBS outdoors in a large cleared area of the woods about a quarter mile behind the church. I thought it was supposed to be cold in Wisconsin but it stayed in the 90's most of the week. We averaged almost 100 kids each day and had a great time with them. At least 2 we know of for sure accepted Christ before the end of the week. The elements added a new dimension to our VBS plan as we had to deal with the heat, bugs, wasp stings, the heat, outside toilets, getting in and out of the site, the heat, it stormed Mon night and blew down most of our canopies, the heat, generators running out of gas. Did I mention it was hot? I helped in the Missions tent again running the sound and video. I also helped keep all the canopies standing and was the "unofficial" photographer for the trip. Micah and Scott (when he wasn't reclining in his lounge chair) headed up the recreation. They seemed to really enjoy what they were doing especially when they were holding each other's hand - some sort of male bonding game I'm sure!!! After lunch, I worked a couple of days doing some of the odd jobs in the building process. Since we were only about 1 hour away from Minneapolis, Scott and I drove two groups to the Mall of America to sightsee and shop. We also had a group who went on a steamboat dinner cruise and another group who went to a Twins ballgame. It was a great experience and I look forward to going again next year. |