Last Day

   Hi! I'm Ella Owens and this is my first time on the Detroit Missions trip

     This trip has been a truly life changing experience. Big A (or VBS) has taught me to love everyone like Jesus and how much the fruits of the spirit can impact people. We started out our days this week with devotion time followed by morning ministries which was either a pray walk in Cass Park or the neighborhood around Detroit Love. We also took turns doing servant evangelism and led to God working in some pretty amazing ways. Big A was every afternoon, I was part of preschool so I hung out with the toddlers and got too see their curiosity and energy all week. I am so thankful for the people who encouraged me to come on this trip. I have gotten so close with this whole team and these memories will stick with me forever. 

THURSDAY 😁

     This week has been such an adventure and has definitely flown by. I want to first say I know this is very late because I was supposed to do this last night but we had a busy night out getting ice cream at Wally's Custard and preparing our last day of Big A for today. This week my group of Natalie, Tyler, Kristine and I had prayer walking during the first two days then servant evangelism the second half. Servant evangelism is where we basically drive around or walk and pray for the Lord to tell us how we can help the community of Detroit and serve Him. Wednesday we did a lot of driving around, praying and listening. Although we did not get to do anything for anyone, we met an absolutely LOVELY lady named Mary Kennedy who is 80 years old and was right outside her house. She has the most beautiful and lively smile and always wears bright clothes. Ever since we have gone back every day to visit her and at least say hi. Yesterday my team and I stopped by her house again to ask her for ideas of what we could put in care packages for the homeless. Mary is the most delightful woman and my team loves her so much, she never let us help her with anything but always prayed the Lord's prayer with us and gave us ideas on how to help the community. 

    Besides Mary, Big A has definitely been one of my highlights on this trip. The kids are SOOO AMAZING and SUCH a joy. I don't think you could go to big A and not fall in love with them. It makes me so sad to leave them tomorrow because I am going to miss seeing the Lord move in all of them. The moment you walk into the dream center you most likely would receive a hug from a kid or many kids within at least five minutes. They really say the darndest things and ask the weirdest questions but really theres not a moment where we are there and not laughing. I'm pretty sure at least seven kids are FULLY convinced Jaxon and I are siblings which makes no sense since we look absolutely nothing alike. Just yesterday I got challenged to two dance offs from the girls in my group and let me tell you they definitely won because I cannot dance. And all of sudden a little girl would come up to you and braid your hair or ask you to jump rope with them. After Big A Lori makes the BEST food for dinner, specifically her shepherds pie she made last night. 

    Normally after dinner Natalie and I play basketball with Ben, Jaxon, and DJ for the rest of the night or until Ben sweats so hard his shirt changes color. However, last night we went on an outing to Wally's Custard and got ice cream. After Natalie and I played cribbage which we just learned this week and have been playing a lot of. We are all exhausted and dreading the 12 hour journey home but we definitely plan on making the best of the rest of our time here tonight. 

    This trip has been so life changing and I am so grateful to be here and serve the Lord and watch him move in every person here. Much love,  Ashley Slaybaugh

bens blog

 

            This morning started off great with me waking up my friend with one minute before he had to prep for breakfast. The breakfast today was amazing and we had lots of funny conversations while eating and after. Once breakfast was done we had devotions witch is probably one of my favorite times of the day because we just got to talk and listen to what God has to say to us and learn more and more. After we had talks about all our devotions my group of three got to go prayer walking. which is super cool and unique to see what God wants us to pray about and what He want us to see. We met lots of really cool people and especially Marco. Marco is 54 years old and he lives in an all mens shelter right now. When we walked past the first time he wasn’t there but right when we started to walk by he came out and said, he just had a feeling to come out to get some fresh air he said it was just lucky but we think it was God telling him to which was pretty cool because he is a friend of Detroit love ( the place we are staying ) for a while and he loves when we come by and pray for him. so we prayed for him and a friend who was close by. It is also Macros birthday next Tuesday so we sang to him early which was pretty cool. When we all came back after spending time with our groups and God we all helped to get lunch together. And once again it was magnificent. After lunch we split back into our groups and I got the privilege to clean the boys bathroom, lucky me. Once all of us got our chores done we all kinda did an assembly line to package out snacks for big A. One of my favorite parts of the day was right when I walked through the doors I was greeted with one of the cutest little hug by one of the kids I had the day prior, and her name was Amaya. Today for big A I only had 2 kids to little boys named xzavior and Ace. They were 2 little boys who was really excited to learn about the gospel. Theses little boys were so into the discussion they had to walk around and talk because God was so powerful to them, and to see God moving within them was so cool. Also seeing them so engaged. After big A we came back to a magnificent smell of pasta and garlic toast. P.S it was so good. Then after dinner we had a little bit of free time that most of us spent that time playing volleyball. After getting all sweaty playing volleyball we had story time. Where we share times where we saw God in our day. After stories we got spoiled when fresh brownies and cookies came out for us to enjoy. And I will probably end up playing basketball or volleyball until my shirt is a totally different color because of sweat.

DAY 5 🤯

    When I say that being here has been such an adventure, I mean it.  My day consisted of a variety of excitement, joy and speed (the days seem to FLY here), but also a mix of slowness, waiting and a whole lot of patience. I started my day by helping set up breakfast with my team. The food made is absolutely phenomenal btw, thanks for asking. Some time after breakfast our super huge Detroit team, (11 whole people) split into our groups for prayer walking / serving evangelism. My team and I, during our time serving evangelism, spent a lot of time asking God for clarity, praying for signs, and asking to hear his voice. It was a really testing time for some of us who struggle with patience and waiting for a timing that isn't our own.  After some time driving around we decided to get out and walk. Something I noticed was all the little things I would have never seen zooming by houses, (going 20mph). I saw things like people sleeping on sidewalks, people sitting outside their homes because it was hotter inside their homes than outside (it was 88 degrees with 76% humidity, just btw 🥵 ) and so much more. It really hit me thinking about all the things I take for granted at home while so many people can't even stay cool. 

    On a much happier note, Big A (the VBS we're putting on) has to be the most beautiful things in the world. All of these kids, ranging in age from 3-18 years old, come together to learn about God and his love for them. Through them, the way they treat each other, and they way they treat us (total strangers) I think I'm starting to understand what an honest love REALLY looks like. Every day when you walk in, handfuls of kids come up and hug you, say hi to you and want to see you. But after all of that, after all we leave the kiddos, after we get home, my favorite part of being here so far is when the team comes together and we just hang out. We spend time worshiping, talking about how we saw God today, and the majorities favorite part, basketball. I personally don't play, but watching everyone come together, sweaty, tired, and exhausted  even, they all get even more sweaty. I say this in the most loving way possible I swear. In all seriousness, seeing our team get CLOSER through a COMPETITIVE sport is honestly inspiring. 

    Being apart of this missions team has to be one of the best things that I have ever been lead to do/been apart of. Everyone on this team is so amazing and has such a heart for God, it's so life giving and I am honored to be a part of it. 

                                              Much love from me and my heart, Amani Kibwaa :)

                                                                      

     Hello everyone, my name is Jaxon W and this was my day in Detroit.  We started the day off with some breakfast which I was late to because someone forgot to wake me up...Riley.  After breakfast we went into a devo time for about an hour to connect with and learn about God and discussed our thoughts after.  Once we were done with all that we split into our teams and went out to do things, my team was assigned prayer walking.  While we didn't see many people we did come across two men name Mark and Will.  While they were not the most religious they didn't hesitate to let us pray about them.  After our missions outside we came back together for lunch and a little free time to rest up before Big A, the VBS that we put on.  Once we had all rested up we got in our cars and we were off to Big A.  Once we arrived I was amazed by all the smiles on the children’s faces.  All they wanted to do was play basketball or play catch, which was totally fine by me, and I gladly hopped in with them.  When it really started we all got together for some songs and then broke off in some small groups.  I had a group of about 8 with ages from 10-14.  While they didn't really pay much attention to what I was trying to tell them I was still glad they were there.  After small groups we went to games where my team was 3-0 against Ashley’s team, big W.  Once we were done with games we went to craft where we made bead bracelets that represent the fruit of the spirit.  That was the end of Big A for the day so we headed back to the building.  At the building we ate some delicious chicken and then talked about and worshipped God in many ways.  After all that serious and important stuff we got some more free time where I chose to play a lot of basketball and have lots of fun.  Overall the day was definitely an experience but it was one that I was glad to have.  I am excited for the new day and I am very excited to get some much needed sleep.  That's it, that was my day, thanks for tuning in.

Happy Fathers Day!😘

    This team is SOOOOOOO much fun! The past few days has me so excited for the many ahead. Today was our first full day in the city and we got to explore a little. We had the opportunity to take a little walk (actually it was 6 miles) into the downtown part of Detroit. The massive murals on the sides of buildings are just incredible, the city is alive. Something that really shocked me was the amount of change I saw in the city. Weather that was new buildings or people all over or parks updated; it changed a large amount in the last summer. But anywho we then returned to the D-Love building and changed for church. We got to experience (what i would say) is authentic Detroit church. With the music so loud you can even hear the singer and the congregation proclaiming amen (as they should) more time than all of us combing can count. The vibe was vibing. We then headed back to the D-Love building and prepared for the amazing things that are going to happen at BIG A tomorrow and the rest of the week (yayyyyy). Im excited but nervous because I’m going to be venturing into a new area of big a. The past two year I have had the privilege to be with preschool, but this year I get the opportunity to be with the 15+ age group.  Im heavily leaning on the lord in this time of adventure and I believe that he will get me trough it. On another note to end the night with debriefed our first day of devotionals and it when really well. I wish all the fathers Happy Fathers Day! 

Oh and might I add that basketball is getting heated!!

From the heart of Natalie Runksmeier 😁

We've Arrived!!

   Greetings Everyone!

     Today we got up bright and early at 5:30 in the morning to get ready for our travel to Detroit. After a quick pitstop getting some Starbucks and Panera we were off towards out destination. The trip there was filled with plenty of music and laughter, and quite a few different games were played. A question popped up in one of the games that was being played and it asked who's most likely to be revealed as an alien. However, we decided to change it up to who, on the trip, would be most likely to be revealed as an alien. The consensus between the two cars came rather quickly, and the award for: Most Likely to be an Alien goes to... Riley! Since that result, Riley has picked up a new nickname. Alien. 

    On the way to Detroit we made 2 pitstops. One at fruit acres, which might have some of the best farm fresh fruit I've ever had, and the other at Target, where Mr. Alien had to purchase a belt because he forgot his back on Mars. After we left Target, it was straight on to Detroit Love, where we'll be staying for the next week. 

    When we arrived, we had a tasty sandwich lunch prepared by the wonderful Mrs. Lori, and then got into more of the business side of things with going over rules, a tour of the building, and unpacking of our belongings. After this, we had quite a bit of free time, and during this free time, people did a variety of things like playing some card games, or just sitting down and talking at the table, but for the 3 other guys and I all realized just how much energy it takes to play basketball, with all of us being absolutely exhausted afterwards. 

After cooling down and changing, everyone left to go on a tour of the neighborhood where the VBS that we put on, or Big A, is held. We prayer walked the area around the gym where we hold Big A, then proceeded to walk down Heidelberg Street, and observe all of the interesting artwork that has been created there. While walking, we met a man who actually happens to be the main artist of the Heidelberg Street Project. He told us all about the meaning behind a lot of the artwork, what inspired him, and many more details. It was a great conversation, and one that certainly made the day a little more interesting. During the conversation, it was very interesting to hear how his faith had guided him and inspired him to do a lot of the artwork that he did. He was very open with us about his faith, which was honestly something that was really cool to see. It's also something that I personally want to work on, and something that I've been trying more and more to work for. 

Once we got back, we ate some absolutely delicious burgers and hot dogs, played a group game of volleyball, had a little worship session, and discussed what the general plan for Big A is going to be. Now, on a more personal note, this is my 2nd year going to Detroit, and going back is something that I've personally looked forward to ever since I left last year. Last year I grew incredibly in my faith, and I experienced God in a way I've never experienced Him before. This year, I'm looking forward to growing more in my relationship with Him, growing closer in my relationships to others on the trip, and serving and glorifying God through whatever he guides us to do. I'm really looking forward to starting our ministry work, and especially looking forward to getting started with Big A on Monday. It's going to be very tiring, and there's going to be challenges that get in the way, but like Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Him who strengthen me". 

With that being said, it's getting late and tomorrow is going to be a big day. To my family and friends, I miss you all, and I can't wait to see you all when we get back. To my sister, I want to wish you a happy early 16th birthday, it's crazy to think that you'll be able to drive on your own soon, and I hope you enjoy your sweet 16th. I love you. 

Thank you all for reading

- Tyler Wallin

Day 1: Detroit 2024 Travel Day

                 

                   As we were driving in Wisconsin our check engine light came on. We called Enterprise and they found us a replacement vehicle. With a detour to the Madison Airport, we have an upgraded Expedition that allows more space for people and things.  Our drive has been full laughs, snacks, conversation cards, and lots of music. We are all safe and well fed. Hands have been slapped with an intense game of Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza. We are all snuggling in for an early departure to embark on our next leg of the journey. 

We hope you are all well at home. Please pray for continued unity and safety for our journey.