Don't click on anything! Just sit and wait and eventually you will get to see the show ... there are 5 images. Trust me ... it's worth the wait : )

Fellowship

I just got back from the Wednesday Night Alive meal and fellowship at the church. It was like being with family for a special occasion, all of us sitting around one big table, enjoying home-cooked food and good company. It was wonderful.

THANKSGIVING

Today is Thanksgiving Day. We give thanks for all the blessings in our lives. Praise God. Especially for God's mercy am I grateful. Even though we are so far from perfect, God has mercy and loves us nevertheless. God's love is patient and kind. God's love never ends.

Mission Accomplished

All are back safe and sound. They arrived in Orofino 6:15 pm last night. We have missed them! There will be so much they have to share with us. God bless.

Diversity

Pastor Matthew reported that Friday they were up at 6:15 am, packed, cleaned up the church and turned in evaluations of their week-long mission experience. Altogether there had been 40 people (including the adults) from 3 different churches. In addition to our youth from ELCA Ascension Lutheran Church, there were Youth from an ELCA Lutheran church in Bellingham, Washington and a Catholic church group from Bloomington, Minnesota. The sponsoring church gave them breakfast, they said their good-byes, and by 8:30 they were on their way to do some final sight-seeing.

They went to Pier 39 where there were tons of shops and a variety of street performers. There were magic tricks and card tricks, a lady singing jazz who was really good, and two performers were silver from head to toe. Even their faces were painted silver. They had a boombox playing music and they did a robot-like dance. At times they would stand perfectly still and not even seem human. Sights also included 10-12 sea lions.

Another sight was Haight-Ashbury where "the hippie thing is still in full swing". This is "the 40th Anniversary of the '67 Summer of Love" so pastor explained about that. There were lots of really great shops, including second-hand shops with great funky clothes. Jesse found a bright orange blazer. From then on he was easy to spot in a crowd.

Lunch was at "In and Out Burger", followed by more sight-seeing. They did go to Fisherman's Wharf. It was cold and windy. There was a mist coming off the water. They went to Castro - a street and area in San Francisco populated by gays and lesbians. "There was a lot of diversity," Pastor said. There were guys holding hands. The residents of that area were proud of their culture. They also got crabby toward tourists who stared.

In their travels they came across people who liked to dress in dark clothes and wear a lot of leather. Many had tattoos and wild hair - some spiked and some in unusual colors.

After a full day of seeing sights in San Francisco, they crossed the Bay Bridge and headed to Berkley. They spent the night at the Lutheran Church of the Cross, which is an interesting church that operates a homeless shelter for teenage runaways. The next morning they noticed some scary-looking street toughened men outside washing cars. Eventually some of the youth approached them and found out that they were in a program called "Options" which helps drug addicts break away from a life of drug use.

They were near Reno when Pastor called in this information yesterday afternoon. They were headed to Winnemucca and a nice motel where they could "lounge by the pool".

Another Good Day

Keela Sykes told about a fun day that began with the children in Kid's Club. They sang songs with them, did crafts, played games outside, and had lunch. "They love us," Keela said, "It will be hard to leave them because they are so loving." There were about 30 kids ages 3 to 7. After lunch they went to the Food Bank where they boxed corn (ears of corn - on the cob, not canned corn), and then crated them. Then they moved on to plums and peaches. They were really happy because they were getting done early and could be the first ones in the showers, but....their luck did not hold! To be more precise, it was the boxes did not hold. As they were moving the boxes of discarded fruit to the curb ...the side ripped out. And mushy plums and peaches went all over... and they got covered in peach juice! Showers were needed more than ever now.

They had spaghetti for dinner and then went to a beach that is about 2 miles from the church. It was cold and there was a little fog. The waves were rolling in. There were some who were crazy and jumped in and swam anyway. When they got out they were freezing! "We found sand dollars and sea shells on the beach. It was really pretty and we had so much fun."

Tomorrow after breakfast they will clean and straighten up before heading out to tour San Francisco one last time.

The Feeding of the 1,500

Imagine giving a barbecue with 1,500 guests...wow! Jessica G. said that this morning they walked around the city handing out fliers to people ...telling them "free food" and inviting them to the barbecue. Then they went back to the homeless shelter and did some decorating. Pastor said it is a community cook out and people with all kinds of different backgrounds came. There was one man there who brought his guitar and played. Pastor thought it quite likely he was an old rocker who possibly had played in a rock band in his younger days. He spoke to one man who had recently gotten off drugs and was trying to get his life back together.

"My heart goes out to them," Jessica said. "I've had such amazing conversations, and I have respect for them. For many of them, the street people are the only family they have." It was with heart-felt emotion that Jessica said, "You really know God's here." She also commented that God has really blessed us.

To Live With and For Others

According to Yo George, they were divided into two groups, with one group staying at the church, and the other group going to the Food Bank. The group at the church included Keela Sykes, Trevor Bansemer, Pastor Matthew, Mindy Montambo, Becca Pence, and Jessica Roboloth. They assisted with Kid's Club, helping with activities and playing games with very young kids. By today, the second day, they felt they were really bonding with the children. The other group included Jesse Faler, Tasha Pence, Jessica Gasaway, and Nicole Montambo. Yesterday this group put 16,000 pounds of pinto beans into bags! Altogether they put enough rice and beans into bags to feed 15,000 people. Amazing! Today they worked in assembly, putting canned food and cereal into boxes that will be distributed to the elderly and other needy people. They were so productive that they almost made it into the Food Bank Hall of Fame - they packaged over 10 tons of food! Another activity they were in was at the St. Joseph Catholic charities homeless shelter. This shelter is for families who are trying to get back on their feet, and the adults are working or seeking employment. The shelter is kind of run down and their help was clearly needed. Among other things they vacuumed and swept floors. Yo said they are really looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow - they have been getting up very early every morning.

Wonderful Experience

I was reading the July Parish Newsletter and came across Pastor Matthew's "Pastor's Letter." He said how the trip to San Francisco looks to be "a wonderful experience of living into God's grace by giving of ourselves. It's how God asks us to live ...not for ourselves, but with and for others." My heart is gladdened every time I think of our young people on their mission journey. What a wonderful adventure in living into God's grace, walking the path that Jesus showed us, living with and for others. They are truly lights shining, lights illuminating faith and hope and love. God bless them ...and their work ...and their "play" as well.
In Christ's love, Donna

Busy Working

This was a very busy day as they began the joyful work of helping those in need. There is work in food distribution, helping with children, and upkeep and maintenance including painting.
(Note: photo is an archive photo, and is not our youth.)

Sights of San Francisco

Jessica Gasaway tells of a busy day filled with cherished memories, "We were out of the church by 7 am, had breakfast and hit the road. We were in San Francisco by 10 am. We went to Grace Cathedral, which is a huge church. It has beautiful stained glass windows, a huge organ, a coffee shop, and a gift shop. It is 3 stories high and the downstairs is like a mall. We had lots of time to kill since we didn't have to be at the site until 4 pm. We walked and walked and walked - up and down and up and down! We had lunch in Chinatown. They seated us in the VIP room upstairs at a huge table about 15 feet in diameter. There was a balcony and you could see all of Chinatown and all San Francisco. After lunch we went to Coit Tower and took pictures. Then we went down Lombard Street - it was really curvy and fun! We drove across Golden Gate Bridge. We headed back then and went to the site at Temple Baptist Church where we mingled and introduced ourselves. They fed us a big meal and we had orientation. We had a really busy day and we have lots of good memories."
(Note: This photo is from church archives and is not our youth.)

Never Seen Anything Like This!

Jessica Roboloth tells of a day filled with such unusual things that you can't help thinking about the Wizard of Oz, and how Dorothy said to Toto, "I get the feeling we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto."

Breakfast was 9:00 at McDonald's. And already things begin to get interesting. As they ate their breakfast they "watched the bums outside" who were drinking. Yes, drinking alcohol at 9 o'clock in the morning. From there they went to ride the rides.

Jessica said, "Jessica Gassaway went on her first roller coaster. She had never been on one before. And we saw lots of interesting people. There was a couple walking along wearing pink...pink everything. The woman had on a pink wig and the man's hair was dyed pink. They were pushing a baby stroller that had a doll in it. As they passed, Jesse said to them, "What a cute baby." The woman smiled and nodded."

They went shopping, but things were expensive, and most of the stuff was the same as you find anywhere. There were some cool T shirts however. They played on the beach. The ocean was not too cold, but it was breezy, so they didn't stay in the water long.

Jessica and Jessica and Jesse went up on the wharf. "We saw what looked like quarters down in the water. It was thousands of fish - a huge school of fish. We saw sea lions - swimming in the water. We also saw a flock of pelicans - they were flying in a V."

Tomorrow they will be in San Francisco.

We're In Santa Cruz!

Becca Pence reported,"We got up at 6:00 am this morning. We showered at a truck stop and then had breakfast. We hit the road at 8:30. We drove pretty much all day and got to Santa Cruz by 4:30 pm. We left the church at 5:30 and then went to the Boardwalk and checked out the wharf. We played in the ocean - it was really cold! We splashed around for about an hour and a half."

Tomorrow they will go shopping, ride on rides and go swimming. "Home" for tonight, tomorrow, and tomorrow night is the Lutheran church.

The First Night

Pastor Matthew just called and reports that they are staying the night in Winnemucca, Nevada. They drove a little over 550 miles and had a very good day. Everyone is safe and sound. They are staying at a Baptist Church in Winnemucca, and they are having a great trip.

Youth Mission Trip

Hi All,

I'm writing to let you know the Youth Mission Trip
leaves for San Francisco this Thursday! We will be
updating our progress along the way on Ascension's
website. Please go to: www.mylutheranchurch.net and
look for The Light Shining Blog on the left side to
read what's happening. Thanks for your support of
our youth. We also ask for prayers along the way
until our return on July 8.

God's Peace to You,

Pastor Matthew

Some Information

The San Francisco Mission trip begins June 28. Those going on the Mission Trip are Kelsey Anderson, Trevor Bansemer, Jesse Faler, Jessica Gasaway, Yo George, Natasha and Becca Pence, Mindy Montambo, Jessica Roboloth, and Keela Sykes. Mindy’s older sister, Nicole Montambo will attend as adult chaperone, and Pastor Manz will serve as driver, leader and chaperone. The youth leave on June 28 and return July 8.