Serving sprees

Lutheran, The, Jun 1999

Some youth plan their servant trips before they leave home. Others make it up as they go along. Either way, they learn a lot.

Two Iowa congregations-Salem Lutheran, Lake Mills, and Zion Lutheran, Waterloo-led vacation Bible schools along the Mexican-Texas border. Most details were planned in advance. But when the group arrived at their destination, they were told: "You have eight hours to get your Bible school activities ready for tomorrow." The youth wrote skits, planned arts and crafts, practiced songs, learned Spanish verses and organized lunches. Classes were held at a Mexican orphanage and at two Texas colonias (poor neighborhoods).

The Iowa youth learned that serving others is fulfilling. "We went to teach them about God, and they taught us about friendship and love," said Lydia Rich of Zion.

Youth from United Lutheran Church, Fremont, Neb., didn't know what to expect from their servant trip. Except for a couple of activities in New York City, none of their serving was planned ahead of time. They wanted to learn how to look for ways to serve in the real world. The group-six teenagers and three adults-- left with nine sleeping bags, a rented van, a credit card for gas, $1,000, a New York City map and a desire to serve others.

They began their crosscountry serving spree by sharing soda with strangers at an Illinois park and giving sandwiches to a man and his dog on the shore of Lake Michigan. Russ Leeper, a pastor of United, said such small gestures were appreciated and made the group feel good.

"All across the eastern United States we shared with others and smiled at as many people as we could," he said. "We mowed a lawn in Iowa, made a toll booth operator laugh in Ohio, wrote a poem for a pastor in Pennsylvania and prayed for a McDonald's employee who was worried about teaching vacation Bible school the next morning."

In New York, the group stayed at Trinity Lutheran Church, Manhattan, and looked for more ways to serve. They volunteered at a soup kitchen, cleaned at Trinity, helped a cab driver push his stalled vehicle to the side of the road and handed out sandwiches to hungry people.