A Dream Come True

Arriving in California after spending nearly 30 hours driving, was for many in our group ... a dream come true. The sun was shining and their is a relief to knowing we are staying here this week so we can settle in. However, after dropping our stuff off in our rooms and having a small group meeting time ... it was back in our vans to head for the Dream Center in downtown L.A. One of our leaders, Bethany Schumacher reflected on our time saying:

"Working with the Dream Center was amazing! Skid row was blessed tonight as we handed out socks, bags of cookies, chips, and invites to some amazing events for them... AND ended up taking in a new family to the center! God is good!"

It is so incredible to be a part of seeing a families dreams come true, as tonight, a family connected to the street ministry of our team and the Dream Center staff and officially entered into the Dream Center program for families. As a team we overcame the apprehension, and fear of entering into the lives of those in L.A. facing extreme poverty, to meet a simple, but tangible need in their lives ... socks. Our group of students collected and handed out over 1000 pairs of socks!!! Many students acknowledged how incredible it was to hear the appreciation as we handed out our socks. After numerous conversations, prayers, and gifts of socks, we headed back to the hotel to wind down. Now we prepare to do it all again, as tomorrow morning we go back to the Dream Center to participate in the Adopt-a-Block program.

In and Out of LA

We are at our second location in LA after a killer stop to the infamous burger joint In and Out! Just about to head out to the Dream Center to start our ministry! Halla!

Cedar City Baby!!

Arrived after a loooooong day driving from Helena, Montana to Cedar City, Utah! All is well and well in all! Just about to touch base in our small groups, have a swim and sleep like none other!

Another Day on the Road

We are well on our way, heading for Cedar City, UT. With lots of fun travel games and conversations ahead as we travel towards sunny California.

Helena, Montana

Through the border, over the mountain, and into Helena we went! The roads were good (other than an icy section near Red Deer) and we are looking forward to some fun times connecting as a team this evening. The regularity of posts here depends on Wi-Fi connections but we hope to have plenty of great stories and experiences to share.

We be drivin'!!

Passing Calgary heading south bound to Helena Montana! This is White Phoenix 2, over and out! -- Cali Team!

Vans, Coffee's, and Away We Go!

Wednesday, March 20 @ 7:00 AM the California 2013 Mission Experience officially begins! The first van full (yes van) will be leaving the Ponoka Youth Centre at 7:00 am and joining the other two vans in Lacombe for a Central Alberta departure of 7:45. So what happened to the bus? Great question ... Due to circumstances beyond our control, the bus company was denied access to travel in the USA ... quite a surprise to all parties involved, but we are so grateful that God had a plan in it all. Against natural odds we were able to find three 15-Passenger vans for our trip in the week leading up to our trip. Looking back now, it is so easy to see how God was in it all, right from the moment we started planning our trip, pretty cool to see!

For those not joining our trip, but still interested in the details ... follow our blog: missionsyu@blogspot.ca for all the latest details of our trip. We are away from March 20 - March 30. Please pray for our team of 25 students, and 7 leaders as we serve, play, and connect for the next 11 days.