Planes, Mini Vans, T-Shirts ... Welcome to Los Angeles!!

Hi friends and family,

Monday night we arrived at a hotel in Omaha, went out to eat and had an informational meeting and devotions. We have arrived safe, sound and tired. :) Yesterday, Tuesday, was a long day for the IOWAY travelers! My day started at 4:30 am. 9 of us were on a shuttle to the airport at 5:30. The shuttle took three trips to the airport.

Everyone checked in and we were off to Dallas –Fort Worth. Flight was very smooth. Had 45 minutes to catch the next flight and all went well. Then a 3 hour flight to LAX. The 27 burgundy shirts gathered when getting off the plane. Off to claim the baggage…..54 pieces of luggage with yellow ribbons makes a big pile! ( Each person took one suitcase for their personal use and one packed with back packs, school and health supplies that we will be giving to the students at the end of VBS next week and some will go to the homeless in LA)

Pastor Porter, our Iowa District West Nehemiah missionary, met us at the airport. He helped us lug suitcases. We all piled on the Enterprise shuttles to pick up the 5 minivans that had been rented. Note: to those of you who have been on previous trips and know that it always took 1 ½ to 2 hours to get the minivans checked out…..good news. This time it only took 30 minutes. We were impressed! Now, how do you put 27 people, 54 large suitcases and 27 people’s carry on items into 5 minivans? Cooperation and skill. One team member said, “ I can pack well. I have 12 siblings!” We made it and headed to the Residence Inn which will be our home for the next two weeks.

Note to those who have been here before: The Residence Inn is even nicer than when you were here. They have completely remodeled all the rooms and the eating area. After checking in, Pastor Porter welcomed the group with thank yous and appreciation for coming to CA. Then, our growling stomachs told us it was time for food. After enjoying a tasty meal, we made our first stop at the famous Ralph’s grocery store. One team member who works at Fareway in Iowa said, “Wow, the prices are a lot different.” 27 matching shirts at Ralph’s always provides many opportunities to share the reason for our being in LA. Passing the discount card done the line of Iowa shoppers always brings lots of smiles.

After a two hour rest at the hotel, we were back on task. We are not able to use the big meeting room this week so we needed to be creative. We set up three long tables on the tennis/basketball court and unpacked and sorted the contents of our 27 suitcases. Everyone worked hard and in an hour, we had 154 backpacks packed with school supplies. LOTS of beanie babies, toothbrushes, toothpaste and health items were collected to give to the homeless on Saturday, the 11th.

The next and last project for the day was to sort the craft projects and skit props for use at the five churches that we will be working with during the next two weeks. When 9:30 hit and our bodies knew it was 11:30 it was time for bed. I am very happy with the servant hearts of all the team members. No whining or complaining, but lots of working together and laughing.

This morning, at 7:30, everyone was at devotions as we praised God for yesterday and prayed for guidance as we headed out for the day’s activities. More later. Thank you for your many prayers and words of encouragement.

Ellie Menz

PS Just got a call from one of the leaders that they have a flat tire. The rental company has been called and they are coming to change the tire.