New Olreans: Video

Here is the Katrina Video Spencer mentioned below

New Orleans - 12

Hey Guys,
We had our last full day in NOLA today. Our groups finished up the work they were doing with the various organizations. Gumbo had their last day with NENA working in the Lower Ninth Ward. We worked on Mrs. Bobbie's house, which was the same house we worked on yesterday. We finished getting the yard flattened out which was a big project. She was so grateful, and her thankfulness really touched a lot of our youth. During our Family Time tonight, many of them shared about how seeing people who have so little be so thankful has really showed them how true faith can look. We also watched a video that Pastor Mike brought us which was pictures of the storm from the various news outlets set to music. It was a very powerful experience. Seeing the pictures that some of us had seen before we came, and now seeing them after having seen the actual destruction of the area first-hand made everything seem more real and tangible.

VBS had their last day today. From the beginning we weren't sure how many kids would show up for that, whether we would get 5 or 30, but after everything was over, the final count was 48 kids. It may not seem like a lot to a big church, but Pastor Mike was talking about how huge a number that was for a small church in the middle of the city in New Orleans after Katrina. All of the families had been touched by how happy and excited their kids were too. One of the parents asked for information on how to get in better contact with the Church because of the ministry of the VBS and Sports Camp.

To close out our time here, there was a BBQ (the church does it Monthly) where the whole neighboorhood was invited, we specifically invited all of the families from VBS and the sports camp to come, and many of them did. It was a fantastic time of fellowship and community bonding.

After that was all said and done, we set about cleaning the church. We have just now finished almost all of the tasks and are headed to bed now. (everyone else is in bed as I write this) Bright and early tomorrow we will leave for Wichita Falls, TX where we will spend the night tomorrow night before heading home on Sunday. Keep an eye out for short cell-phone posts while we are on the trip back indicating our progress.

We've had a fantastic week and almost everyone is sad to leave. It really does feel like this week has flown by. We have done so much here, and yet there is still so much to do. I'm headin to bed. Good night.

-- Spencer Norman, High School Assoc. Director

Rapid City - 7

Hey all!

This is going to be super quick because it is almost midnight and tomorrow is going to be early and super long!

Tonight we had a foot washing ceremony, which always makes me cringe unless I JUST had a pedicure! But it was so precious. Michelle Cage immediately joined the YouthWorks staff member in washing my feet and prayed an amazing prayer on my behalf... from there it just seemed to snowball for the ladies (I can't really speak for the guys because they were on the other side of the room with Randy and John). There are few things more humbling for a youth director than youth who actually PRAY for each other, hug each other, care for each other. I know these experiences can be fleeting, but I pray this one isn't. I pray it is a seed in these young lives that grows a huge harvest for the Kingdom of God. I pray that truth was spoken over each child that helps them see the truth of the Gospel of Christ and propels them to seek their own special calling in the world.

I was blessed.

Katie Harris, Youth Associate

Rapid City - 6

this week we went to a youth development program and we got to spend a little time with some kids. then we went to a nursing home and hung out with people as old as 109! at the nursing home i learned a card game called canasta. two people called Edna and Joe taught us it. through all of the fun i learned to look to start looking at people more through God's eyes than mine. hope you guys are having just as much fun.

Paul F, Grade 8

During this riveting week we had a lot of good times! First we went to the youth development program for native Americans, while we were there I met this very interesting little boy. His name is Jacob, the first day I think he was shy so he tended to be mean and obnoxious. But the next day we were playing basketball and I was being a very good teammate to him, so a little while after that he became very nice and he asked if i could give him a piggy back ride and of course i said Yes! When we were leaving he gave me a hug. Later that night we went to Mount Rushmore. The next day we went to a nursing home and Paul and I met this very smart woman. Her name is Ruth, she is a author with Multiple Sclerosis, so she has a voice commanded computer and she is very smart. Later that night we had a scavenger hunt around the city and we saw the thirty-five metal presidential statues. Tonight we will be having a cook-out here at the church, and at this event the homeless people and other underprivileged people. Also tomorrow we will be leaving this magnificent city. This week will soon end, but the memories will last forever!

Tyler C, Grade 8



This week has been one of the most eye-opening times of my life. God has definitely been working in this youthworks station. One of the highlights definitely had to be meeting the vivid characters at the Valley Springs Nursing Home. These people really do enjoy singing, luckily a girl in our group could sight read on the piano. Just playing a few hymns brought a crowd into the dining hall. Only those few moments that we spent with these people will stay in my heart until one day I'll be the one that the next generation will be singing to. In addition to staying at the nursing home I sorted food at the food bank. It was a very new and disgusting part of this week. I really don't think that mayonnaise should be that color, but now I think that I will be much more careful when I clean out the fridge! Dinner crew started about ten minutes ago and I think that I'm on tonight. Pray that I don't burn down the church!

Michelle C, Age 13 grade 8

Rapid City - 5

listening to peoples stories before u judge them is a good idea. old people are really cool. u have to talk really loud when u say anything... ha,ha,ha . i have made a lot of new friends... :) i love my group leaders. they help a lot with the planing and stuff. they ROCK!

Cara S, Grade 8

hey peoples back in Colorado or where ever you are. this week has been an amazing experience this week. we aren't doin' that much manual labor cause this week everyone is focusing on the community and what the community needs is help with the old peeps and from kids from 5-15. the leaders are amazing here. if u r hurt they will stay up all night with you!!!!! lol. they amazing and then the directors are so amazing cause they are like up all night planning for the next day with us!!! this week has been amazing!!!!!

Suzanne G, Grade 7

Rapid City - 4

Hey friends!

I'm sorry for the day and a half of silence, we have been super busy and tired and it has been hard to get time for kids to come in and type an entry... we are hoping to have a couple in this afternoon.

Last night the Lakota tribe drummer and dancers were unable to make it to the church to perform for us, so we did a scavenger hunt in downtown Rapid City. Every street corner has a bronze statue of a president and the kids had to answer questions about each presidential statue. John R literally ran to every statue and Tara did a great job of researching all the answers. For bonus points we took a picture of our whole group in front of a Native American statue of a woman and child... and you'll all be proud to hear that FPC represented a pulled out a win! Our prize was a box of Hostess Ho Ho's.

Yesterday a couple of our crews switched sites. My crew moved from working a half day with Native American children and a half day in a nursing home to working a full day in a different nursing home. This nursing home was definitely different than the first, but our kids are fantastic at jumping in and serving and loving the elderly they meet. Many of our kids participated in morning chair exercizes, some kids helped residents fold laundry, some delivered and read mail, some watered plants and took residents for "walks" outside, and some used their creative minds to design a new bulletin board for the nursing home entry.

Another group reported on their time at the Blackhills Workshop for mentally and physically disabled people. The highlight was when the people who go there sang karaoke - many couldn't sing the words, but they danced and hummed and made other singing sounds. All the kids reported that the handicapped people had so much joy when they were singing.

There are two more crews, but I'll leave those stories for when we return or when youth come and blog.

Last night we spent a few hours in a gorgeous park! Many kids climbed trees (ask Claire about her experience), played kickball, hung out and generally just had a ton of fun.

Please pray for the health of our kiddos and those we serve - there has been a small outbreak of flu-like symptoms. We are taking steps to ensure the safety of the young and elderly we serve, but apart from withdrawing completely, there is no guarantee. So pray that we don't do more harm than good on this last day and that our youth stay healthy. So far none of our students have gotten sick - don't worry moms!! :)

Katie Harris, Youth Associate

NEW ORLEANS 11: The French Quarter

God shows up in the "in between" doesn't He? In our family time tonight I asked the group, "Where was God today?" While several answers pertained to the relationships we have built through VBS, Sports Camp and Katrina demo.....God showed up in a powerful way on the streets of the French Quarter. We thought we were going to eat Begnets and Coffee, but God had more.
Many of the students spent a long time with a man in a wheelchair who also happened to be homeless. He was playing a plastic bucket with drum sticks for money. The conversation turned quickly to a sermon and then a time of prayer right in the middle of the sidewalk next to the water. Several of the students felt this man was speaking straight to them about certain areas of their lives. He quoted many verses from scripture and several students were taken back by the man's focus on "mansions in heaven". He himself had no physical home but was excited about the hope offered to us through the gift of heaven.
We also had some of our students walking around the church neighborhood area passing out flyers and inviting people to join our sports camp. They approached a woman who was intoxicated at the time, but sounded interested in the camp. To make a long story short, she showed up with her son this morning who she called Dalton but this 6 year old introduce himself as Dolphin. The boy had a blast at sports camp and the mother ended up showing our students how to eat Crawfish. We almost had to push them out the door when we left, they didn't want to go and we really didn't want them to leave either.
God always has more f0r us doesn't He?
As my mother says: "Our cup is overflowing, so we're drinking from the saucer"
God is Good,
nate

New Orleans - 10

Hey you guys,
Thanks for following and praying for our trip. Team Gumbo just got back from our morning work project in the Ninth Ward. I wanted to share with you guys some pictures of the work we are doing. We did a lot of debris removal for this house, we picked up a couple hundred cubic feet of hurricane leftovers and hauled it to the trash and then fixed up the yard. We removed a broken fence and did a considerable amount of other work on the yard. This took us only about 3 hours.
Team Gumbo is: Buzzy, Alli, Kim, Emmit, Lincoln, Andy, Nikki, Alaura, KC, Colin, Julie, Spencer, and Matt

Rapid City - 3

Yesterday we went to Black Hills Workshop to help mentally challenged people. When we went I started out very nervous and thought I couldn't do this. As soon I met a guy named A.J. I felt more comfortable. He liked to play basketball and he was very funny. I then started to open up and meet the others. After we helped, we ate and then went to Mt. Rushmore.

David D, 8th grade

(Picture on Above: Cara & Ali folding napkins at a nursing home.)

Yesterday I had an eye opening day. For my work project, 10 people from the church (including me) went to the Black Hills Workshop. This workshop is a place for mentally disabled people. At first I walked in and all of the people there came over just to meet us and I was completely taken out of my comfort zone. Then I met some wonderful people there who really opened my eyes to God. One lady I met was named Kathy and she was so polite and always smiled. After that the workshop was so fun and I loved talking to all the people. Later yesterday night we got to go up and see Mount Rushmore which was so cool. I had such an amazing day yesterday.

Mikaela M, 8th grade.

(Picture Above: FPC kids pointing at Mt. Rushmore.)

I'm co-leading the Blackhills Worshop team with a youth leader from a Lutheran Church near Minneapolis. Our crew is a mix of FPC and kids from his church. Blackhills is a place for mentally disabled folks who stay with other care-givers in the evening, but come come there for the day. It's called a "workshop" because they take in easy jobs for the people to do to feel productive and even make a few dollars. One such project is a job kitting components into bags for a local hospital. By and large the people we ministered to had enough capacity to engage in limited conversation and connect at some level. They love having the kids around and like to work together on little activities or just talk. We will be at the same facility with the same people for 4 days to give the people some continuity in who they see and can build some week-long relationships. All our kids are doing exceptionally well in giving of themselves in service and are representing Christ and FPC in a great way!

John F, adult leader

(Picture Above: Kids standing in front of Mt. Rushmore with one YouthWorks volunteer named Jennifer - and Katie.)

New Orleans-9B part 2 Volume 1 section C

Hey everyone!
Today the zydeco put on a vacation bible school for all the neighborhood kids from 9ish until 12. It was awesome! We had no idea how many kids were coming or if kids were coming. So we were soooooo incredibly excited when we had about 30 kids with ages ranging from 3 to 12. It was a busy morning with crafts, games, movies, and snacks.
Then right around 12 we got on the bus and headed to a charter school that we were going to help paint. We spend the afternoon painting, moving furniture, and scraping paint. It was hard work, but at least we were in air-conditioning! :)
This evening we on a tour around New Orleans with Pastor Mike. We went down to the 9th Ward which was mind blowing for me. We saw things like buildings that looked like they were hit by Katrina a couple of months ago. the thing that struck me the most was the front porch steps that stood all alone because the houses that were connected at one point were completely swept away. That is a picture that will stick in my mind forever.
Katrina LeBlanc

New Orleans - 9

Hey everyone today the Gumbo after we ate breakfast all went down to the Lower Ninth Ward and hooked up with an organization called NENA which is an organization that works down in the neighborhood helping people getting people get back on their feet after the Hurricane. Some of the work we did today included cleaning debris from her yard which included trash and a broken down shed. Then we had to shop down weeds in the yard that were at least eight feet tall. Unfortunately while i was working on chopping down the weeds i was stung by a wasp twice on both of my legs which is funny cause i am alergic to them. After i got stung i took some alergy medicine and was fine but just out of it the rest of the day. After we were done working on the yard we left the Ninth Ward and went back to the church where we had a soccer camp that only two kids showed up for. It was fun because we just played soccer with these two kids for two hours and the kids ended up having a great time. tonight we ate dinner at the church and then went and took a tour of the city.
Buzzy Obenauf

First day went well. We are currently on our way to go get Snowballs which are snowcones with icecream in the middle. Sounds good to me.
Comments work now too.

Good to Hear from Ya'll - FPC 1

Great job keeping us all up to date here at home - we're praying for you and enjoying the cool, dry air :) Spencer - nothing happens when I try to post a comment on the blog - some glitch somewhere I think? I'll keep trying...Kathy

Rapid City - 2

Totalling in about 9 hours in the bus, we finally got safely to the church. On the way we stopped at Burger King and Arby's (although almost everyone went to Arby's). People played cards, Catch Phrase, and Mad Libs all the way there. We had a delicious dinner leaving us full and happy. After dinner we sang and did a handful of fun games. Now that we were terribly tired, we finally rolled into bed. Breakfast was just as good (or better) as dinner. Soon we will be doing service projects with our groups.

John Ruhnow, Grade 7.

Finally we arrived in South Dakota after riding on a very bumpy bus for eight hours with only four stops, however when we got to the church we were so ready to fall fast asleep and not wake up until noon the next day, however we had to stay up till eleven and we did skits, songs, and more fun stuff, and in one of the skits I was in we were told we were to act like we were on a roller coaster but they told the audience that we were going to act like we were on the toilet. (Picture on the right.) Today we ate breakfast and packed our lunches and we're ready to go to our sites to work, although our group was split up into four groups we will have a great chance to get to know other people.

Hannah Bowlby, Grade 7

The ride up went really smoothly, no car sickness, no fights (as far as I know), and no mechanical issues. I've been so proud of our FPC kids... they have been volunteering for EVERYTHING that the YouthWorks staff have asked volunteers for - hence the picture of Hannah riding a roller coaster, I mean "using the toilet." Tobin, Stephanie, Tyler and Michelle also participating in this little activity. Last night's talk was about being "free" - free from our hangups, habits, bad thoughts, etc in order to be free to be who God has created us to be and do what he has created us to do. Sleeping was pretty hot last night, we have a lot of kids and leaders crammed into small rooms with just a few fans. Our boys slept in the lap of luxury in a large fellowship hall with tons of airflow. (I'm only slightly jealous.) :)

Today we'll be heading out to our different sites - most of our groups will be helping out at nursing homes, but one group will spend the week with the mentally and physically handicapped. I believe one of our groups will also assist at a food bank. Tonight we'll go to Mt. Rushmore.

Please continue to pray for our openness to what God wants to do this week. I think the overall theme is SO pertinent to us as leaders and to our middle school youth. Think about your own children, friends, etc... what are they in bondage to? Body image issues? Trying to be "cool" all the time? Anger? Low self-esteem? Depression? Self-absorption? Please pray that we'd release these things to God.

Much love to all of you,

Katie Harris - Middle School Associate

NEW ORLEANS: 7

It's monday morning and the vbs kids are on their way!!! We have several work projects going on today as well. Last night we ate frog legs, aligator, crawdads and more. We even had a bunch of kids on the dance floor trying to dance to Zydeco music (i think that's what they were doing)
Katrina L. tried frog and gator last night.....big step for her.
Alli Williams hauled Andy Stieber onto the dance floor for a few milaseconds. I found this more than humorous.

We are partnering with another church from Virginia to do VBS and found out that half of their group has become sick. We are being very cautious and even I am washing my hands.

This evening we are going on a prayer tour of the city including the super dome and 9th ward.

Please pray that the Lord would be present in all the little details and the chaos of the first day.
Pray that those who are sick from the other group would be healed.

MARINATE ON THIS: Why in 1 Samuel in Hannah's prayer does it say "The Lord sends poverty and wealth"?

God is Good
nate

New Orleans - 6

Hello everyone,
We are at the Canal Street Church, it is Sunday morning and we are heading off to service. After service we have plans to tour and figure out what we are doing this week. It is super dooper hot! Last night when we were meeting in "Heaven" Nate was talking to all of us when all of a sudden a cockroach ran across the stage behind Nate and everyone started to laugh. Tonight for dinner we are going to a restaurant that has free Zidaco dancing lessons. There is going to be another youth group coming from Virginia to help us with VBS and they are also coming to the church service today with us.
We want to wish all the father's a Happy Father's Day.

- Felicia, 10 Grade, Fountain Fort Carson High School
-Alaura, 9 Grade, Air Academy High School
-Nikki, 11 Grade, Palmer High School

we have arrived at Canal St Pres.
more updates to come.

New Orleans 4: HOT!!

Nate here.

Got to the Big Easy yesterday and have been preparing for the group to arrive.

The picture above is actually me. It's so hot that i've gotten old, blind and sweaty!!

I'm really excited to team with such a neat little church and great pastor.

New Orleans - 3

We made it to FPC Dallas. We are all tired but excited to be here. Our trip tomorrow should be shorter and (hopefully) more scenic. We are hitting the hay right now and will be up bright and early tomorrow morning to finish the drive to New Orleans. Everyone is safe and sound and misses their mom greatly. We will brush our teeth and change our underwear.

Also, if you had trouble commenting, I have changed the way that works and it should be easier (and possible if you don't have any account) now. Can't wait to here from you guys.

- Spencer Norman, High School Associate Director

New Orleans - 2

We stopped and filled up our tanks in Raton, NM. We are now off the interstate and on US-87/US-64 headed East towards Texas. We are eating lunch in Amarillo TX and will probably get there around 1:00.
- Spencer Norman, High School Assoc. Dir.

Rapid City - 1

Saturday, June 20 is our Pack & Pray then we meet and leave on Sunday morning at 8am. I (Katie Harris) spoke with our YouthWorks site coordinator this morning and it sounds like we have a lot of challenging and stretching experiences ahead of us. We will be seperated into several crews, some people will stay at a site for an entire week and others will rotate to different experiences. It sounds like we will have a lot of students hanging out at nursing homes helping, hanging out, singing, and maybe even painting fingernails! Some students might end up working in a boys' ministry all week playing games and hanging out. Others could be assisting the mentally and physically challenged with arts and crafts or helping them with some micro enterprises.

On the fun side, I have confirmed that we will be visiting Mt. Rushmore on Monday evening, treated to a live performance from members of the Lakota tribe on Tuesday, a picnic in the park on Wednesday, and a community cook out at the church on Thursday.

It's going to be a busy week! I can't wait!

Katie Harris, Middle School Associate

New Orleans - 1

We leave this Friday am for New Orleans. I am really excited about the time our group will spend together exploring this great city and serving our awesome God. Note the picture of yummy beignets and coffee. We will be eating this tasty treat at least once on our trip.

I am praying that as we prep for this trip God will continue to work out the details and that he will be preparing the heart of each person on the trip. If you are reading this blog please commit to pray for our health, safety, service and growth. More to come...
- Collin Grant

T Minus 1 Week

We are excited that our first trip out will be our High School group who is headed to New Orleans to serve the neighborhood of Canal St. Presbyterian Church. Please pray for us as we Coloradans are gonna be shocked by the humidity! We will post pictures and student blogs throughout the week. Please post comments below so we don't feel like goobers for posting blogs that nobody reads.