Tuesday - It must be Memphis!

Today dawned in Kansas City, MO, with rain (again), early (again) and rushed to get packed, breakfasted, and loaded (again). After a great day at Worlds of Fun Amusement Park yesterday, we headed to St. Louis for lunch, then on to Memphis, TN. Every thing and every body is wet today. Just when you think you are starting to dry out, you have to get out into the rain for something else.

We spent from noon to 2:00 pm in St. Louis, MO. All the freshman went up in the Arch with Denny and Tammy. Katie confided that she was trying to conquer both acro- and claustrophobia by going up in one of the "eggs" that take you up to look over all of St. Louis. She was SO proud when she was finished with the trip. The rest of us found a nice little restaurant on the riverfront. Only one waitress, and slow cooks made lunch late, so after an hour and 15 minutes we had to ask for to-go boxes then ran back to the busses so we would not delay departure. After we finished eating outside the buses we still had to wait another 15 minutes for the other groups to get back to the bus. OUR GROUP WAS ON TIME, and has been "religiously".

One of our drivers, Sean, found out that the tornado which touched down outside of Denver (Arvada), knocked down trees near his house. They hit his car and blocked both the front and back entrances. He got a call from his wife on her failing cellphone that she and the children were all ok, but that rescue efforts had not yet gotten to their house to help them get out.

Our kids made efforts to actually GET TO MEET people from other churches. Supper time at ChowTown in Memphis found our freshman boys choosing to sit at a table with four pretty young ladies from Casper, WY.

Tammy has been an outstanding influence on our kids. She has modeled how to be outgoing and encouraged them to step out and get to know new people. She has been right in the middle of the action from day one with enthusiasm and non-stop energy.

I cannot say enough times how fun it is to have Denny and MaryLou Erickson on this trip. They have come to love the kids with the reverse being true also. Whenever I think about how uncomfortable I am getting on the long rides, I try to be thankful that I am not 6 foot, 5 inches.

Pastor Kuenzel's high today was the replacement of the cellphone charger that is still plugged into a motel wall in Denver!

Made it to Denver!

Nineteen souls left Los Alamos this morning VERY close to on time. We made a stop at the railroad park in Alamosa and enjoyed the bag lunches, shade, grass and a wedding. A couple terms to remember when we get home are:
HoneyCakes - ask Zac and Tammy about that one.
"Say 'hi'to Leo the Leaf God" (a Ben-ism)
and
"You're 18 now, everything is illegal and they send to REAL jail." (Kiley)
Those are just the ones that I overheard. Stay tuned for more.
We made it to Denver about 6:40, went to supper at the Black-Eyed Pea (a couple letters were not lit so it was really the Blaced Pea.

Some of the highs for today were food, friends, laughter, getting out of LA on time, and great mountain scenery all the way up.

Some of the lows were: riding in a van for almost 7 hours, its hot here too, and leaving a camera bag on the floor at the Black-Eyed Pea. (that's why there are no pictures to post tonite)

Thank you Lisa Mietz and Barb Poston for the great Chaperone Survival Kits. I will use the first of the earplugs tomorrow. Knowing you are praying for us is awesome!

Tomorrow we meet the rest of our group at Nativity Lutheran Church in Commerce City and then headd to Kansas City. Traveling in our bus will be 23 members from the Youth Ministries in Caspar, Wyoming.

In Christ's Name,
Matt