On the road again

lots of miles and tired people. Arrived without any bus problems. The church is wonderful and so is the swimming pool next door with Showers!!! We have been to Harpers Ferry and DC. Today (Thu) Is another day in DC. Tired feet come as a part of the trip :(!!! Till next time.
Zenda (MARVIN)

Bryce Aka "sparky"

After 16 hours On the bus we a have arrived with all accounted. With a pretty good ride and lots of jokes there was lots of memories made on the bus. This is my first mission trip and I love it. On the way to the church we are staying at today we saw the WEINER MOBILE :) after hearing elayne sing I think she should go on American idol. When ever we see a cop she sings the song "bad boys" we went to Washington dc yesterday and went to the top of the Washington Monument. I almost dint go up but I did and I am glad I did it to know.we have made lots of memories and I will try to let elayne let me go on and update my post.
For so long,

Bryce Biharz

Lisa here!!!!

What an experience this trip has been!! We took off for DC at 7:30 in the morning which is only a 45 minute drive and it took us 1 hour and 50 minutes! The traffic is like nothing I have ever seen! Not to mention the poverty and so many people and security everywhere! But the security which made some of us nervous was a comfort to me! The Capital building was awesome to see, we ate at Union Station, but the best part of the day was going to up to the top of the Washington Monument! What a view! We were extremely exhausted with very sore feet but it was worth it! Today we go back for another day to take in the sites!

Matt says HI!

Matt almost got crashed yesterday on accident there goes elayne onto the floor!!!

Here we go again!

We are having a great time here but we are definatly tired. Wednesday we toured the Capitol, Holocaust Museum, and the Washington Monument.
This week it is defiantly good to have a sence of humor. We have had many laughs together. And we have even cried. But anyway. We will have lots of stories to tell.
Today we are back in DC visiting Arlington Cemetary and musuems.
Miss you all.....

We are safely here!

After a long long long ride we are safely in Maryland and even tho we have only been here for a short time, we have stories to tell!

Just so you know....we had a WEINERMOBIL sighting! It would have have been fun to have a ride but we would have had a major delay since it was going the opposite way.
We arrived here alittle before 6pm Monday night. We were pleased to be able to swim and have a shower.

Today was a great day. We had breakfast, explored the area and had morning devos then off to Harpers Ferry National Park for a picnic and learning about life during and prior to the civil war. When we came back we had supper, showers, and reflection on the day. We sorted the donations to have them ready for distribution on Sunday. Everyone commented on the amount and variety! Thanks to everyone for their generous donations.

Tomorrow is another busy day, we will be in DC

On Your Mark, Get Ready, Get Set........

It is almost time....but not yet. I still have alot to do before Sunday morning, as I am sure you do too.....The good news is that I touched base with our work projects and they are waiting for us, the tee shirts are done. And the taco meat, pulled pork, and BBQ for sandwiches are in the freezer.  All that is left is to bind the guidebooks, pack, and then pack it all on the bus and one last trip to Wal Mart.....If you are going, please ask someone to be your prayer partner. How it works is while you are gone, they will pray for you and you will pray for them. Remember to come to worship, either in Charles City or in Nashua. Both congregations will be having a sending service for you. We ask for God's Gracious Blessings as we finish preparing for the journey to Baltimore/Washington DC.

Thanks to everyone who graciously supported the "Washington Monument" Fundraiser, either by buying 'insurance', hosting, or otherwise participated. God Bless You All!

We are Confirmed!

Well, yes we are Confirmed, as Lutherans! But we are confirmed for a tour of the United States Capitol too! I am waiting to hear back on acouple of things and then we will be able to have the schedule posted. At least a tentitive one..... 

Other news.....

• Ask your friends and family to be your prayer partners! Pray for each other while the mission trip is happening. There will be a page in your journal where you can write your prayer concerns! Prayer partners can be anyone, and you can have more than one.
• Let Elayne, Brad, or Pastor Dave know if you can not come to the meeting on July 20th at @ 6:00pm at St John, Charles City
• Yippe! we leave in 10 days

we have an updated packing list- bring:

• an extra pair of shoes. and another pair that you don't mind gets dirty.
• a sweatshirt or light jacket-just in case
• clothes that fit-gentlemen wear a belt to keep your pants at your waist
• umbrella
• water bottle
• an extra blanket if you tend to be cold in air conditioning
• DVDs-rated G, PG, or PG13-movies that are violent or have a strong sexual content will not be used for group viewing on the bus. Please bring a list of the movies that you bring, so we can make sure you take the same movies home. It is helpful if you have your name on them.
• games and playing cards
• A reminder: pack an overnight bag for the first night.
• Washcloths
• An alarm clock if there is not one on your cell phone

Keep praying! Elayne

Welcome to the Place to find out what is happening and being planned for the St John Lutheran Churches from Nashua and Charles City, Iowa, Mission Trip to Baltimore and Washington DC. We are anticipating a great trip full of adventure and the opportunity to serve God and our neighbors.

For those that are going, We have scheduled a meeting for Wednesday July 20th at St John Charles City at 6:00pm.

We will have an updated packing list and some more information about the projects.

If you have not already paid for the trip or made arrangements with Pastor Dave or Elayne please do so. We would like to have everything in by Sunday July 17th so Andrea can make the deposit on the 18th and have the funds available for the trip.

We leave in 18 days, not that we are counting.

Blessings, Pastor Dave, Elayne and Brad