First Lutheran Church

After driving for nearly 13 hours, the team arrived around 9 p.m. Sunday evening! We're all super excited and ready to get to work this morning at the Youth Works Dream Camp!

Today was our first work day and we went to the Youth Works Dream Camp. Following that, we went to Standpipe Hill which is a historical marker in Tulsa. While there we chose to pray over the city and thank God for the progress that Tulsa has made! 

Tuesday morning at the ranch, the team decided to do a unique activity with the kids. We took a large poster board and wrote the phrase "Before I die I want to..." Following this we asked the kids to share what they would like to accomplish in their lives and what their dreams were! This led to some amazing conversations with the kids and opened up pathways to make connections with them!

Later on Tuesday morning, some of the team members took groups of kids and opened up a time of prayer for and with them. During this time they asked the kids if they had anything in their lives that they might want to share or pray over. This was a great way to set a good example for the kids and show how much we care about them! 

To end our Tuesday, we took the team out for ice cream at a local favorite, Braums! This was a great way for the team to be able to bond further as well as treat themselves to something nice after a long workday! 

Wednesday was the last full work day we had with the kids so we knew we had to make it good! We began the morning with some worship that had motions, which the kids enjoyed. Post worship, we went to our normal rotations with the kids and continued to share our love and faith with them!

To finish off our Wednesday work, the team joined the kids at the Tulsa Technical School for a campus tour. Getting to see the pure joy these kids had just from seeing airplane parts was truly warming to the hearts and minds of the team! 

Since this week has had its ups and downs, the team decided to go bowling for some good bonding time. We had lots of fun as we laughed and teased each other about our bowling skills! It will truly be an unforgettable trip!

Thursday morning was our last morning working with the kids at the ranch. Because of the heat, we decided to bring out the water balloons and have some fun! The kids loved getting to throw them at the leaders and the leaders enjoyed getting wet and cooling off! 

To end our last evening together, we took the opportunity to have a time of communion and prayer together. We also chose to pray over the leaders as they are traveling home. This week was amazing and we're all so thankful for the week we had with the kids and together as a team!