It has been a crazy few weeks here at the Gray household. As mentioned in the previous blog, I (Kristoffer) led a group of 11 youth and 3 additional chaperones to Asheville, NC, to help with home repair. We left at 5:00am on a Saturday morning - after spending the night before waiting at an airport for the van, shopping for food, and packing! Needless to say, I was already exhausted - but there is no rest for the weary!
It was approximately a 20 hour drive to our camp - ReCreation Experiences. This is a non-denominational group that hosts about 150-200 mission participants each week for eight weeks. We were there on week seven. At our camp, there were groups from Texas, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee...and of course, the AfterShock Youth Group from Glendale UMC in Savage, MN!!
Our client for the week was Bobbie, a widow that had recently moved back to her grandmother's home. This home was well over 100 years old and was completely falling apart before ReCreation worked on it two weeks before we got there. The previous crew had painted and re-roofed the house - leaving us to do the interior work. On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday we worked on tearing out the old plaster/insulation/paneling and putting up new drywall as well as painting. Hard and tedious work! It was difficult sometimes finding work for all 15 people, but we all worked hard. We ALMOST finished the house, but we did get a lot of work done. Bobbie and her family were more than grateful!
We also managed to have fun during the trip. Wednesday was spent whitewater rafting, and we went to King's Island amusement park on the way home to celebrate.
We also grew closer as a group and to God. My lessons each night were how to see God in our everyday lives - through nature, eachother, ourselves, those less fortunate, etc. The kids all participated and grew spiritually during our nightly devotion time. The camp had a morning worship each morning and a big one on Friday night. During that worship time, Bobbie and her family came and celebrated with us. What an uplifting and fun worship! We got back to Minnesota around 7:30pm ten days after our original journey began - last Monday.
Overall, it was completely exhausting for me - figuring out all the logistics behind the trip. Where to stay, what to eat, when to eat, etc...all took lots of time and stress! But...it was WELL worth it to see each of us grow and experience Christ. There are LOTS of pictures from the trip - so check them out here! Make sure to read the captions for at least a little play-by-play. Also...there are TONS of stories I could tell...so ask if you are interested since I would love to share!!
Pictures from Saturday thru Monday
Pictures from Tuesday thru Thursday
Pictures from Friday thru Monday
Pictures taken by Taylor - Bobbie's Granddaughter
Pictures taken by a professional photographer on Friday's Work Day
God was truly gracious and loving to each of us during the trip. May He continue to bless Bobbie and her family!!
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