Leawood UMC Mission Trip 2018

Blog post pending - but here are some pictures until I locate the email with the post. Due to a glitch (either human or cyber space), the post was lost.  The pictures tell the tale of our day. A final goodbye picture with Frank and Shiprock over our shoulders. Over 50 miles away in Mesa Verde and you can still see Shiprock through the haze. Exploring the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park. These are the perfect shoes for hiking to the cliff dwellings, right? Getting ready to head out from Johnson City, KS for our final leg home.  The wonderful Cathy is second from the left.  She met us after midnight to let us in and was here in the morning to send us off - and helped coordinate food for all of us.

We left Shiprock at 8ish yesterday morning.  Because we spent more time than anticipated in Mesa Verde,  we didn't arrive in Johnson City until after midnight CDT.  The wonderful Cathy greeted us, showed us our rooms, and all the food they had for us.  It was so late and there was no signal downstairs so no post last night.  Expect to read about Friday and final thoughts of the trip later this evening. Your tired but grateful mission trip team.

We finished the siding and painting! Thursday... What a day to remember. We did the usual breakfast routine, loaded ourselves up and headed back over to the church and parsonage to continue painting and siding the back of the garage. The morning was hot but not crazy hot and we worked well as a team! We finished and painted the entire project before lunch, while part of the team cleaned and reorganized the church kitchen. Three of our team got to spend an hour or so at the daycare next to the church helping out! Our guest for the evening was Navajo code talker Sam Sandoval. Sam is almost 95 now and one of only 10 remaining code talkers. His life story is amazing, serving over three years during WWII in the Pacific before ever returning home. We are tired, but moved by the people we've met, both those we have served and who served us. Tomorrow, we head out for Mesa Verde and a long ride to Johnson City, Kansas where the UMC there will give us supper and breakfast before we he

Hey guys! I'm back, It's Molly! First off I will apologize that there are no Bob pictures posted tonight because it is late and I am VERY tired because we have been busy, busy bees; I haven't even had time to call home in two days (Sorry Mom love you miss you). Today has been a wild and tiring day filled with lots of amazing God moments. We started off our day early (as always sadly .... I am NOT a morning person at all) and headed out to do some repair work at the church we went to on Sunday since we had finished at Jessie's house. We painted and replaced siding all day and I had the honor to play around for a bit with Frank's adorable 7 year old grandson AND WE GOT TO PET DOGS, that was a big highlight for all us youth. After work and dinner we had a special guest come to our house, a Sand Artist,  I will let Jack take it from here... -Molly OK, this is Jack, gonna talk about a couple God moments from today. So most of the men were working on the siding on t

This is a panoramic view on top of the mesa behind Jessie's house (featuring Molly, of course).  Today several of us climbed the rocky hill behind the house we were working at. We scaled the mighty cliff at varying speeds and to different heights. Upon reaching the top of the rocky beast we saw a canyon over yonder and decided to explore its depths. We were also blessed with magnificent views of the Shiprock and the other formations around us. Others of us also played hacky sack up  there as well, luckily the sack did not fall in. Repeatedly we have been amazed by the beauty of the landscape we are surrounded by. No matter which way we look a beautiful view can be seen. The amazing creation of God is on display not only in the land, but in the work of our youth and team. It has been incredible to watch how hard they have all worked for those we have served. I have seen how these youth have all reached new heights. (Wes) This was the view of the canyon after we

Jessie with Jillian and Taylor Hello guys! Today was the first day I experienced working along side the people of LUMC. I helped with painting, picking up nails, and at the end of the day Jillian and I got to know Jessie; the lady we had the privilege of helping. After we were finished at the worksite, we went back to the cabin and got to relax. Later that night we were able to go to Shiprock, one of the most sacred places in New Mexico. Then, we were able to drive back to the beginning of the pathway to Shiprock and search for really pretty rocks called quartz. Therefore, this has already been such an amazing trip and I'm already so grateful of what's to come. - Taylor Hey guys! Today was so inspiring for 3 reasons: 1) I hiked 10x more than I ever have in my entire life 2) I met the most amazing 88 year old named Jessie and her daughter Irma and, 3) I got some beautiful quartz that I have been looking forward to this whole week! I feel truly blessed to be on this trip.

WELCOME TO THE FIRST OFFICAL BLOG POST! By: Jack, Molly, and Pam Today we got up and went to First United Methodist Church of Shiprock.  Howard led the service, but Jillian, Wes, Barbara, and Molly all spoke at the service about why they go on mission trips and what they get out of them.  We met several of the locals and heard some great stories about a few of them, like Lawrence and Frida... After the service, we had lunch, the team meeting, and packed up to go to the Four Corners Monument.  If you don't know what that is, it is the precise spot where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah all come together.  We didn't come here to just get our picture taken like the 50 people waiting in line ahead of us.  We came to play Hacky Sack in 4 states at the same time, and we did it!!!  Nobody expected any group to do that, and several folks not in our group were taking our pictures doing it. We spent 2 minutes trying our best to get everyone to kick the hacky sack.  I am

We have made it safely to New Mexico.  We had a wonderful lightening display as we got closer to Shiprock but managed to unload the vehicles without getting too wet.  Devotions just ended and we are heading to bed.  You will get a more official blog posting in the morning about today's events.  (The adventures of Bob should be a part of the post.) Thanks for reading along. Your Mission Trip Team

We are safely in Salina. Thank you to the members of Trinity UMC for allowing us to spend the evening here.  It will be an early morning tomorrow as we have a long drive ahead of us.  More tomorrow. Barbara