ASP part 3

One week ago I was very frustrated because I was not able to finish the porch and stairs that we were building. I know the other group was frustrated because they did not get everything that they wanted to get accomplished. But overall it was a fantastic week.

I know that we made a huge difference in Lisa and her families life -- that is what it is all about. Hopefully she has electricity in her trailer now and can get moved in before school starts up again.

We had two "accidents" on the trip. Michael fell off a ladder and landed on his tailbone. His trip to the emergency room was less than pleasant. M2 broke her leg while swimming (not sure how you do that), and her trip to the ER was very positive. Both of them had to miss the whitewater rafting trip on the way home. The three of us sat around, ate breakfast, and twiddled our thumbs until the others returned after about 4 hours -- then we all got the ten hour drive home! The youth who did the rafting had a ball! I hate that I had to miss it.

I would do ASP again, but I would want to be better prepared. We did not have any idea what we should bring, until we were there and realized what we should have brought. The ASP leaders did a terrible job in preparing us in that regard. In their defence, they are just kids themselves --- they are college students who had wonderful ASP experiences as students and now are the leaders of the project -- unfortunately they often are lacking in maturity but that is too be expected. Their hearts are in the right place.

I really enjoyed the chance to spend the week with the youth. I look forward to participating with the youth again on a mission project, but this time Nathan gets to be in charge and I get to come along for the ride.

The youth are putting on a spaghetti dinner on August 17th at 6:00pm at Ridge Church to thank everyone who supported them on this trip and to share their stories. Come and join us!