Friday Morning!

We made it safely home!  Thanks for following our blog and for praying! 

Wipeout (Lip Sync Entry!)

 

Thursday Night!

 After our prayer walk, we finished up around the house by raking up some leaves, putting away the last few piles of clothes, and picked up some sticks that were laying on the front lawns. Then we got to enjoy some ice cream that Beth brought while we hung out for a bit and talked. Once we finished, Brett took us to Memorial Park where we walked the trails and observed the garden trinkets that were scattered along the trails, and, of course, it started downpouring. Once we got back and enjoyed some delicious “Italian” din-din, we had our program where we finished learning about this week’s acronym of EQUIP. Then we got to go to our lip-sync competition! There were 6 acts. We were number three. It was so fun! We performed the song “Wipe out”(which has one word in it!). Brett and Eldon danced while the rest of us stood in the background. Brett is trying to post the video on a future blog post. Then it came the moment to award the GOLDEN PLUNGER!!! Guess what? We lost, but we got second, and we were only one point behind! We also just heard that two more tires got slashed tonight. But it was not one of ours this time. 

 

This trip was so fun and truly an experience to remember! We can’t wait to come home and tell you about our adventures at Week of Hope! (Believe me we have a lot more to tell.

 

Ansley and Lainey

A Job Well Done!

 

Thursday Morning and Afternoon!

Today we fortunately woke up to no music. Blissful silence, with no annoying noise
being blasted through the hallways. We got breakfast and then we went to the morning program, where we found out that sometime in the night, someone had slashed 4 tires on 3 different cars. Of course, one of them was Pastor Brett’s. So while some of the group leaders and the missions trip volunteers stayed behind to call some mechanics and take care of the cars, the other leaders took us to our project sites. (In working vehicles) Today is our last day at the project sites so we are sorting all the clothes that we can and finishing weeding and raking where it’s necessary. We took a break for lunch and after we were done eating, we took a prayer walk, which is where you walk around in silence (as in no talking to the other people in your group) and then pray for whatever you see, whether in your head or out loud. This week has been really tiring but also super fun, especially since I’m doing it with the people in my youth group. We’ve had some really good talks about the Bible, (Psalm 22:14-18, Bekah and Lainey) our faith, Christianity, but especially about God. I’m gonna go home with a whole bunch of memories and conversations to look back on for the rest of my life.

Ave Christus Rex.

Joanna 

After lunch this afternoon, we helped out with a food pantry. Before that, Bekah became obsessed with a baby bird and asked to pet a lot of dogs. We also rehearsed for our lip-sync battle and practiced that a few times before the cars came for the drive thru. When the cars came, we each had a shopping cart and the other people helping with the food pantry would put the amount of food the person needed into our cart. Then, we would push the cart over to the car and put the food into their car. It was super hot and tiring standing for so long, but we got to take breaks and got through it. After we finished the drive thru, we went to Aldi and the Dollar Tree. At the Dollar tree we got eight pairs of sunglasses for our skit tomorrow and at Aldi we got a bunch of snacks. It was a pretty fun day, and we made lots of good memories. 

 

Cassie

 

This morning, we got woken up late, so we were cutting it close on getting to breakfast. After breakfast we had morning program devotions, after which we went to Sheetz to buy energy drinks or coffee, and then we went to our project sites. Today is food pantry day, and that entailed unloading a truck and stacking boxes and other stuff. While we were bagging some veggies a bird almost hit Eldon in the face, but the poor thing unfortunately hit the window instead and fell on the ground under the bench. The bird was either in shock or hyperventilating, so I picked it up to see if it was okay. It was sooo cute and soft and not shy at all. We decided to name it Cameron. As I am writing this, Cameron is currently sitting under a bush. 

Really wanting to keep Cameron,

Bekah

 

Tuesday Evening!

After leaving the project site, we had an evening off. First, we did an outdoor escape room, which came in a cardboard box and an app to help us. It took us around a part of Pittsburgh and after a couple hours, we found out that the butler did it! After that, we went to dinner at Primanti Brothers. They are famous for putting fries and coleslaw on their sandwiches. After we had dinner, we went to do the Incline. It took us up to Mount Washington and at the top, there was an observation deck, which allowed us to have a pretty view of Pittsburgh. Before going back down, we got some ice cream, which may or may not have including sticking a crayon in Eldon’s ice cream. Then we went to a park called Frick Park or by its nickname, Blue Slide Park.

That’s because it had a big blue slide that had cardboard boxes that we could slide down. But since it had been raining, the boxes were all wet and it didn’t really work. But it was still fun exploring the park and its trails! And of course, we got to meet and pet many, many cute dogs. And shout out to Claire, the best twin ever! Thanks for all the prayers and for keeping up with us!

 Ansley

Tuesday Morning!

This morning, we woke up to some lovely music that was blasted through the hallway, again. After we regained our hearing, we went to breakfast and then we went to have our morning program in the sanctuary. Today, we talked about the U in the acronym, EQUIP. The U stands for Understand. We are learning about how to understand God’s plan for us. After the program ended, we packed up and headed to our mission project at the Allegheny Valley Association of Churches. Today at AVAC we are going through clothes that were donated and sorting them into sizes. These clothes are set out for people to come by and grab what they need for free. Along with the clothes, there is also other items such as kitchen supplies, games, books, shoes, etc. All these things are stored in a house that AVAC calls Sparrow’s Nest. After we serve, we have the night off. We are planning to go and do an escape city, which is an escape room around the city. We are also going to go to a

restaurant, Primanti Brothers, which is a well-known restaurant in Pittsburgh We are all so excited to have a chance to go and explore Pittsburgh! 

 

Hope everyone is doing well at home!

 

Lainey

 

 

Monday Continued...

 On Monday morning we were woken up at 6:30. It was quite annoying. :( Imagine
listening to Party In the USA and being happy about it at that absurd time. We got ready and had breakfast at 7:00, and then sat around talking and playing card games. (I was reading The Hobbit, because socializing at 7 in the morning is ridiculous) Suddenly, we were told that we needed to vacate the building. The fire department was called because there was an issue. (Nothing serious) We were outside for about 10 or so minutes while it was taking care of. After we went back inside, we gathered all the things that we needed and then went to our project sites. Our group is working with a church organization called Allegheny Valley Association of Churches that helps with people who need clothes, food, counseling and shelters. Today we are doing yard work. We had arrived at the location at about 9 something, were told what to do and then worked until 11:45, which is when we had our lunch break.  The 2 guys in our group

are taking care of all the mowing and weed whacking, while us girls are doing the raking and weeding. We are cleaning up 3 decently sized yards, which has a crap ton of leaves and weeds in them. We met a girl named De’layla there who was waiting to get assigned a home with her Mom and siblings. She helped us with the weeding until she left. It was very appreciated. We will be finishing up at 3:30 and then going back to the church where we are staying at for the week.

Anyway, Ave Christus Rex. 

Joanna

Monday Morning Surprise!

This morning we woke up at 6:45am to be in the cafeteria and have breakfast by 7:00am. For breakfast today we had eggs, bacon, and bananas or cereal. After everybody in our group finished breakfast we played a card game called "Golf." Before we could finish our game we all had to evacuate the building because the fire department had to come and check something out, we all thought it was pretty funny. We all went to the parking lot and stayed there until it was all clear to go back in. While we were waiting, we tried playing another card game but didn't finish that either because then we had to go back in and prepare to go to our project sites.

                                                                                            Cassie

Sunday Night

After arriving and dropping our luggage in our rooms we convened in the sanctuary for a quick info dump, and then went down to the cafeteria to kill some time before dinner, so we played card games. For dinner we had pizza and a little Veggietales songs.

After dinner we were informed even more and went back to the sanctuary for devotions and even more info. After taking care of some stuff we played Apples to Apples.

 

 

Yours truly,

Your favorite blogger,

 

Rebekah

WE MADE IT!!!

      The grueling trip first started when we made our way out of the church parking lot. It was a momentous moment that fused the hope of success with the bitter and emotional strain of leaving our homes. With our humble abodes behind us, and nothing but anticipation before us, we bared our teeth and braved the storm. 

 (An intermission will now be provided so that we can travel without the hassle of blogging.)

 

"Truly heart stopping!" "A magnificent journey!" These are quotes from some of the members of our trip, although I only recollect one thing from the entirety of our departure, and that happens to be the bickering over what music should be played. 

 When we arrived at the church in which  we are staying, there seemed to be some sort of trouble. Three vans were parked in front, and kids were running about, but there was no sign of a mission’s leader. Upon further inspection, we gathered that when the groups had arrived an hour ago, there had been no sign of human activity. The groups (that had got there early) had then proceeded to the nearest park and decided to play about until a leader was procured. 

 

When we approached the scene, my first though was “I wonder if any of them tried one of the doors yet..” I then promptly went around back and tried a door. Success! It was immediately answered, and we were beckoned into the depths of a massive church. The heat in which we stepped enveloped us like a storm over water. A quick look at a thermostat on the wall showed that the temperature was somewhere around eighty-one degrees.

 

The reason for the immense heat was directly correlated to the fact that there is no air conditioning. In the future, we hope to get used to the jungle-like climate. Now it’s time to go to orientation. Farewell, and thank you for putting up with me for the past two minutes.

 

Eldon

ON OUR WAY!!!!

Welcome to our Blog!

Starting on June 15, nine Harvest Presbyterian youth and adults will be working with Group Mission trips to serve the New Kensington community of Pittsburgh. Possible ministries include conducting a kid's camp, visiting the elderly, serving the needy at a food bank and clothing ministry, serving meals at a free cafe', and ministering to the homeless. Please keep us in prayer and come back for updates on our trip!