multiple trips, part 1

This was totally crazy, but I did two mission trips back to back this year.

This all started because Katie, Mike and I were thinking about going to where the Sr. Highs would be and camping for a few days, visiting them on their half day off, because those all used to be our Jr. Highs and they asked us about a million times if we were going with them. If we went with them, who would go with the Jr. Highs? Well, it so happened that the organization we go on mission trips with needed volunteers for the Walpole Island, ON trip that our Sr. Highs were going on. Specifically, worship leader... and after a lot of thought, I auditioned. And got it. And talked them into taking on a few extra site coaches so I could drag my friends into this with me...

Week one: Jr. High trip to Irwin, PA. The Pennsylvania Turnpike was basically the same as always, and Irwin is a typical rust belt kind of town, just a little outside of Pittsburgh. My assignment for the week was to paint a shed and repair some porch steps and paint a porch and its ceiling for a very sweet elderly woman. My crew was super awesome and hard working, so we finished that project early and were able to talk the organization into letting us stain the neighbor's deck.

It was a good week. Our middle school group is a bunch of really good, hilarious kids. They attempted at one point to create some drama for themselves, but quit as soon as the adults called them on it. We had a lot of fun together. Our leadership team was pretty stellar, four men and then my dear friend Katie and me for the girls.

Week two: Sr. High trip to Walpole Island, Ontario. We had managed to keep it a secret from the high school group that we would be there, and really the only chance we had left of them finding out before their arrival was if their younger siblings on the Jr. High trip called/ sent a text when they got home. As the Jr. Highs prepared to depart on the bus, Katie and Mike and I did not board, explaining that Katie and I get too carsick to handle the bus, so would be riding with Mike. Didn't lie, just didn't tell the whole truth.

In fact, when they were dragging their feet getting packed up and on the bus, we started joking with them that they were being SO ridiculous, we should just drive to Canada instead. None of them noticed our jokes. It was 6 AM.

So to Canada we went. We drove through northern Ohio, stopping at a bird reserve and the Toledo Botanical Gardens, as well as a Waffle House (probably the best stop we made). Walpole Island is a First Nation Reservation just across the river from Algonac, Michigan, just a little north of Detroit. We took a short ferry ride to get there, across some very blue water.

I unfortunately didn't get out and about as much as I'd have liked, but did get to see a bit of the island and meet some of the residents. Interesting people, and a good range of people who were happy to welcome visitors and share their culture and history, and people who think that all people who are different from them are only on this planet to screw them over. It was very sad to talk to them. One of my favorite people I met was a woman who wanted to tell me about her trees. She was very proud of the Crimson King she had planted on the property before she could even afford to build a house there. Crimson Kings have very dense foliage and make wonderful shade trees. It was pretty glorious. Tree of the day, for sure.