Wednesday July 14, 2010 Yakima Mission

Wednesday, July 14th

Our week has some amazing kids on it. They are not only willing to help, they insist on helping. They work together great. The cohesiveness of the group is heart warming. Each of the work groups are really bonding. I am fortunate to be able to be here and work with such wonderful people. It is a very moving experience. This week I am building handicap ramps for those that are house bound. We have built one a day so far and that is the plan for the week. The people we are building the ramps for are so thankful and amazed at what our group is doing. You can see that they are visibly moved by it. On Sunday our kids wrote a song to one of the popular hit songs. Below are the words. We hope to have the video of us singing it loaded either here or on UTube at some point.
We’re St. Stephens and we’re here to serve and learn about our God, we chose the word Ohana to represent our Father and family too. Hey, Young Neighbors lets all do a favor for our family so happily, we’re here for them so willingly. Hey, Young Neighbors we don’t want to miss a single day to show our love, our love, our love.
Pam Redmond

Well we made it to day four and it really seems like it’s been no time at all. I’m working on the Yakima reservation on part of a two week project. This house has six children and four adults living there so as you can tell it is pretty worn down. In my group there is me, Meghan, Sean, Ed, Lisa, Alexa, and AJ then there is Pat and Deb as our “adults”. So far we have taken apart a bathroom and already replaced the floor. But what I was doing was cutting out holes in the wall so I could patch them. Though this was my first time doing this it turned out as a huge success. Meghan Alexa and I were working in the bedroom along with all of the kids to patch up these walls and we were allowing the kid’s to-do their own patch so they could always look back and remember that they had a hand in fixing up this house. Well I have to go and finish up the house so till next time bye.
Griffin Boyle

Wednesdays have always been the longest day to me, even during the summer. So for today, I will be bloging in two parts.
As the morning had begun, I had already gotten that gut feeling that today would be a long one. However that only means that we would have more time to work at our site. We are planning to paint one of the bedrooms in the house and possibly begin to plan and place the particle board for the tiles. Currently I am sitting at the back of Debbie’s van listening to both a collective mix to country and Christian music. For me personally, I have never been a big fan of these genres, however I have actually been enjoying some of the music they play. There was one moment where all came across a suggestive country, something I would of never suspected. However it connects to a theme that I found for myself this week, Perspective. A new perspective not only in the literal but also in the spiritual sense. Now we have arrived at the reservation and just finished our morning group prayer with the children. With the temperatures beginning to rise, and me being stuck inside the van is killer, I will end this part with simply…Do Work Son!
We had just finished another successful day at the reservation. We are now heading back home to “base camp” back at the church for some needed R&R. The focus for today’s agenda was doing a top to bottom scrub down of the walls and ceiling. Moreover, Pat and Debbie were in charge of the bathroom, which keeps looking better as the day rolled on. There was also hole patch up, which was quickly taken care of by one of my team members, Meghan. As for me, I teamed up with Sean and Lisa to work on cleaning the walls and ceiling. Griffin was working with the walls and AJ took care of the floors. Also Father Ed came to the site and helped us work on cleaning the walls and bathroom. Again the day was a success. As I leave off to take a nap, I would like to say some thanks. Thank you to all of my sponsors! Thank you to my family, I love you all. Also I would like to say a special Thanks to my friend Roxanne who has been following recently and letting me know that she has. HI!!!!
Sincerely Ed Navaluna

Our group (Debbie, Pat, Meghan, Lisa, Ed, Griffin, AJ, Sean, and I) just completed our 3rd day on our worksite. So far we have rid up the entire yard of mountains of trash, washed endless walls, patched walls, and torn up flooring. In the next few days we will be installing more flooring, fixing up the bathroom, and painting the bedroom, laundry room, and the bathroom.
The highlight of every day is working with all the kids (Caleb, Izaak, Aaron, Jake, Mathew, and Alyssa). They are always so willing to help with anything they can. Their smiles and energy help keep us all motivated and laughing. :) They are some of the cutest kids I’ve ever seen. I also love spending time with their five dogs. My favorite is named Killer, which is such a joke because this dog is one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever met.
I love how well our group (including the kids) are working together and every day we are becoming more and more like a family. I’m having a blast!
Thanks for all your support!
Love,
Alexa Brandt


This is my last Mission with our teens. I have to admit I prayed hard that I would be chosen for the ramp site simply because I heard of this amazing man who taught the teens not only how to build ramps but how to build a meaningful life. Well, here I am. My prayers have been answered and I have savored every moment of this week. Lowell could be retired now, living a very comfortable life living on the golf courses. Instead he lives humbly and gives his time to God by helping others with ramps. He shares life thoughts with the teens throughout the day and especially at break. This man is everything that Mission could possibly be about. Our teens have been wonderful to work with. They are so eager it’s hard to share the work at times because they want to do it all! They really do have such a spirit of sharing, giving, and learning. I feel truly blessed to work with ALL the teens. I feel blessed as well to be in St. Stephen’s Parish with parishioners who fully suppor t Mission. These teens do all of you proud!
Barb Miller