Today

Washington D.C has definitely brought all of us a new attitude towards all the things that we take for granted. This mission trip has been eye opening for us and allows us to experience new things daily. YSOP has provided the opportunity to get to see/help new people and places everyday. Today the Yellow group (the girls) was sent to serve lunch to elderly homeless or low income individuals. For this day project, we also had the opportunity to sit and hangout with them. I think we all could agree that the people at this shelter very much enjoyed a good game of UNO and also Wii bowling. Starting the day off at 9:30, we went to Oasis Senior Center. Upon our arrival, we all felt a warm welcome by the seniors whom were already there. Tables had games set up which allowed us to have a fun interaction with the people at the shelter. At 12:00 p.m, we served lunch to the people. The chef of Oasis was very greatful for our help and made all of us sit down so he could serve us as well. That was something that surely stuck out to us because it basically allowed us to be treated the way these elders were being treated. The Turqoise group went to an organization called Thrive DC, which also provides meals for homeless or low income people amongst the DC area. This organization is funded by private donations. The boys were split into different groups, whether it be dish washing or food preparation. The volunteers of the organization informed us that there are usuals, meaning people who come often, so they all know eachother on a name to name basis. The Blue group was sent to help out at Foods for friends. In this group, the boys were able to load meals into bags and prepared them to be handed out. They also made soup and prepared frozen foods for handing out as well. All in all this day made us feel very grateful for everything we have, even the small things. The city life has been a bit of a transition for us, as we are struggling a tad to find our work locations.

Trinity UCC mission trip

   We started our wonderful morning off at the church where YSOP was held. YSOP provided us with a yummy breakfast to boost our fuel level. As we fueled up, the YSOP leaders explained the overall rules as we listened like the respectful young adults we are. Once everything was explained we were split up into three groups. The team names were Blue, Turquois and Yellow. The three teams split up to go to different work sites. The Blue team went to SOME(so others might eat). There they prepared and served a wonderful lunch to the homeless people of Washington D.C. The Turqoise team went to Parks and People. They helped mulch and others did landscaping. The Yellow team went to Lands and Waters. There they weeded and cleared a vegetable garden outside a school. Then all the teams reunited back at the church. YSOP had a once homeless citizen explain his life. He spoke to us about his life experieces and how he strived to change his life. He explained how he had a unpleasant childhood and how he had struggles in his early adult years. Through his ups and downs he is now employed and living a better life. This was very life changing for everyone and helped us understand the struggles of being homeless. We are now back at the hostel waiting for Mark and Joe to come back with Chinese food. Stay classy Trinity UCC.
                                                                                                      Love,

                                                                                                 THE BOYZ

Friday - Final day

HI from Purdue, this is Nathan and John on the late night blog ya’ll !! Today was the last day of our week long Mission/NYE trip. This morning we went to the final class thank God.  After the final class was over we all came back to the dorms and chilled as we reflected on this week’s events and speakers. J.R. Martinez was by far the most enjoyed guest speaker, but was not the only person who reached out to people’s hearts and left an impression. After a meal of ice cream and cake (ha ha) we all headed out to Slater Hill for the closing ceremony of NYE.  We tried to go for a run in the famous fountain run but when we got there the water was turned off. We took this opportunity to strike some fancy ninja posses. Everybody is now currently packing or is supposed to be. We are going to try to get out of here at 7:00 a.m.( yah right). So until we see ya’ll morrow have a good night’s sleep , because were back from college and ready to PARTY!    P.S. don’t tell Melissa about the jokes I don’t think she would like them.

Thursday All Strings Jam Session - NYE

All Strings Jam Session rocks the house at the UCC’s National Youth Event 

Written by Tim Kershner
July 13, 2012

Youth at the UCC's National Youth Event at Purdue University participate in Thursday evening's jam session.

Vincent Hanna was about to play guitar in front of the largest crowd in his 15 years and he did not appear nervous at all.
"I just hope I play it right and the crowd likes it," he said.
Hanna, from First Congregational UCC in Manhattan, Kan., was among more than two dozen musicians participating in the All Strings Jam Session during this evening’s worship at the UCC’s National Youth Event (NYE). The musicians -- mostly youth but a few chaperones joined the jam -- played guitars (acoustic and electric), bass, keyboards, violin and even a ukulele.
The All Strings group performed "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga and "Waiting for the World to Change" by John Mayer. During their performance, the crowd of almost 2,500 in the Elliot Music Hall at Purdue University was on its feet, with many singing along.
Aaron Gaines, lead vocalist of Tribe of Judah, which has been leading worship music during the event, helped organize the musicians and form them into a band.
"Y'all ready to rock out?" asked Gaines at the beginning of Thursday afternoon's rehearsal. "You’re going to be our rock stars tonight."
"Yeah!" was the unanimous reply.
Gaines said he chose these two songs for many reasons. "I wanted to play tunes we listen to and that speak to our community," he said.
The Gaga piece, said Gaines, fits with the event's theme for the day, "Imagine a world where differences are embraced." Mayer's song reminds us that "we're still here, ready and willing to be active, for our hit at the bat," he said.

NYE youth participate in the jam session during Thursday's plenary session.

Worship music, Gaines added, does not have to be just Christian or Gospel. Many secular songs also have a place in worship.
Hanna agreed. "It's good for worship to add as many [musical] genres as possible, especially for the youth."
Kevin Cantrell brought his guitar from Trinity UCC in Wooster, Ohio, to play in the band. He also was selected to play a solo in "Waiting for the World to Change." Cantrell says Lady Gaga's message through her music is similar to the messages at this week's youth event. While he's never played in a group this large, he knew it was going to be fun. "I'm going to learn a lot," he said.
Rajinee Buquing plays in an ensemble in her home church of Grace UCC, Houston, Texas, and has played at the Houston House of Blues. Regardless of the size of the audience, Buquing says she feels more of a connection to God through music.
But this, she knew, was going to be big.

Kevin @ NYE

Watch Kevin's performance at NYE!           http://youtu.be/7dkEOLXXhGI

Thursday - NYE

Today has been a very exciting day.  It started off having our picture taken with all the Ohio Conference NYE participants.  Morning worship featured J.R Martinez from the hit show “Dancing with the Stars”.  He shared his emotional and motivating journey of recovery from an accident while serving in Iraq.  Following that, we all split up to attend our morning workshops.  We then met up and ate lunch as a group and then again split up for afternoon workshops.  Everyone had a couple of hours of down time before meeting up once again for dinner.  Once we finished having dinner, everyone here at the NYE gathered for evening worship which featured our own Kevin Cantrell in the guitar group with a solo!  We then went to an outdoor concert.  Our youth then returned to dorms for some late night pizza and then all went to bed.  We have some great stories to tell when we get back!      Luke Wiest & Dakota Thomas

Wednesday - NYE

We started off our morning with group breakfast, then headed over to the morning worship service. We watched a video about mountain top removal.  Someone from our National Office answered questions about the effects this causes on the community .  You can get more information at ilovemoutains.org.  He encouraged us to do an energy audit and form a green team, but Melissa told us Trinity already did that.  When worship was over we all went to our first workshop.  Some learned about stereotypes, some learned about immigration, some learned about connecting our body and spirit and some did self-discovery.  We all discussed our workshops over lunch in the café.  More workshops continued after lunch.  We learned about serving mission and many more.  We gathered to have our yearly thank you card contest.  Nicole Chuma was our winner.  (Note from Melissa—ALL the thank you notes were so amazing, we aren’t mailing them until we get home so we can copy and share them with the congregation).  We also signed our books  for the Literacy Labyrinth and added them to the labyrinth after dinner.  Evening worship followed dinner.  We heard a personal story from a woman affected by HIV.  It made us realize that anyone can get HIV and struggles like that can build character and be life changing.  Directors from the Harlem Teen Choir worked with some NYE youth and performed a great number at the evening worship.  They inspired us to get up and moving!   Tonight, at 7:00,  Kevin Cantrell will be on stage with the guitar group.  You can watch it live at  www.ucc.org/youth/nye

We are having a lot of fun, enjoying ourselves and thank everyone for making this possible.

- Abby Reed, Nicole Chuma, Vicki Anderson