We've written a sermon. Details posted next week when we're home.
Oooo! And, P.S. Book 7 is out. We have it:
7.22.2007
As Promised: Pics from Friday.
The good people at World Vision put us to work on Friday BIG TIME. Mainly, we were in the World Vision warehouse in south L.A. organizing donated items to be sent out to various folks and facilities in the area. Lookit:
Over 300 bookbags stuffed with school supplies to be delivered to schools in L.A. (Thanks for posing!)
This, by the way, felt like our greatest achievement... We worked FAST and it felt awesome to do such good, tangible work for the children of Los Angeles. And it took the WHOLE TEAM to make it happen. 300 bags in less than a half hour. Pretty flippin great.
Happy, satisfied faces.
--wmp+
Bags and bags of trav
el-size Advil:
el-size Advil:Boys baggin' more pantyhose (Scroll down; see Tuesday)
Dudes haulin' stuff away:
Robert wearing earrings (Hi, Mary):
The Boutique (We hung up TONS of donated clothes and organized 'em on racks. Check it.)
Over 300 bookbags stuffed with school supplies to be delivered to schools in L.A. (Thanks for posing!)
This, by the way, felt like our greatest achievement... We worked FAST and it felt awesome to do such good, tangible work for the children of Los Angeles. And it took the WHOLE TEAM to make it happen. 300 bags in less than a half hour. Pretty flippin great.
Happy, satisfied faces.
--wmp+
7.21.2007
Friday: Bookbags & Pantyhose & Advil, OH MY!
We'll post pictures of today soon and very soon. But it's nearly 2 in the morning, and we are PLUM POOPED TIRED after a full day of hanging out, serving the community, riding in the vans, and running around Disney--woohoo!--land.
Tomorrow, readers, you may all look forward to pictures and captions of the following:
Tomorrow, readers, you may all look forward to pictures and captions of the following:
- Bags and bags of travel-size Advil
- Boys baggin' pantyhose
- Robert wearing earrings
- Over 300 bookbags stuffed with school supplies
- Happy faces.
Rock on,
Wendy+
7.20.2007
Thursday Rocks.
Thursday was superdeduper busy, but fandiddilitastic good.
Yay! It's Caroline's Birthday! We decorated the Silver Sas Van as a part of the celebration:
Then we headed off to the soon-to-be women's shelter to work our fannies off in the sun. We hauled lumber, did some neighborhood cleanup, swept and swept and swept and swept.
. .
Don't worry, Moms. We took our water breaks:
That afternoon it was off to the beach to get some sun and surf and swimmin over the rocks...
This picture isn't the greatest, but, y'all, that's Aprile surfin like it's her job.
Yay! It's Caroline's Birthday! We decorated the Silver Sas Van as a part of the celebration:
Then we headed off to the soon-to-be women's shelter to work our fannies off in the sun. We hauled lumber, did some neighborhood cleanup, swept and swept and swept and swept.
. .
Don't worry, Moms. We took our water breaks:
That afternoon it was off to the beach to get some sun and surf and swimmin over the rocks...
This picture isn't the greatest, but, y'all, that's Aprile surfin like it's her job.
We ended our day at the beach playing volleyball and singing the Love Round and squeezing each other's hands and praying together and being good and thankful for this rockin opportunity to give back, to live the gospel, to love each other.
Tomorrow: We're stuffing backpacks full of school supplies at the World Vision warehouse. Then, we're going to Disneyland. Look out Buzz Lightyear.
;-)
W+
7.19.2007
Wednesday Day!
Wednesday started out in traffic. Vans, Silver Sas and The Red Bull, made their way from St. John's (the amazing church with the outdoor pulpit) to what will be a renovated church with a women's shelter. We spent the day cleaning the space up--sweeping, hauling, lifting, cleaning. At the end of our morning we felt productive and tired and wacky and wonderful.
For lunch: BBQ sandwiches.
Then we loaded The Sas and The Bull and headed back to Laguna for some relaxation. Much, much needed. Ah, and then we hit the beach. The blessedly beautiful Pacific Ocean. Here's much of the group:
*************
At the end of our days here we have taken to 'rounding up for prayer and discussion. We fill in the blank: "Today I saw/heard/felt_______." Tonight, as we sat on the beach singing and praying, one of us said, "Today I saw one group." And she was right. East met West on Monday night. There were two groups. And between then and now, the two became indistinguishable. Through work and play, we are beautifully meshed.
Thanks be to God!
Tomorrow: More work at the soon-to-be women's shelter. Plus! Surfing Lessons!
wmp+
For lunch: BBQ sandwiches.
Then we loaded The Sas and The Bull and headed back to Laguna for some relaxation. Much, much needed. Ah, and then we hit the beach. The blessedly beautiful Pacific Ocean. Here's much of the group:
*************
At the end of our days here we have taken to 'rounding up for prayer and discussion. We fill in the blank: "Today I saw/heard/felt_______." Tonight, as we sat on the beach singing and praying, one of us said, "Today I saw one group." And she was right. East met West on Monday night. There were two groups. And between then and now, the two became indistinguishable. Through work and play, we are beautifully meshed.
Thanks be to God!
Tomorrow: More work at the soon-to-be women's shelter. Plus! Surfing Lessons!
wmp+
7.18.2007
What Tuesday Looked Like
Like any day that's bound to be good, we started with breakfast:
I mean, let's face it: Muffins? Good. Cereal? Good. AMAZING FRUIT SALAD? Real, real good. Special thanks to the folks at St. Mary's who woke up SO EARLY to cut fruit and make the coffee. Delicious.
And then we loaded up. Eight of us in the silver van (we call her "Sassy") and nine of us in the red van (we call him "The Red Bull"). The traffic in route from Laguna to LA didn't quite live up to the horror we Georgians had prepared for, but the people at World Vision certainly lived up to the kindness we'd been told to expect. The World Vision warehouse was full of donated supplies--everything from whirlpools for rehab center and school supplies. When word came that we had to wait a while for our next stop, the people at world vision put us to work, organizing approximately seven tons of Advil and hanging up donated clothing and--get ready!--sorting out boxes and boxes of donated PANTY HOSE. The guys loved this:
Hurtin? Have a BAG OF ADVIL:
And the panty hose.... Thanks, guys! Very helpful!
Next we loaded up and headed to the Midnight Mission, a brilliant and beautiful and MASSIVE homeless ministry at the heart of Skid Row. After an history lesson and a tour, we were put to work again, preparing food to be served...
Babes in netted headware. Awesome!
...In the meantime, Wendy totally wiped out on the sidewalk in front of World Vision. Here she is with a pastic glove of ice on her knee. Pictures of all the bruising and stories of all limping best told in person.
And we stayed the night in a church with an outdoor pulpit. This thrilled the priests on the trip to no end. (Carri could hardly keep from singing.) Seriously, what a blast. And it was beautiful. Check out this pic!
It was a good, good day. And not just because we had breakfast. (Scroll up, re-read if necessary.)
Respecfully Submitted,
With lots of love,
wmp+
I mean, let's face it: Muffins? Good. Cereal? Good. AMAZING FRUIT SALAD? Real, real good. Special thanks to the folks at St. Mary's who woke up SO EARLY to cut fruit and make the coffee. Delicious.
And then we loaded up. Eight of us in the silver van (we call her "Sassy") and nine of us in the red van (we call him "The Red Bull"). The traffic in route from Laguna to LA didn't quite live up to the horror we Georgians had prepared for, but the people at World Vision certainly lived up to the kindness we'd been told to expect. The World Vision warehouse was full of donated supplies--everything from whirlpools for rehab center and school supplies. When word came that we had to wait a while for our next stop, the people at world vision put us to work, organizing approximately seven tons of Advil and hanging up donated clothing and--get ready!--sorting out boxes and boxes of donated PANTY HOSE. The guys loved this:
Hurtin? Have a BAG OF ADVIL:
And the panty hose.... Thanks, guys! Very helpful!
Next we loaded up and headed to the Midnight Mission, a brilliant and beautiful and MASSIVE homeless ministry at the heart of Skid Row. After an history lesson and a tour, we were put to work again, preparing food to be served...
Babes in netted headware. Awesome!
...In the meantime, Wendy totally wiped out on the sidewalk in front of World Vision. Here she is with a pastic glove of ice on her knee. Pictures of all the bruising and stories of all limping best told in person.
And we stayed the night in a church with an outdoor pulpit. This thrilled the priests on the trip to no end. (Carri could hardly keep from singing.) Seriously, what a blast. And it was beautiful. Check out this pic!
It was a good, good day. And not just because we had breakfast. (Scroll up, re-read if necessary.)
Respecfully Submitted,
With lots of love,
wmp+
7.17.2007
We. Have. Arrived.
The flight: Flawless. In fact, we arrive four minutes early. Tales of inflight trivia and the view from the sky to come.
The arrival: Just right. Carri saw her family off while our new friend Kristen pulled around THE BIGGEST RED VAN EVER for us to pile into.
Ben left his book on the plane. Arg!
We got to St. Mary's, played games about beanbags and candy bars, walked to the yogurt place for yogurt, and hit the beach for a night view of the waves. Carri was super reserved and--literally--ran with all her might to dip her little toes in.
Then we came back to the church. We said a little compline, sang a little song, and now we're all crashing in sleeping bags on the floor. We are happy and good.
The folks her are AWESOME.
We're having a BLAST.
Tomorrow we wake up at 7am to head to LA where we will stay until Tuesday. Plans include eating at In-and-Out Burger, touring the Museum of Tolerance, and spending some time with World Vision. You probably won't hear from us until Tuesday when we arrive back in Laguna. And, oh, just wait....There will be pictures.
Signing out,
A very sleepy,
Wendy+
(it may be 10:29 here, but it's 1:29 in my heart.)
The arrival: Just right. Carri saw her family off while our new friend Kristen pulled around THE BIGGEST RED VAN EVER for us to pile into.
Ben left his book on the plane. Arg!
We got to St. Mary's, played games about beanbags and candy bars, walked to the yogurt place for yogurt, and hit the beach for a night view of the waves. Carri was super reserved and--literally--ran with all her might to dip her little toes in.
Then we came back to the church. We said a little compline, sang a little song, and now we're all crashing in sleeping bags on the floor. We are happy and good.
The folks her are AWESOME.
We're having a BLAST.
Tomorrow we wake up at 7am to head to LA where we will stay until Tuesday. Plans include eating at In-and-Out Burger, touring the Museum of Tolerance, and spending some time with World Vision. You probably won't hear from us until Tuesday when we arrive back in Laguna. And, oh, just wait....There will be pictures.
Signing out,
A very sleepy,
Wendy+
(it may be 10:29 here, but it's 1:29 in my heart.)
7.09.2007
no spottiness or smack talkin: The Laguna Group Takes on a Covenant
Ben's not wrong. In fact, he's right. A covenant is a fancy church word for agreement, and here's the unannotated covenant we came up with last night for next week's trip to Laguna Beach.
the no's:
the no's:
- no drugs
- no sex
- no alcohol
- no profanity (B, F, GD, S, A....)
- no handheld gaming things
- no smack talk!
the yeses:
- stay posititve! help keep each other "up"
- totally participate (no opting out, you know?)
- ipods & cell phones are a-okay when we're not in community time
We can do it!
Keep the faith,
Wendy+
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