Hi all!
Well, we are wrapping up a great week in Philly. It's been a really nice week of learning and growing from our experiences.
Friday started off pretty typically. 3 of the work groups experienced the west philly exploration day, one group did breaking bread, and my group worked with the organization that sells newspapers to support the homeless. Personally, I found it to be the most profound experience of the week. It was so fascinating to experience being so completely ignored on the street by so many people when all we were asking for was a dollar for a newspaper written by homeless people! We all had all sorts of stories of what people would say to us as they passed by or occasionally stopped.
For the evening, we had another service where they had prayer stations set up for us to move through, a la Soulfull. It was a great way to silently reflect and process everything we've done this week. After, we had a surprise Rita's party with 5 flavors of water ice. This was when many people said goodbye to our new friends from Connecticut.
We wrapped things up with a really lovely goodbye to two of our youth group family members, Christine and Alex Kleinheksel. They are moving to Shanghai in August, but rest assured, they will always have a home here with us.
Saturday morning rolled around and we loaded up for the ride home. A few stops for lunch and paper plate awards later and we are about 90 minutes out of Ann Arbor! See you soon!
Look for a photo dump from the whole week later tonight or tomorrow morning!
Jack Teener
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Thursday, June 28, 2018
PHILADELPHIA 2018: DAY 5 (Thursday)
Hi all!
We are back to our normal work schedules today. It is getting significantly hotter and will continue to be so.
My group had the bright and early call of 5:45 AM to head to MANNA. This is an important and very prominent organization in Philly that acts as a nutrition counseling and food delivery service primarily for people with terminal illnesses. It was calming to be up before the city and be greeted by a light mist. We had a very productive few hours filled with packaging food, loading delivery trucks, and preparing food, mostly before the rest of our group back at BSM had even woken up!
We then went on the mural tour that I touched on yesterday that most groups will have done at some point during this week. We finished up doing a simulation of poverty in the city that was meant to show the experiences of budgeting for costs of raising a family.
Other groups did Breaking Bread, worked at Beacon Church, and went to West Philly, which I have touched on previously. The week is coming to a close, and it's safe to say that this experience has been really special for all, in no small part thanks to the INCREDIBLY hardworking staff here at BSM!
#RadicalHospitality #haveaseat #bsmyi18
P.S. reminder that I will be doing a photo dump for these last few days once we get back!
We are back to our normal work schedules today. It is getting significantly hotter and will continue to be so.
My group had the bright and early call of 5:45 AM to head to MANNA. This is an important and very prominent organization in Philly that acts as a nutrition counseling and food delivery service primarily for people with terminal illnesses. It was calming to be up before the city and be greeted by a light mist. We had a very productive few hours filled with packaging food, loading delivery trucks, and preparing food, mostly before the rest of our group back at BSM had even woken up!
We then went on the mural tour that I touched on yesterday that most groups will have done at some point during this week. We finished up doing a simulation of poverty in the city that was meant to show the experiences of budgeting for costs of raising a family.
Other groups did Breaking Bread, worked at Beacon Church, and went to West Philly, which I have touched on previously. The week is coming to a close, and it's safe to say that this experience has been really special for all, in no small part thanks to the INCREDIBLY hardworking staff here at BSM!
#RadicalHospitality #haveaseat #bsmyi18
P.S. reminder that I will be doing a photo dump for these last few days once we get back!
PHILADELPHIA 2018: Day 4 part 2
Several other groups went on a mural tour around the "Gayborhood" neighborhood. Philly has the most murals of any city in the US, so they did not disappoint. Many take on social justice issues in execution. I could stand there and look at some of them for hours.
One group also painted chairs for use by BSM, in an effort to further encourage their efforts to introduce creativity and color into the space to create a welcoming and open place to be for all guests.
Our day off covered a large amount of ground and resulted in an exhausted group. We took a bus up to the art museum to explore the river front and check out the "rocky steps". We then bussed to the Reading Terminal Market and ate dinner there. Many opted for Philly classics like Cheesesteaks. We then walked to the plaza containing the Liberty Bell and independence hall and got our U.S. history lesson in. Finally, we walked to the beautiful south street neighborhood and enjoyed another Philly classic, Water Ice. In total, we walked around 9 miles!
That's all for now. Hoping to post about today (Thursday) later tonight. Again, I'll be posting many pictures from the coming days at the end of our trip.
-Jack Teener
One group also painted chairs for use by BSM, in an effort to further encourage their efforts to introduce creativity and color into the space to create a welcoming and open place to be for all guests.
Our day off covered a large amount of ground and resulted in an exhausted group. We took a bus up to the art museum to explore the river front and check out the "rocky steps". We then bussed to the Reading Terminal Market and ate dinner there. Many opted for Philly classics like Cheesesteaks. We then walked to the plaza containing the Liberty Bell and independence hall and got our U.S. history lesson in. Finally, we walked to the beautiful south street neighborhood and enjoyed another Philly classic, Water Ice. In total, we walked around 9 miles!
That's all for now. Hoping to post about today (Thursday) later tonight. Again, I'll be posting many pictures from the coming days at the end of our trip.
-Jack Teener
PHILADELPHIA 2018: Day 4 (Wednesday- late!)
We had a very packed and busy day yesterday, so I did not have time to post, but here's a quick update on what we did. Also, I will probably start posting less pictures on here for the next few days because I am typing these posts from my phone and it gets quite tedious to attach photos. I am planning on doing a big photo dump as a final post once we return home :)
We all started in our separate groups and worked in the morning. My group went to the Mill Creek Urban Farm, which supports its community with healthy food options and urban farming education. We got to harvest vegetables which was very exciting.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
PHILADELPHIA 2018: Day 3 part 2
(...my last entry didn't completely post...)
Another group spent their day working for the lunch program, which I talked about yesterday.
Another group spent time at Beacon Presbyterian Church in Fishtown. They spent time playing with kids and cleaning up the church, much like a Zeba trip would typically do. It has one of the few lawns in the neighborhood, making it an important and special place for families in the area. (Pictured in previous post)
The last two groups spent time at the MEEP urban farm and Philly FLIGHT which I touched on yesterday.
See you tomorrow!
-Jack Teener
Another group spent their day working for the lunch program, which I talked about yesterday.
Another group spent time at Beacon Presbyterian Church in Fishtown. They spent time playing with kids and cleaning up the church, much like a Zeba trip would typically do. It has one of the few lawns in the neighborhood, making it an important and special place for families in the area. (Pictured in previous post)
The last two groups spent time at the MEEP urban farm and Philly FLIGHT which I touched on yesterday.
See you tomorrow!
-Jack Teener
PHILADELPHIA 2018: DAY 3 (Tuesday)
We had another productive day here in Philadelphia. We are particularly looking forward to our afternoon off tomorrow where we will be exploring Philadelphia.
My group spent the morning learning the history of the West Philly neighborhood, culminating in the infamous MOVE bombing incident. We then took the subway to the actual row of houses where the bombing took place. It was a very educational and moving experience, and fortunately all groups will get the chance to go as well this week. Here's our group picture.
PHILADELPHIA 2018: DAY 2 Part 2
It's morning day 3, and I forgot to follow up last night about the rest of the worksites, so here we go.
One group was at One Step Away, where they were selling newspapers to raise funds to support the homeless community (sounds much like Groundcover in Ann Arbor!). They all struggled through the rejection of failing to sell papers and agreed it was difficult to imagine doing that for a living.
Two groups went to urban farms called MEEP and Aspen. MEEP consists of several plots of land that BSM has been trying to secure so that it can remain an urban farm instead of being developed into buildings or other.
Another group went to Philly FIGHT, which is an support organization for people with AIDS. They worked on writing letters to incarcerated individuals.
That's all for now. Here's another nice picture of the church we are based out of.
Zeba 2018 Day 3: Monday
Vacation Bible School, rock hopping, and waterfalls.
The first day of Vacation Bible School began with the entire team welcoming new and returning campers. Some returning campers immediately ran to youth they had enjoyed Vacation Bible School with last summer. Teams of two youth were paired with one or more "buddies" who they will remain with for the four days of camp.
Once all gathered, Jessica, Margaret, Colin H., Connor, Graham, and Alex led a series of songs. The campers then enjoyed "Saul on the Road to Damascus" performed by Grace, Lucy, Nathan, Nicolas, Jack, and two volunteers from the audience. Divided into two groups, the youth and their buddies created crafts such as bookmarks and bracelets led by Leah, Naomi, Liam, Finn, Colin N., and Ben, or participated in games such as "sharks and minnows" or "capture the flag" led by Mikey, Eva, Marcelo, Derek, and Adam. Mikey commented that the game "everyone is it" was a highlight for the older group.
After exploring downtown L'Anse after lunch, with some youth heading to the Frosty Freeze for ice cream cones, the team hiked down the middle of the Falls River until reaching a series of waterfalls. Connor said the "hike was worth it even though we all got soaking wet!" All did get wet during the hike, and anyone who managed to stay at all dry, ended up submerged in water at the falls where many stood behind the falling water.
After dinner, the music group, craft group, and game group shared a portion of their plan for tomorrow, and the drama group presented the Day 2 play, "Bartimaeus Sees." During the small group meetings that followed, a common "wow" or "holy cow" youth shared was a moment at Vacation Bible School or an aspect of the beautiful Falls River Falls hike. All then headed to their rooms with their prayer partner letters in hand, looking forward to tomorrow, Vacation Bible School, a trip to Copper Harbor, and the promise of more "wows" and "holy cows" to share.
When asked at the end of the evening for a quote about the mission trip, Lucy replied: "it's a blast!" and then asked to add for her mom and others, "and I am not being sarcastic!"
Monday, June 25, 2018
PHILADEPHIA 2018: DAY 2 Part 1.5
(...the rest of my last entry didn't post...)
We are split into 5 groups that go to different places each day. Our groups are mixed with the group from Connecticut and it has been fun getting to know them. Today, my group (consisting of Alex, Annie, Abigail, Maddy, Kaitlyn, Logan, myself, and Melanie from FUMC) stayed at Broad Street Ministry and helped with their daily "breaking bread" lunch program, which serves to feed anyone who may need a meal. We set up dining tables and acted as wait staff to serve food and bus tables. We all agreed it was very enjoyable to chat with and learn from the guests and help out. The idea of "Radical Hospitality" is perfectly on display with this program.
Afterward, my group hiked a few blocks with our shower stuff to a small hotel that offered to provide a few rooms for us to shower. Our whole group is showering at several different locations in the city each day. It is interesting to see the way that so many people live each day, not knowing if or where they will shower because public showers are so limited even in a big city like this.
Stay tuned for more updates on what other groups were up to today!
-Jack Teener
We are split into 5 groups that go to different places each day. Our groups are mixed with the group from Connecticut and it has been fun getting to know them. Today, my group (consisting of Alex, Annie, Abigail, Maddy, Kaitlyn, Logan, myself, and Melanie from FUMC) stayed at Broad Street Ministry and helped with their daily "breaking bread" lunch program, which serves to feed anyone who may need a meal. We set up dining tables and acted as wait staff to serve food and bus tables. We all agreed it was very enjoyable to chat with and learn from the guests and help out. The idea of "Radical Hospitality" is perfectly on display with this program.
Afterward, my group hiked a few blocks with our shower stuff to a small hotel that offered to provide a few rooms for us to shower. Our whole group is showering at several different locations in the city each day. It is interesting to see the way that so many people live each day, not knowing if or where they will shower because public showers are so limited even in a big city like this.
Stay tuned for more updates on what other groups were up to today!
-Jack Teener
PHILADELPHIA 2018: DAY 2 part 1
After personally sleeping hardly at all on the bus ride here, last night's full 8 hours of sleep was INCREDIBLE. Here's a look at our daily schedule.
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Zeba 2018 Day 2: Sunday
Attending service, visiting L'Anse, planning for Vacation Bible School, and hiking at a local park.
After a wonderful breakfast of french toast and bacon, we each spent quiet time considering the devotion. We then gathered to receive the name of our prayer pals before decorating and hanging our paper bag mailboxes outside our bedroom doors. Prayer pals will exchange messages throughout the week, revealing identities the evening before we leave the Center.
We then headed to L'Anse for service at L'Anse United Methodist Church. The congregation enjoyed hearing the youth sing "Open the Eyes of My Heart." The Church hosted a wonderful lunch in the social hall. We left the Church with bags of donated snacks for Vacation Bible School.
After lunch, Van C headed to the grocery store, while Van A and Van B headed to the park in downtown L'Anse. All later gathered together to enjoy food, the view, and the playground. This afternoon we broke into four groups—music, drama, crafts, and games—to prepare for Vacation Bible School. Before returning to the Center we hiked on the Canyon Trail down the road from the Center.
Zeba 2018 Day 1: Saturday
Settled in at the MTU/Ford Center in Alberta.
Vans A, B, and C, carrying our group of twenty-two youth and six counselors, arrived at the MTU/Ford Center in Alberta. We stopped for a brown-bag lunch at a park in Mackinac City before crossing the Mackinac Bridge, and later enjoyed dinner at the Border Grill in Negaunee.
All look forward to the morning when we will attend service with Reverend Rhoades at the L'anse United Methodist Church. After the service we will spend time at a park in downtown L'anse, and then return to the MTU/Ford Center to prepare for Vacation Bible School.
PHILADELPHIA 2018: Day 1!
Hello all!
We have arrived in Philadelphia to Broad Street Ministry after a mostly uneventful bus ride! We immediately got a great view of the city.
We made a hurried exit from the bus parked on Broad Street and were welcomed by cheerful volunteers into our sleeping areas. We are essentially staying in a large room (what used to be the Sunday School Room) split in half by a curtain with cots and bunk-cots scattered throughout. We are sharing the space with an equal sized group, making it a "cozy" fit.
We enjoyed a lively service lead by Broad Street Ministry in their beautiful sanctuary, enjoyed some dinner, got acquainted with our home for the week, and played some games. We are excited to head to our work sites starting tomorrow!
Stay tuned for more!
-Jack Teener
Monday, June 18, 2018
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