Leslie County Ky - Sunday July 14th

Hi - 

This is Tom Noller and I'll be blogging from Leslie County, town of Hyden Kentucky. As Dave mentioned in his update, we had a great time at Gattitown, local Pizza and arcade place in Lexington Ky, I thought you might like to see a few pictures from the event. As you can see, even the adults had a good time!

 

We parted Lexington with 2 giant lines and did the sports high five and loaded up for our separate journeys.

 

Our trip to Leslie County was pretty uneventful and we all arrived about 2:00 in the afternoon. We unloaded all our personal gear and got setup for our living space for the next week. We are sleeping in 4 Main rooms on the floors (2 rooms for the girls and 2 for the boys.) We we a bit aghast at the shower facilities - outside units built from large black plastic behind the building with only cold water available. Let's just say, showers will be quick!

Each day we will have one or more of our youth provide a short recap of what happened each day. We plan to have 2 teams report each day. For today, Sophie volunteered to give a brief youth wrap of of the day.

"This morning, we, Team Radical, kissed our Wi-Fi service and comfortable beds in Lexington, Kentucky goodbye.  We began our journey to Leslie County late this morning, parting ways with our friends on Team Reversal, before jumping into our respective work groups' vans and driving into the mountains for which this region of the country is suitably named.  

Around noon, we treated ourselves to the oh-so-nutritious staple of the American diet: McDonald's, and at two, we arrived at the center that would become our home for the week.  We unloaded the cars of their luggage; then, we inflated our air mattresses and unfolded our blankets in the classrooms that had been set aside for us.  As we unpacked, a group from another church near Peoria, Illinois arrived at the center. Once we were all settled, we met our center staff, an enthusiastic group who introduced themselves to the tune of Macklemore's "Thrift Shop."

 After playing an ice breaker game in the school cafeteria, Billy Knutson led a group prayer, and we ate dinner, which consisted of our choice of either turkey, ham, or mystery meat sandwiches and salad.  Then, a select few of us teenagers were chosen to visit the families we will be helping this week.  While they were getting a first-hand look at what we will be doing in the coming days, the rest of us bonded at the center, playing cards, losing to Bob Schieffer at chess, and listening to music. 

As I am writing this, we are preparing for a candlelit prayer session before we go to bed.  Day 1 is coming to  a close, but our work for the week is just beginning. The journey will be long, but we are willing; the work will be hard, but it will be rewarding.  And with that, I wish you a good night and thank you for your support of this mission trip."

Sophie Lombardo

 



In case you would like a little more information about the area we will be serving for the next week, here are a few link.

LESLIE COUNTY, KY
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_County,_Kentucky
http://www.lesliecounty.ky.gov/links.htm


Keep us in your prayers,

Tom