Well, I apologize for the lack of blog posts. We've been on the Niagara Falls Mission trip for three+ days, and we've been BUSY! It's great to be busy, it means we're accomplishing tasks, making friends, doing worship and devotions and just generally being the church where we are. The problem, of course, with all this is that it leaves little time for updates for those back home. I hope you all have been checking out the pictures we've managed to get up on Facebook, but they stlil only provide a glimps into what it has been like here this week. (and only from my perspective)
Even now, there are only a few minutes before the next event, which is a worship service/bible study at a local church called "The Potter's House." I will try to give a snapshot of our week so far as quickly and efficiently as possible. Please forgive the spelling/grammar.
We arrrived at Niagara Falls on Sunday afternoon after two long days of travelling, a bit road-weary. We were very excited to arrive and see the town. Our first impression was a bit of a shock. The city of Niagara Falls is not a beautiful resort town, it's not a thriving anything. It's a city that has lost 50% of its population over the last 50 years, and it shows. There are many areas that are worn-down, boarded up, or just generally old.
We divided up into work groups as soon as we arrived at our host site and found out that the 19 of us would be divided into 4 crews. I would be with a crew that was going to an old (Polish) Catholic church, Holy Trinity. It is a historic site on the state and national historic registry. They are preparing for a concert this coming Sunday, so we helped by cleaning up the sanctuary, moving a piano and weeding the front walk. On Wednesday we went to NACC, an old closed-down local high school that has been turned into art studios. We got a tour of the old (supposedly haunted) high school and learned a lot about its history, as well as the history of the city of Niagara Falls.
There is a lot more to tell, I'm going to have 2 of the Youth who were in different groups tell a little about their experiences:
Hi, Rachel here. This week I am working at a kids club wih 5 other youth and two adults along with a few teenagers from the area. It has been a very moving experence for me. The kids are from below the poverty line most from boken homes and yet the surpase my expectations everyday as they are always happy and some of the most loving people I have met. Everyday we play outside and do a craft in the morning then eat the provided lunch. Next the kids watch a movie as the teenagers clean. After the movie we read a Bible story and do a corisponding craft. We sing a lot and the kids love it! About 15 minutes before the kids leave the teenagers pick a "camper of the day" who is the child that was the most respectful that day, that kid then gets a small prize and a necklace. After that we detangle ourselves from the kids and go shower. The kids are great and I am having a great time!
Hi, this is Megan. This week I have been working in a nursing home, food pantry, free lunch, shoe place. I had the chance to talk with a participant at the free lunch today and I found his story incredible. He got into some trouble and was in jail for quite some time. He now has changed to a man studying the bible in his home and has realized what it means to serve the lord and how important it is. Even though I have had a rough week with homesickeness, medical issues, and the heat I have really loved being around my crew and the people we are serving. I have shared many laughs with my youth group friends and crew too.
As you might have guessed, this is probably the only update you'll receive this week. We actually started writing this last night, and, true to form, I got called away in the middle, so I am finishing this morning. I'll do my best to keep posting pictures to Facebook, and I'm sure we'll have some time for reflection once we all get home.
I hope all is well back home! We'll see you soon!
Blessings,
Rob
