The week of July 30-August 6, 2011, YLM facilitated the annual reunion of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Chicago, IL, and St. John’s Lutheran Church in Edgar, WI. The two churches have had an ongoing partnership for several years now, although leadership of the joint mission trip changed hands for the first time this year.
Fifteen servants came in all, and three projects were slated for them: fixing Panchis’s roof and building a house in Anapra, and VBS for some neighborhood kids alongside the house construction site. The Gospel was shared with many of God’s little lambs, and some impromptu ESL classes took place as well. They sure know their colors in English! When it came to buiding, the group worked efficiently and finished with time to spare, yet always with the joy of the Lord…laughter was never hard to find. We’ll have to try harder next year to keep them busy! However, their speediness also allowed time for spontaneity. Thursday afternoon is a textbook example; instead of watching joint compound dry, they fixed a tree swing and made two tire swings. No one was immune from the neighborhood children’s smiles as they tried out the new equipment for the first time! The homeowners and their kids (Wendy, 11, and Jocelin, 8, with another on the way) are going to have the coolest yard on the block!
The two groups plan to share the same week next year and will book it as soon as summer 2012 registration opens. Their goal is to double the size of this year’s group and build not one but two houses!
