Project SPY: Day 4

Wow!!!  We worked hard and played hard today!  On the worksite we got the new pane of glass in the basement door window, replaced the crawlspace door, installed a few door alarms, and made some amazing progress on building the ramp!  It turns out we needed to dig more holes in the pavement so we took care of those as well.  Everyone worked so well together, taking turns with all the various jobs as each felt comfortable.  The youth did such a wonderful job teaching their replacement how to do their current task as they switched off roles.  Guy was our insect casuality today, getting stung on the back by a yellow jacket.  But otherwise, the work day went really well.  Check out some of the pictures from our worksite today.

After a delicious taco dinner, it was time for the SCAVENGER HUNT!!!  This was so so much fun.  We got a list of 22 things to find all around Christiansburg and Blacksburg and we had to take a picture as proof.  We did things like yoga in a fast food resturant, the whole group with the hokie bird made out of legos, random act of kindness, give a flower to a stranger, draw an outline of a group member with chalk, get a cookout milkshake, pictures with as many hokie bird statues as you can, etc.  We had so much fun!  We will find out tomorrow morning at breakfast which group won.  Each item was worth a particular amount of points, with some bonus points as well.  We had a blast driving and running all over the place and taking all sorts of hilarious pictures.  

Tomorrow we hope to make more progress on the ramp! As always thank you for your prayers. 

Project SPY: Day 3

It was an eventful first day on the worksite!!!  After breakfast, Anna and Mary Katherine were our sandwich makers for the day, making all of our PB&J's, ham and cheese, and turkey and cheese sandwiches to take to the worksite for lunch. We had a devotion then went to Ms. Sumner's house to begin our task list.  The weather was perfect, with a cool breeze throughout the day.  We accomplished so much on our first day that we finished everything on our list that we could do without the materials that will be delivered tomorrow morning to get started on the ramp.  We washed the siding of the house, cleaned the gutters, replaced the crawl space door, removed the broken window pane, and dug the holes in the paved driveway for the posts for the new ramp.  Everyone did such a great job and worked really well together!  

In digging the holes, however, we disturbed some not so happy bees and both Brittany and Mary Katherine got stung.  All are well now, but we had to take a quick trip to the Urgent Care because Brittany's sting was right on her neck and started making her throat swell up.  It's not a youth mission trip until we make some sort of medical run!  Thankfully, we didn't discover that either one has a bee sting allergy since it was the first time ever getting stung for both of them.  

Since we won't have the rest of the supplies we need to start building the ramp until tomorrow, and we weren't allowed to return to Fieldstone until 4:30pm (they need the time to get everything prepared for the evening activities), what better way to celebrate our first day on the job and to kill time than ICE CREAM!!!

Cold Stone was delicious!  We spent the next hour or so shopping and walking around Christiansburg until time to head back to the church to shower and get ready for dinner.  The evening activity for tonight was group minute to win it games!!!  It was a lot of fun watching everyone trying to accomplish some of the most ridiculously funny game tasks.  

We ended the night with worship and some free time before lights out.  I think we are all really excited to start building the ramp tomorrow for Ms. Sumner.  It was wonderful to meet her and get to know her a little better today.  

Worship is never complete without a dance party!  I am so blessed to be in ministry alongside these amazing youth.  They never cease to amaze me with their gifts, faith and love of God.  

Project SPY: Day 2

We had a full and great day here in Christiansburg today!  Today began with breakfast and a wonderful time of worship with Fieldstone UMC.  

After worship we had time to change and get ready for our trip to the Cascades before having Subway for lunch here at Fieldstone UMC.  Then it was off for a hike to the amazing Cascades waterfall.  We were a little worried because they had actually closed earlier in the day because of the rain storms, but thankfully by the time we got there they had re-opened.  It's a 2 mile hike to the waterfall and it is absolutely breathtaking.  What a wonderful afternoon spent in God's beautiful creation.  We were all hot and exhausted after the 4 miles but it was definitely worth it!

After our hike we went to a local church for a delicious spaghetti dinner, and Rich Meiser made it here after leading his own church's worship this morning to join our mission team for the rest of the week!  While at dinner we received our work site assignments!  Beginning tomorrow we will be building a ramp, replacing a door, fixing a hole in the wall, cleaning gutters, cleaning the basement, doing some yard work, cleaning the siding and various other projects around the home of a Christiansburg resident.  We drove to her house and took a look with the project leader on all that we will be working on this week.  Everyone is excited to get started (and especially excited to break up pavement where the ramp will go).  

This evening we had a wonderful annointing service as we were commissioned to go and be the hands and feet of God this week.  Now, it's time for some rest as we prepare for some hard work for the next four days.  Thank you again for your prayers this week!

Project SPY: Day 1

Our team of 14 has arrived in Christiansburg at Fieldstone United Methodist Church for our week at Project SPY (Summer Project Youth).  Everyone is excited for all that is in store for us this week.  We've gotten settled into our rooms, gotten a tour of the facilities, played some games, heard the rules, worshiped, had a snack and now everyone is either showering, watching a movie or meeting new friends.  This is their biggest week so far this summer with over 120 participants!!  So, we have lots of friends to meet and serve alongside this week.

Tomorrow we look forward to worshiping with the Fieldstone UMC community.  Then we get to go hike and swim at the Cascades, have dinner at a local church, and preview our worksites!  Thank you for all your love, support and prayers.  It is going to be an amazing week!  Stay tuned for daily updates here on the FUSION Youth blog.