Missions in Iowa

{Camp has Begun!}

2009-06-09T19:18:00.003-05:00

Camp has started at the Friendship Center, and many kids have come. Yesterday I think our end was 49 kids, and today we had 60. A lot of kids from last year are back at camp, and I am so happy to see them! I’m grateful for the returning kids, but I also miss the ones who I haven’t seen, and may not see at all. A lot of the Sudanese students are supposed to come back tomorrow. So pray that they do. I will be excited to see all of them.
I also took photos finally with my new camera. Hopefully I can have them up soon! The kids seemed really excited about getting their photo taken. I am hoping to take a lot of photos, so that everyone can see their prayer kid another year older.

Specifically, pray for Jose and Montez. Jose had a rough week at the start, and I know he has a lot going on. Pray that he will see God’s love in everyone working, and that he will know he is cared for. Pray also for Montez [BooBoo]. I saw his little brother and sister, but his grandmother said he was away visiting his mom for the summer. I don’t know if he is in a better situation or not, but I have felt a need to be praying for him.

[Montez]

[ Jose]

Also, pray for the other summer Missionaries. Tetsuya (Tony) is spending the week in Mexico with my other missionary friends. Kelly is on a travel team in New England. the purple penguins group is working in Tennessee as a travel team. My friend Amy is in Nicaragua. And my other summer missionaries in Iowa: Jonathan, Kimmie, Adam, and Tim. When I remember more, I will write them on here. There's a lot!

Love you guys!

First few Days in Iowa.

2009-05-30T15:05:00.001-05:00

So, I spent the first few days going through Orientation and meeting other summer missionaries. I will be working with Adam, so please be praying for him too. Tonight we have Saturday Supper, and will be meeting and socializing with the neighborhood. Most of the ministry and witnessing here is done through socializing and building relationships with the people who come to the Friendship Center.Today, we went to see Mikey, Alex, and Jose. They were "Cooking Out" in their backyard. It was adorable, because they all came up and hugged me, Mikey being the first. Then we saw Eric, Maria, Miguel, and Maria's baby that was born just as I left last summer. He is soooo big! It's adorable. We also saw Jesus, Carlos, Victor, and I met some new people. I am excited about everyone coming to Saturday Supper tonight. It's going to be a great summer. Please begin praying for the people in Iowa, and that opportunities will come to share God's love with them, and tell them about Jesus' sacrifice to give them Abundant Life.Love you guys! Keep in touch. I can't get online much, but I can receive letters, and I'm really good at Writing back.

So please pray for Adam and me and Jon and Mindy as we work at the Friendship Center.

Photos of Week 5

2008-08-05T23:09:00.008-05:00

So, I AM back home, but I want to keep putting up photos of the kids, and the trip. So please continue to enjoy. This is Week 5!

This is Pope's group. They were SO much fun and invited me to spend a lot of time with them.

Tatiana braiding Charlie's beard.

They played Volleyball a lot.

skaterBoys. This is Jefferson and James, two of the youth from the church. Jefferson is really sweet. James is kind of quiet, but he's a good kid.

Evan, from Pope's group. He hurt his ankle real bad, but kept on working hard. We sat together and had a great time singing and talking.

Ellen, Maddy, and Nadine. All three sisters, and great friends who I miss terribly.

Here's Jesus, in his usual attire. We were teasing him about his pants.

They had a basketball tournament at the Center. A lot of guys came to play.

Adrian thought it would be fun for me to take photos of them throwing the basketball. This went on for a good 5 minutes.

This is Ruben. He's a fun kid.

Junior, Victor, Kasandra! Finally something Victor and I have in common. We both love photography.

JD, after the basketball tournament. He was really sweaty.

Here is another Disaster Reliefer, Teddy. He was like my big brother. And this is Nadine.

And this is the full Disaster Relief team for the first week. They were super sweet, and treated me like family. It was wonderful to have dinner with them every night. I miss them a lot.

This is Mary and Jerry. They were a sweet family who we ate dinner with every night. They worked with Disaster Relief, and would clean the shower trailer and wash clothes.

My original church. This is Eugene, the pastor, Alex, the worship leader, and Matt from Disaster Relief. We spent a lot of time talking. He's very knowledgeable.

This is Andrea and Dan. I stayed with them for two and a half weeks. They were really sweet, and Andrea helped me with a lot of stuff. And gave me plenty of dating advice, if I ever get around to that.

Victor doesn't like to smile. So Vanessa wouldn't either. Vanessa and I spoke together, and she prayed to receive Christ! Near the end of camp, she smiled more. And Stephanie is in Green. She smiled all the time.

Another adorable photo of Maye. She is Soooo cute.

This was super cool. They had all the kids draw their biggest fears on paper. Mine was tornadoes. Then they taped them all together, and taped it to the ceiling. The Bible story was on David and Goliath, and they used our fears as an example, and had one of the students knock them down "with God's power" to show that with God, our fears can come tumbling down.

These are the kids from Sudan. Raniya, Lydia, Shata, Angelina, Rubekah, Ethopia, and a few who I didn't get to meet.

Every Kid loves Pizza. Especially Mikey.

Some Smiling Faces..[Week 4]

2008-07-21T21:49:00.006-05:00

Week 4!

I know I'm totally delayed in this.. But I'm trying to keep things updated and in order, for my memory, and for your entertainment/Prayer purposes. So enjoy Week four. I'm on Week 8.

The beloved guitar case, which is a miracle in itself. Ask my mom, if you want to know the story.

The backyard of the Friendship Center.

Kids ride their bikes to the Center.

1st through 3rd grade Recreation! They love running

Preschool-Kindergarten Recreation. They just like being goofy. This is Blessenprays (Blessen for short).

Chenoa, a total cutie. She's Alyssa's little sister. She's really shy in the mornings and by lunch time, she's jumping all over you.

Preschool Soccer is the best!

This week, a mural was painted downstairs in the basement. It's the Woman at the well. And this is Bobb. No really. His name is Bobb.

Jesus(Hey-zues) was in charge of painting Jesus(Jee-sus). It was kinda ironic to me.

The preschool/Kindergarten class! So many cute kids. So much love.

Lots of basketball is played. David threw the ball and I caught this contorted picture of his body.

1st-3rd grade class!

4th - 6th is usually our biggest class. We were talking about Bible stories

Here's the Youth group for the Friendship Center. Enidar, Rose, Carla, Miguel, Carlos, Ernie, and Jesus.

This kid was walking down the street by himself, pushing his bike.

Chenoa. Oh boy, this is a story. So. We had a water balloon fight. And Chenoa was being chased down by Jquincy, so she started crying. She ran to me, and I picked her up, and we both ran. Then allllll the kids decided they wanted to hit me with the water balloons, so we both got soaked!

So once Chenoa started crying, since she had gotten wet, Alex got upset. So he tried to comfort her by talking to her. He told her she could hit him with her balloon. Eric and Alex tried to dry her hair with their shirts. It was, adorable!

He handed her back the balloon, after many failed attempts of her throwing it at him. He was so sweet and so concerned about her being happy. Alex just loves younger kids.

Ciara threw the remaining water on the kids who were dying to get wet.

David, got soaked. He was so happy though!

The pizza guy came, with ALL the pizza. The Pre-K/Kindergarten kids watched with eager eyes, and shouted "Thank you Pizza guy!"

Everybody loves Pizza!

Eric, Alijandro, and Eduardo shared the garlic sauce with me.

The almost finished Mural. It's beautiful.

The workers are Few. [Or Plenty!]

2008-07-05T00:37:00.009-05:00

So these are a few people that have been working this summer, either at the Friendship Center, or in Des Moines in General. They are working for God, and helping others, even if only for one week.

This is the Disaster Relief Team!

A second shot, with me in the photo as well. Yay Disaster Relief! These guys were super sweet.

The guy in Maroon (Matt) teased me the most.

They've all been such sweet people

Here is 'other Matt'. He's a firefighter from Oklahoma. God is going to do great things with his life.

Week 2 of Peppermint College, this team from Tennessee came to help! They were super sweet and taught me how to knit. They also took me out for dinner, and bought me socks and photo frames.

A photo with the two youngest team members from TN. Ciara and Jessica. They were pretty fun too. I was glad to spend time with them.

This is Dob. He helped with painting a mural in the basement of the Friendship Center. And Blessenprays is the girl with the ball. She's a handful but super cute.

The preschool teachers!

Preschool is a fun group ^___^

Willie ( in white) is the Head lady in charge of the TN group. They always seemed prepared for everything.

This is Pablo. He's pretty great.

Dob and the mural. He sketched it out, then helped the older youth draw and paint it till it was finished.

Dob prefers cartooning. He showed Pablo a lot of cool things. Now Pablo is making little cartoons.

Group shot of the Preschool kids! They are the cutest.

The first week of camp, we had this team from Arkansas come to help out. This is Cody. He's cool.

They were a youth group, and super helpful.

Breedo and I got along really well. =)

They were always playing pranks or doing something.

My favorite guitarist. This is Tim. He's helped me so much with Praise Band on Sunday mornings. He's amazing with guitar.

This is Colleen. She's Tim's wife. She is super sweet. We're like sisters. She sings on Sunday mornings, and though she won't admit it, she does a great job

And here is Sandy, the Pianist, Colleen, and Laura, who also sings.

So those are just a few of my coworkers. They are all such great people and I have adored working with them! Please keep them in prayers as they continue their mission work in other places.

Okay. Now the Floods.

2008-06-24T22:39:00.012-05:00

Rumors circulated that they were going to shut off the water, due to the flooding possibilities, so the Guthrie family and I began filling up buckets, bowls, and everything we could with water. We had a half hour before the water was going to be shut off.

This is the kitchen. ^ Note the many bowls of water. And the laundry detergent buckets of water.

This is the church kitchen. I liked this photo. This bowl is large. Like. Huge.

We also filled CrockPot cookers with water, just in case.

Many many crockpots.

SADLY, they didn't shut off the water, and we ended up having to dump all the water out, instead of using it to bathe and cook as planned.

There is a stair case, leading up to the five rooms upstairs. It looks so Awesome!

These are some flowers that we had to decorate the church tables for dinner. We brought them into the house after dinner.

This is Tim, Sandy and Eugene's son. I'm older than him by two months. He's pretty cool. He enjoys Five Iron Frenzy and Bachi Ball.

This is Ms. Sandy. She has a lot of responsibilities, so she is oftentimes on the phone, or holding papers. A very hard worker. She takes good care of me.

And here we have Shiloh and Dylan. Shiloh is Sandy and Eugene's Daughter, she's 21. Dylan is her boyfriend, and also a typically fun person. I like hanging out with both of them.

And so. Yeah. Thats it. =)

First week of Peppermint College(Camp)

2008-06-19T15:03:00.008-05:00

So. We have officially finished our first week of Peppermint College. This is the name for the camp/VBS type thing we do at the Friendship Center. Our numbers were anywhere between 60-75 all week. Today we had 72 total. It's been crazy. But the kids are great.

At first, we didn't have a lot of help, but a second group from Arkansas came to join us. So we had a group from Winterset in charge, and a group from Arkansas helping out. Its been so fun working with people as well as the kids. I've taken some photos of a few of them that were especially special to me this week.

This is Candi, Maye, and me. I looooove Candi. She worked with Crafts and was so much fun!

Just down the street from the Friendship Center is the Buddhist Temple.

Buddha, of the Vietnamese Buddhist Association.

Horacio [ Or Bubba ]. He's really sweet. Andrea is in the background.

This is Nigel. He's the monster who sleeps under my bed.

The first week of camp, I worked with 4th-6th grade. This was my class. it was Crazy!

Yvette, Tatiana, and me. We all had the same tattoo.

Maye, her brother Eric, and a worker from Winterset in the Background. Eric is SO sweet. He's also only 4.

Maye, pretty much everyone's favorite 4 year old. She's adorable, and sweet, and she hugs me a lot.

Alejandro, caught off guard while dribbling.

Jose, or Carlos. I've yet to determine which is his first and which is his last name.

Christian. He's adorable and Brilliant, but he has a bit of a temper. I still love him to death.

Tayler and Harrlie hiding from the Camera

Yvette, Tatiana, and Emily. Three of the sweetest girls.

4th-6th Gade. Kassandra is next to me. I think that's Freddy on the other side. Binh is in the back making the crazy face.

More flooding. The water was -so- high.

The Stop Sign.

Pablo and Jon, discussing.

My room at Andrea and Dan's. Note the flowers and Candle.

Krystal from the Winterset Team! She worked with the Youth and was super sweet.

Just a pretty photo. I like the Orientish thing. And the boat was kinda cool.

Sandbags at City Hall

The flooding at the Arch. Its crazy, cause the water is at the lamppost lights.

Some stop lights Downtown.

This is TIM, again. He drives with this expression, all the time.

Anyhow. Its almost 11:30. I've gotta get up at 5:30 and I am super tired. I'll try to upload some more photos tomorrow. Too many photos, not enough time. Goodnight, And Dios te Bendiga!

Floods, Cookies, and Crazy Horse.

2008-06-14T15:13:00.004-05:00

I would like to upload more, but due to errors in the Blogging website, I cannot at this time. Its sad. I'll add more tomorrow and try again, promise! Wanted to give at least a little update.

Week 2!

The house is so pretty.

The moon, I think it rained again that night.

The small amount of mess in my room.

I kept it pretty neat, for the most part.

We baked cookies for the Prison Ministry. They were Apple and Cranberry Oatmeal. They tasted really good too. =)

They came out in Pretty circles.

"Evolution of a Cookie"

This one was Heart-Shaped. It made me smile.

Sooo Many Cookies~ 8 Dozen, to be exact.

Crazy Horse Guitars. I guess that was just interesting to me. I haven't been there. I just see it when we drive.

A love for the lost, and the Found.

2008-06-12T00:16:00.002-05:00

So things have been crazy, hence why I haven't written much lately.

Lets start at the beginning of the week.

Sunday, I got to play guitar again during worship, and help sing. Its a beautiful experience for me, a chance I didn't have before that God has given me. He is so Good.

Monday, Well we've had a lot of rain here. Consequently, people have flooded basements and Garages. We helped Maria (A lady from church) empty her garage, sort through wet boxes, assemble shelves, and reorganize. It took 11 hours, but it was somehow, really fun. Especially when we went through a box of photos. Luckily, none were harmed. She's a sweet lady.

Tuesday, Same thing. Went back to Maria's. Jon and Mindy are out of town this week for speaking arrangements and meetings. So I've been working at the church. Its really great.

Wednesday. Oh, that's today. Haha. I worked in the office a lot. Its been good. Then tonight, I got the chance to work with the youth again. I'm going to be leading them in worship every week, and I need some prayer. They don't know as many songs, and they can be kind of shy. I also feel like they really need to grow in Christ. I talked to Perry, the guy in charge of the Youth, and he's going to let me help in the Bible studies we do on Wednesdays. I'm so excited. Iowa is exactly where I need to be. I'm growing in so many ways, that I wouldn't have had the chance to, if I had been anywhere else. Please pray for the youth as well. I want them to have a passion for God. I've really fallen in love with them.

So Jon and Mindy get back tonight, and are picking me up tomorrow at 12, if their basement isn't flooded. I'll be mowing the grass again, so pray that it goes well. I'm not very strong. And its high grass.

So Camp starts next week. its going to be Crazy, but I'm so excited about it. Pray it goes well. We'll see a lot of kids in and out. I'll be eating Ramen for lunch everyday, because it is easy to fix. That and Easy mac.

I love you guys, and I leave you with Simple Advice from one of my very wise friends, whom I admire and look up to.

God will do what God will do. He is good.
You just be you and I will be me and God will be God and we'll all live.

Thanks Josh.

A Tour of the Neighborhood

2008-06-06T14:56:00.007-05:00

MLK Parkway, where the Friendship Center is Found!

Beautiful landscapes in Iowa.

My house, And my Church! They're connected, so no worrying about being late to Service =)

Flags, and the front yard.

The Friendship Baptist Center! On Meek Avenue. That makes me smile.

Some artwork found around the town.

Maggie and Hearts. She's so cute.

Today, instead of the Youth Retreat, we went to the movies(Kung Fu Pandaaaaa) and out to eat at the mall.

Zeke got Chinese. He was still in the mood for it after the movie.

A Bible verse, and some Spanish that Jon was teaching me.

More basketball. They love it.

JD getting ready to play.

Alyssa. She was the only girl, besides me, Mindy, and Andrea.

My host family. Well. Half of them. This is Eugene and Tim.

Maggie. Reading her book to us.

Then she made faces. She knows she's hilarious.

Hope you enjoyed the Tour!

A Photo a Day.

2008-06-03T23:57:00.005-05:00

Maybe more than one.

I've decided to at least upload photos everyday, while I have internet access everyday.

Hope you enjoy them!

Here's Mindy, doing phone work in the office. She's great. I love her laugh.

Soccer indoors? We found out Jesus makes a good goalie. He's in black, Luis is hiding, and Jon's kicking.

And Tinny.. Oh my goodness I love this kid. His family is from Sudan. He has an adorable accent, and he laughs at everything. He's so sweet..

And here's the girls. They were super great too. Its Cassandra, Cynthia, Sabs, Jasmine and Nhat. It was so cool. This was the last day of Kid's Club for the school year.

Some of the boys. They're just as funny.

Luis is Camera-shy.

Hope you enjoyed this. And hopefully it won't take as long for me to do tomorrow.

G'night and God bless!

Iowa.

2008-06-02T17:28:00.004-05:00

So. Its been 5 days. I figured an update was in Order.

I made it to Iowa on Thursday. After much delay at the airport. But God is so good. I sat next to a girl from China, and we got to talk a lot about what we were doing over the summer. She was really sweet.

So I got to Iowa, and guess what. There isn't any corn! I know. I was pretty bummed myself. But they said it'll be here when I leave. The meeting was cancelled, so I got to meet Jon and Mindy right away. They are SO sweet. And they also have an adorable 2 year old named Maggie. She's the cutest kid. I spent some time with them, getting aquainted with the Friendship Center. I also got to help with food distribution, and I met a lot of the kids I'll be working with. Then I met my first host family. They are the pastor and his family. Super sweet. They take good care of me.

So. Let me tell you. This house is beautiful. It's 80 years old, and gorgeous. I have a room to use, and I use the church shower and bathroom. Which is also nice. My first few nights I had a lot of nightmares about all the people I was nervous leaving behind. But somehow.. I woke up feeling like God was in control. And that's a beautiful feeling.

I got a chance to sing and play guitar during worship for the church. I filled in for some people who were missing. It was an amazing experience. I didn't ever expect to be able to do that.

Today was great too. I worked with a lot of the older youth during "Disciples". We played games, and talked a bit.

So, please please please pray, that I kind of understand how to act with the youth. Its mostly guys, and I don't know how to act. Also, pray for help this summer. Its a lot of work.

And.. Lastly

Please pray for the summer Missionaries. Especially my friend Amy in Montana, and my friend Josh in the Dominican Republic. They are also working all summer with children.

Thanks so much, and also. Here's some photos~

Yeah. They say Pop. It makes me giggle.

This is Jon and Maggie. She's adorable, and he can make ever Sesame Street character sound.

This is the Friendship Center doorway.

Luis' Car.

They play a lot of Basketball.

Its been great so far. Keep in touch and keep us in Prayers.

~Megan

Anxieties and Exasperations.

2008-05-07T15:05:00.002-05:00

[ So to start things off, I'm really nervous about the 20 days (wait.. 19 now?) left before I leave for Iowa. I guess that's sort of a prayer request. Take it as you will. ]

There are so many things I'm nervous about over this summer. First, I'm living with strangers. I feel weird sleeping over at my best friend's house. So that should prove interesting. I'm really weird with small talk. Pray for that?

Also, I'm helping lead worship. (Wow, my brother is being soooo loud right now. He's talking like.. well. I don't know. He sounds like Pterodactyl, and I wish I had a recorder right now.) I get so nervous in front of people.

Oh.. and.. I'm going to become so close to the kids I work with, I'm not sure I'll want to leave them to come home. Though I'm worried about becoming homesick.

Also, and this is a huge prayer request. I have a hard time Leaving things in God's hands. I'm leaving behind some friends who I feel like if I'm gone, they'll become more and more distant. And I need to leave their lives in His hands. And for a girl who likes things set in stone, inkpen writing, that's hard.

So please pray for these things too. I'm so excited, and so nervous about going.

~Love
Megan

+Planning Ahead.+

2008-05-03T13:47:00.001-05:00

So I have my unofficial list of jobs I'll be working with over the summer and I thought I'd let you guys know so you can begin praying now.

-Leading in devotions for the summer mission teams
-Helping with camp, doing registration
-Helping with the ministries of the center
-And building relationships with children and youth!
-Help lead in worship at our youth retreat and at Crestwood Baptist Church

From Mindy herself:
If you could be in prayer for May 11-16. we have a group here that will be fixing houses and end the week with a block party...pray for us that it will go smoothly and that many will be helped and hear the gospel.
thanks!
Mindy

So begin praying now for everything that will go on. May God work in the hearts of the people we work with.

From the Start.

2008-04-23T18:58:00.002-05:00

Let me start at the beginning, for those who may not know about this yet. The purpose of this blog is to help everyone keep in touch with me while I am in Iowa for the summer.

I was given the opportunity to work with a Ministry in Iowa called Friendship Baptist Center. I will be working there for 10 weeks of my summer by helping youth and the ministries there. I will be working with John and Mindy, so be praying for them and their ministry. I am so excited.

Hopefully, I can update this weekly and keep everyone informed. I can't wait to get there and meet everyone I've been talking to.

And, that's all for now. So. Please begin praying for me. I will give more details later.
~Megan