Day 8 pics

Here are some pics of us just chilling' out, on the construction site, and our last day of children's ministry. Enjoy























































- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Day 7 recap

Greetings all. Miss Stow and I are sitting here late Wednesday night while most of the rest of the team are playing Apples to Apples. Man, since when did teenagers start getting loud?!? Today was an awesome day. Despite Melissa missing out on the construction due to a slight illness, everything went great. The ministry of this team on the entire trip has been a blessing to us. They are truly allowing God to use them and we are grateful for being along for the ride. Today ended with a time of devotions where we discussed many of the difficult issues we have encountered in our time here: poverty, violence, abuse, drug use. The team is learning a lot about ministry!! We ended our time by handing out letters the parents wrote to their kids before we left. It was a really great time. Today, our bloggers are Chris, Becca and Melissa. We will let them tell you about today and some of their experiences from the trip so far. First Chris and then Becca and Melissa...

God bless.

Jack

Hey guys, there is a lot I can say about this week and telling you everything would take up about 10 novels worth of information so I'll spare you guys :) so where to begin.........well the construction work has been crazy hard but fun at the same time....I have the worst farmers tan any human being will ever have.....and proud of it! The kids have been incredible, I never thought that they would be so accepting so quickly. I know I've been here before but for some reason the whole flood of emotions seem so foreign and I don't understand why. I feel that God is revealing more in depth details about the reservation that I did not notice when I came as a freshman. I've been learning so much this trip, more then I ever have before. God has shown me my humanness that I have been denying myself for so long. I hate making mistakes and this trip has shown me its ok to make mistakes, and strangely....it gives me peace.

To everyone at home I love you and miss you guys. Thank you for the letter mom, I love you so much. For my friends in England, New York, and for my little bro in D.C. I love you guys and I'm praying for you everyday. :) ok I'm going to go pass out now. Good bye everyone :)

-Chris Savarese

Hello Everybody,

We're sweaty, tired, aching, living off of stale bread and water. Some people are enjoying this sweaty sensation but us blondes aka Melissa and Becca are not....sikeeeee

It is so awesome here we could live here forever, legit. Although the construction workers have no faith in us and constantly tease us for tripping or hammering ours/their fingers, we're having a great time building houses for these people in desperate need (and posing for pictures proving that we're somewhat capable). And guess what? We actually did some damage involving putting together a window!!! Surprising? Nay Nay:)

(Blonde #1 Becca)- I lost my other half...Melissa stayed home sick today with Miss Stow...worst thing ever...Most of our stomachs are all out of wack. Pause! (using the bathroom)...I Survived!!! Okay well the cooking here is like so amazing but so filling so we're all taking at least 4 tums each hour. I'm kind of not kidding. Okay now for the serious part of this blog post. I have been so humbled by this experience, the construction is hardcore and I actually know that I'm helping a family, and ministering to the kids is amazing. I have met so many kids that I'll cherish forever and their influence on me has been more than I could ever begin to imagine. I've realized I take so much for granted. These kids have barely anything. They're living in such hard conditions, making it hard, to me at least, how anyone could be happy. These are the happiest kids I've ever met. They are full of joy and will fall in love with you in seconds. I will never regret this experience...ever. Miss you all!!!

Blonde number 2 (Melissa): as you have already heard from my dear friend and partner in obliviousness...I was sick today and stayed home from construction. Thankfully the Lord allowed me to be well enough to go on the church bus with the kids. As always, He had a plan. Zac and I volunteered to do crafts together which was decorating and putting together kaleidoscopes. I handed one to a girl named Shelby who had gotten into an argument shortly before with another girl named Janessa. Shelby had written on her kaleidoscope "Jesus loves and Janessa is mean". I hurt for the girls and realized this is something they dealt with everyday. Hurt and fights. I didn't know exactly how to respond but clearly I didn't have to...God spoke through me explaining to the girl that Jesus was love but He also forgives and likewise we need to forgive others. Shelby looked at me with repentant eyes and quickly crossed out "Janessa is mean" and wrote "Jesus forgives". I knew that small realization to that girl was why God wanted me on that bus today. As for construction - yes, I'd rather have an air conditioner outside following me around, a flawless tan rather than burn, an electric hammer rather than actually swinging my arm and a gourmet lunch rather than a sandwich. But at the same time, these people would rather live in a house than a trailer without siding. So I've learned to put aside my unreasonable comforts and put others before me. Praise God for all He's doing in my life and everyone else's. Thanks for the prayers!

Day 7 pics

Vida e Cafe Coffeehouse last night



Breakfast food line



A couple of pics from the work site (battery died, sorry only a couple today)



Bus ministry today



This is where the guys are staying. We set up the chairs to make beds. King Jack has the stage to himself. Sometimes it's good to be the king!

Day 6 recap

Today, Harry Kletkewicz and Tim Renzi are providing our recap of the day. First Harry...

Hey everybody, just letting you all know I'm not dead...yet...and in one piece...for now... Having a great time working on construction and the kids bus. We started putting up plywood and then struggled to put siding up but we did well. Some of the girls also put up two windows, Ms Stow says she loves to put up windows and is excited to put up more. Saw the cutest kid named Kayron and his mom on the kids bus, I wanted to take him back to Jersey! After dinner we played apples to apples...that was very strange, and we have it on pause since we are at the coffee house now. I fell in love with sarsaparilla. Can't wait to have another great day tomorrow and can't wait to see everyone. Harry.

and now Tim...

Rations of food is low.... Water is running low... People are hungry.... I believe Nick will be the first to go because  he is a freshman. I'm just kidding. Today was an amazing, tiring, and humbling day all together. We started construction on this house that was an hour into the reservation. The family that we are building for previously lived in a camper that had no siding, leaving only insulation and sheet rock between them and the cold at night. The family of  nine called this  12x30, falling apart structure a home. But by the grace of God, they contacted ARM and now are expecting a new 3 bedroom house soon. Our team helped finish the framing on the inside of the house and the siding on the outside. After work, we went on the children's ministry bus. Being a part of this ministry to kids from ages 3-15 is an extremely humbling experience. Regardless of their living conditions, these children remain optimistic towards life, even with over 12 people living in the same 2 bedroom house. Today I met a boy named Eli. He was 6 years old and full of life. I made a kaleidoscope with him. He was hesitant at first but as soon as his eyes peered through the hole, an expression overcame his face which described the attitude of every kid. Love, kindness, and joy. I am constantly reminded of how much I personally take for granted and over look on a daily basis. God is loving and forever caring God. He desires to see theses kids saved and rescued from the prevailing issues of drugs, alcohol, gangs, and poverty. Continue to pray that the Holy Spirit works through us in way that we can make an impact.  
Thank you,
Tim Renzi

Day 6 pics

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