It's not just about the camel dance: Day Five AND Day Six – Thursday and Friday (the beginning and the end)

Sorry for no update last night. For those of you who have not experience a YouthWorks trip before (and I’m assuming that’s most) Thursday evening’s worship ends with a very powerful and very emotionally draining piece of worship. Sleep had to take the priority for this woman.

Thursday was an all around grace-filled day.

We had our last day of work at our ministry sites.

We played and talked with kids

and finished painting a house!

In the evening we took a field trip to

went for a walk and heard a very interesting legend about the place we were visiting.

And, being us, we had a rocking good time in the van as we traveled there and back.

Of course, we also took time to take in the beautiful landscape around us.

When we got back we were treated to a dramatic performance by a few of our very own church members; it was so funny that several other church folks said they didn’t just almost pee their pants. I can’t tell you what exactly happened, but I will post this picture of Shelby rehearsing and let your imagination take over from there.

The evening closed with that worship where the Holy Spirit was present so powerfully. It was wonderful and sacred and will stay with me for years to come. Our youth are truly beloved children of God.

The next day (Friday!) we woke up early, packed the vans, helped clean up the building, and said good-bye to the friends we had made.

The staff we worked with were beyond phenomenal and a true blessings to all of us. Thank you Eric, Gina, David, and Calvin.

Today’s road trip was pretty tame. We made a special stop in Alexandria, MN for me. I would go to a lake about 20 or so minutes from there every summer for the Minette family reunion. It was quite special for me to be able to stop in this old familiar town and share a bit of my childhood with our kids. And that had to mean we met Big Ole.