Vacation Bible Camp - Day One

Vacation Bible Camp 2013 is officially underway and what a fun day it was!  This year's theme, Take Me to the Water, is all about the many ways God provides for our needs through water: water sustains life; we become part of God's family, the church, in the waters of baptism; and Jesus gives us "living water" to sustain faith that we can share with others.  After our first opening worship where we sang fun songs about water, the campers went off to their stations for the day: crafts, storytelling, service, music, recreation, and chapel.

The story woven throughout today’s activities is the story of the Israelites who wandered in the desert in need of food and water.  As the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, stuck between the horror of slavery and the yet-to-be-fulfilled promise of a new home, they became cranky.  It was difficult to see beyond the stressful and difficult circumstances!  There were so many people and just as is true in our world today, they often lacked food and water.  In our story today, the people quarreled and complained against their leader, Moses, and against God.  In fact, they became so upset that Moses was afraid they would harm him!

In the midst of the chaos and grumbling, God told Moses how to provide water from a rock.  God worked through the natural means of a rock, part of creation, to give refreshing, life-giving water.  All of us sometimes wander through our own wilderness, tempted to grumble and complain about not having what we want or need.  Yet even as we do, we know God is present and that we can trust God to be with us, loving us and sustaining us.  The children of Israel were right to be concerned about the lack of water – life is not possible without it!  The VBC children went home with a stone that has been washed and worn and smoothed by the Pacific Ocean to keep in their pockets, a gentle reminder that God provides for us in amazing and wonderful ways.    

Children also learned that water needs to be clean in order for life to continue.  Sadly, more people die from dirty water than from all wars combined.  Over 1,000,000,000 people in the world today lack access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation.  The VBC children began to think about ways we can help provide access to clean water around the world, particularly in Africa.  One of those ways is very simple.

St. Thomas has partnered with a local company: MiiR Water Bottles.  For every water bottle sold, MiiR gives $1 to One Days Wages and the dollar provides one person with clean drinking water for one whole year.  There are two ways that you can be a part of this process.  St. Thomas has a limited quantity of bottles printed with the St. Thomas logo.  They are available for purchase for $20 ($3 off retail) at VBC all week!  You can also purchase any MiiR bottle through this link, which provides water to one person for a year AND supports the childrens' programs at St. Thomas.  Visit MiiR to learn more about the clean water crisis and how MiiR is involved in finding a solution.

Jackson Mission Trip Update: Wrap Up

What an amazing week!  We are tired, but our hearts are full of love and hope.  As we have talked a bit today about our trip, it is apparent that we are all different now than we were a week ago.  We have seen, experienced, and learned so much – and the youth have seen passion and commitment for the gospel, justice, and reconciliation lived out.  They have been inspired to go back home and live that out in their community, their schools, and our churches.  They are truly the leaders, not only of tomorrow, but also of today.  We ended our evening tonight by blessing and commissioning the youth to go back home and continue to live with intentionality, a commitment to love and justice, and a boldness to believe that they can change the world.  While we may be ending our mission trip to Jackson tomorrow, this is not the end of our mission with or service to the world.  Now the hard part begins as we return home, back to our daily lives, and seek to serve like we have been this week.  We attended Trinity Episcopal Church in New Orleans this morning, and we were struck by the Gospel lesson – Luke 10:25-37.  This is the story of Good Samaritan.  We have certainly met new neighbors this week, and have begun thinking about who our neighbors are at home.  The story ends with a profound instruction: “Go and do likewise.”  I can almost here Dr. Perkins saying that to our group.  He lives a life of immense passion and commitment and we have all been inspired by his life and his work.  But we did not go to Jackson simply to see and learn about another part of the country.  Now that we have seen that rich community and reconciliation is possible, it is now our time to “go and do likewise.”

Missy, Gabbie, Claire, and Jacqui served as acolytes at Trinity this morning!

After church, we went on a tour of the Ninth Ward, the area hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina.  There are still areas that have not ben rebuilt…whole streets of lots that sit empty.  It was humbling to drive down streets where floodwaters covered a whole community.

A levee along the Mississippi River in the Ninth Ward.  The water regularly rises to the top of the levee on the right, leaving the community below the water level.

A newly rebuilt house in the Ninth Ward with empty lots on both sides.

On a different note, we had an amazing evening at Will Bush’s cousins house for dinner and a much appreciated swim in a cool pool.  It was a very fun evening for our group to just relax, enjoy some amazing New Orleans food, and laugh together.  We even had an impromptu synchronized swimming contest.

 I don't know if this synchronized swimming move will get Kyra to the Olympics

Such beautiful form and synchronization!

We will be getting up early in the morning to clean our house and then head down to Café Du Monde for their world-famous beignets (French doughnuts) and some shopping in the French Quarter.  Our flight leaves New Orleans at 4:30 and we’ll be back in Seattle in time for some sleep in our own beds!  Prayers for safe travels would be much appreciated! 

Jackson Mission Trip Update: Leaving Jackson

We left Jackson at about noon today.  Dr. Perkins stopped in to say goodbye and tell us how much he enjoyed spending time with us this week.  We were sad to say goodbye to Dr. Perkins and all the lovely people that we met at the Perkins Center.  When some of the kids were asked tonight the best part of their time at the Perkin's Center, they said, it was all the people they met that were doing different work, but all with the same theme of justice.  

Our last group shot in front of our house at the Perkins Center

We made it to New Orleans today around 3pm.  We were pleasantly surprised with how nice our accommodations were at Trinity Episcopal Church.  The building is beautiful and parts of it have been restored from the 1860's.  It has beautiful tall ceilings and wood floors.  It is located in the Garden District.

After we arrived we ventured to the French Quarter for dinner.  Some of us had delicious local food; po' boys, dirty rice, banana pudding, and jambalaya,  We all got to see a peak into this historic and eccentric city.  We headed back home around 8 and closed out the night with compline (as we usually do).

The French Quarter in New Orleans

Not sure how to describe this.  Eccentric doesn't quite capture it.

Tomorrow we will go to service at Trinity Church where some of our own will acolyte.  Then Claire Webbeking's sister in law will give us a tour of the 9th Ward, which was the hardest hit region of Hurricane Katrina.  We will end the day with a cook out and swimming at some of Will's extended family's house in New Orleans.  We are excited to be refreshed by the pool and have some time to relax.

Jackson Mission Trip Update: Day 6

Today was our last full day at the Perkins Center.  We will certainly miss this place and the people we have come to know and love.  Many in our group have commented that the rich community and love of this place is palpable.  It would be nearly impossible to spend any amount of time here and not feel loved and like you are someone incredibly special.  We are certainly tired, but it has been a very full and rich time for our group.

The Perkins Center certainly embodies this sign that hangs at the entrance to their grounds!

This morning, we had the honor of spending some time with Jerry Mitchell.  Jerry is an investigative reporter for Jackson newspaper, the Clarion-Ledger who, in 1989, discovered through his investigation that the state of Mississippi had secretly given assistance to the defense of Byron De La Beckwith – the man who assassinated civil rights leader Medgar Evers.  Jerry’s revelation of that news led the case to be reopened after 30 years – a case that had been to trial twice in the 60’s and ended in a mistrial both times.  Jerry was instrumental in rebuilding the case for the prosecution and Beckwith was finally convicted in 1994.  Through his sources and interviews with other clansman, Jerry’s reporting has led to convictions of at least three other men who committed racial hate crimes during the civil rights movement.  It was inspiring for our group to hear someone who is so committed to justice and has spent his life helping to right the wrongs of the past.  Even though Jerry and his family have received many threats over the years, he is still committed to justice.  You can read Jerry’s blog here.

Jerry Mitchell with our group

After a full morning of our last breakfast with Dr. Perkins and our time with Jerry Mitchell, we headed out to our last day of work.  We completed the latticework and put the finishing touches on the freshly painted house, but most of our work time today was spent organizing loose ends and tidying up the grounds of the Perkins Center.  Hopefully, our labor has contributed something of value to this community, but more importantly, our time spent at work has freed up the staff and resources of the Perkins Center to engage in their primary ministry of community development.

This evening, we were invited by several of the Perkins Center interns to go to a Mississippi Braves baseball game.  The Braves are the AA affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.  It was a wonderful time to relax and simply be with one another.  On top of a win for the home team, they put on a fireworks show after every Friday home game.  We can literally say that our time in Jackson is ending with a bang!

The interns and our group at the Braves game

What ends a day better than baseball and fireworks?!

In the morning, we will pack our stuff, clean our house, and make the 3-hour drive to New Orleans.  While in New Orleans, we will do a little sightseeing, eat some great food, worship at Trinity Episcopal Church, and be led on a tour of the post-Katrina city.  Your prayers for safe travels are much appreciated!

Jackson Mission Trip Update: Day 5

I want to start off today's blog post by saying that we have been beyond blessed by our cooks, Missy Couch and Jannie Best.  They have been making us incredible food from scratch all week.  And the best part is it is made with love and care.

Well, the youth got to experience a good old fashioned southern thunderstorm today.  The youth were so excited that when it started pouring rain they ran outside and stood in it until they were soaked. Some did somersaults and back flips, because hey, everything is more fun when you are soaked. 

Since all of the work that we can do here is outside we had a day off from work.  We watched the movie Ghosts of Mississippi.  And got to learn about Jerry Mitchell a reporter in the film who is coming to speak to us in the morning!  Ghosts of Mississippi is based on the true story of Medgar Evers, a civil rights activists who got assassinated in 1963.  Due to a racist judge and jury the man who killed Evers got off.  The movie starts with Jerry Mitchell who was an investigative reporter who encouraged the reopening of the Medgar Evers case when Mitchell uncovered that that State of Mississippi secretly provided legal assistance to the man who murdered Evers.  Mitchell helped in four other cases that had been closed during the civil rights do to racism and has assisted in putting these klansman behind bars.  Needless to say we are excited and honored that he is willing to come speak to us.

The group at Medgar Evers' home on Tuesday.  He was assassinated in this driveway.

We spent the afternoon playing games, hanging out and resting.  Dr. Perkins joined us for dinner again!  We have been so blessed by his consistent presence all week.  And he keeps talking about how blessed he is to spend the end of his life with youth.  He always has little pearls of wisdom and kind words for our youth.  We also got an opportunity to get individual pictures with him, which I am sure our youth (and our leaders) will cherish as we spend our lives grappling with racism and working towards justice and peace.  Dr. Perkins is truly a man that lives out of his convictions and we will take his passion with us. 

Jackson Mission Trip Update: Day 4

What an amazingly full and rich time we have had so far in Jackson!  The Jackson/Mendenhall tour and the reconciliation panel yesterday gave us fresh perspective and new understanding of why the Perkins Center is such an important organization in this community – and why our time here is so important, not only for the ongoing work of the Perkins Center but also for our own developing grasp on issues of justice, race, and reconciliation.  As we went to work again today at the Perkins Center, our work had new meaning and significance.

Our day started with an opportunity to participate in the chapel service of the day camp the Perkins Center runs for six weeks every summer.  Kids from the neighborhood have an opportunity to be in community, learn about life and God’s love for them, and develop skills that will hopefully enable their community to break out of the poverty cycle.  Our time with the children at chapel began with them teaching us several of their incredibly fun songs.  Then we had the chance to teach them one of ours.  Also visiting at chapel today were Misha, a player for the minor league soccer team in Jackson, and Dusty, the director of the ministry that hosts the players from all around the world.  Each Wednesday, players from the team, along with Dusty, visit the Perkins Center to play soccer with the kids.   During chapel, Misha shared his story of being an orphan on the streets of Russia from ages 5-10.  He ended up in an orphanage when the police caught him breaking into a house for food.  It was during his time in the orphanage that he discovered God’s immense love for him.  Misha is currently attending Brown University on a soccer scholarship and hopes to share God’s love with others.  That certainly happened today!

Learning a song from the children during chapel

Misha sharing at chapel

Each morning at chapel, the children say "The Harambee Creed."  Harambee is a Swahili word that literally means, "get together and  push."  (Click the picture to enlarge)

After chapel, we returned to the work projects we started on Monday.  One team continued painting the house next door to the one we are living in, and the other team finished installing lattice at the main center across the street.  Dr. Perkins has told us that a freshly painted house not only helps the people who live there to feel good about the way their house looks, but that as the neighborhood begins to look nicer, it helps the whole neighborhood have pride in community.  As we stop to think about it, we do often judge a “book by its cover” – or a neighborhood by its lawn.  Improving the aesthetics of the neighborhood begins to change others’ perceptions on this community.  The latticework also has greater significance than it first seems.  It turns out that during the winter months, cold winds often freeze pipes in Jackson.  By installing lattice (with plywood behind), it blocks the wind from reaching the pipes.  Frozen pipes cost money which takes away from the resources the Perkins Center can invest in the community, and they also put the main center out of commission for a time.  Our work will hopefully enable the Perkins Center to always be available to the community and steward their resources.

The main house at the Perkins Center

After much needed showers (it was in the mid 90’s with a heat index – temperature adjusted for humidity – in the low 100’s), we had a wonderful dinner with Carol Spencer – the deacon and director of community engagement at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral in Jackson.  St. Andrew’s is an urban church in the middle of downtown.  It is located in a community that in many ways has been abandoned by those with the resources to leave.  But much like the Perkins Center, St. Andrews is committed to remaining in this city and to the work of justice of reconciliation.  Just a few weeks ago, the city of Jackson commemorated the 50^th anniversary of Medgar Evers’ assassination.  St. Andrew’s hosted a service of reconciliation at which his wife spoke.  Carol shared with us the many ways St. Andrews is actively engaged in justice work and the many partnerships they have with other ministries in the city, including the Perkins Center.  The Bishop of Mississippi was actually at the Perkins Center for a meeting with Dr. Perkins today and said hello to our group.  That is two unplanned bishops in four days!

Carol Spencer with our group for dinner

Tomorrow is another work day for us and the forecasted heat index is 105 degrees!  We’ll certainly be drinking lots of water.  Thanks for your prayers during this transformative time for us all!

P.S. – Apologies for the late blog post…I had a lengthy battle with a 2-inch cockroach this evening.  We’re definitely not in Seattle!