Mission Trip Send Off

We sent Hayley off on her first mission trip yesterday.  She and twelve of her friends from her youth group have been working really hard this year preparing for this trip.  They headed off for Salem, Oregon to a sort of training camp for the first three days of the trip and then they are headed up to Portland for the rest of their nine day mission trip.  They are going to be working with an organization called YWAM (Youth With a Mission) which is a Christian missionary organization whose goal it is to "know God and to make Him known".  One of the neat things that they are going to be doing this week is working with another organization called BridgeTown Inc.  The kids will be helping them with their Night Strike.  Night Strike is a unique opportunity for people to gather under the Burnside Bridge every Thursday night and love people because people matter. It’s an opportunity for members of Portland’s homeless community to hang out, enjoy a hot meal, receive a free hair cut, shave, have their feet washed and have their old shoes/clothes/sleeping bags replaced. Hayley and the other kids in her Youth Group will have the chance to share in the experience, help serve the needs of the homeless in that community.

The obligatory silly shot!

Hayley and Madison with their respective "lovies", Boo and Rosebud.

We are so proud of Hayley.  It's only been one day, but the house seems so quiet without her!  She'll be gone for nine days with no communication with us at all!