Apologies for the lateness of these posts and pictures. The unsecured wireless connection at OVU is a little more secure than one might think, but we're finally online. HOORAY!

Sunday morning, June 21...

Ahhhh, Breakfast!

The Quality Inn & Suites at the airport had a great more-than-continental breakfast. Biscuits & gravy, waffles, cereal, juices, coffee... it was a good thing.

After a song and a prayer we hit the road for Columbus, OH at a little after 9:00.

We plan to picnic on KFC chicken and have our own Sunday morning worship service at Clear Creek Metro Park in Rockbridge, OH at around 12:30. We'll probably enjoy the park for awhile, since it's just another 79 miles to our final destination in Vienna, WV, and we can't check in until 5:00.

Sunday Afternoon

Our trip into Ohio was beautiful. On our way to Clear Creek, we happened upon a covered bridge. It's no longer in use as a bridge, and it took about five seconds for us to make the decision to stop there for lunch. It was interesting to survey the architecture over a KFC chicken leg and a nectarine or two.

Once we'd cleaned up, we headed down the road to Clear Creek. The big, rolling hills were covered with an incredible amount of vegetation – big old oaks and walnut trees, with great hiking trails everywhere. There were some pretty incredible rocks, too!

We made our way through the woods to a clearing, and it was there that we shared communion and had a time to voice our hopes for the week ahead. Each of us took a piece of string, and one by one we wound our strings around sticks to make a dreamcatcher. This is an amazing group of teens. Some had been worried that leaving right after Soul Quest wasn't the best idea in the world, but they had all come to the conclusion that an opportunity to put their faith into action right on the heels of such an inspiring week will actually be a good thing.

The sponsors on this road trip really couldn't have been blessed with a better group of kids. There's been no complaining or arguing despite the fact that most of them were wiped out before we even left town. They're on time when we need to leave, they've been polite and... it's just been really, really good.

Sunday PM

We arrived on campus at around 6:15. After a quick hamburger supper, we found our rooms, carried our stuff in, and then headed out to a singing/devotional activity in the gym. They dismissed the adults to go be trained for their leadership roles, and ultimately everyone ended up meeting with the groups with which they will be painting houses. Everyone got to see a picture of the house they'd been assigned, and to read a little about the homeowner(s). It was really neat to see firsthand what kind of an impact we'll be able to make.

Again... it just can't be stressed enough what a pleasure it is to travel with this group. Janae said it best at our Dreamcatcher session today when she said she's just so proud to be their sponsor.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Monday

Wow - what a day!

They are treating us extremely well here. Shane made a run to Tim Horton's to get some coffee to go with our breakfast (for the adults, of course!) We were soooo excited to see that breakfast had been donated by Panera Bread. Yum! Between the muffins and the asagio cheese and cinnamon bagels, we were in great shape and ready to go with our groups to our houses and get to work!

The East Hill teens are divided into sets of two/three students and they go with various work crews. Unfortunately, that means we can't get photos of everyone, since we're scattered around the area. Whitney and Macy are way far away painting a 100+ year old church bldg. that has no running water - outhouses are the name of the game! Todd was assigned to a house in similar circumstances.

Photos don't seem to want to upload well tonight, so watch for more tomorrow.

Again....thanks so much for your prayers!