Pasadena #8 Update 1-3-16

PETAL PUSHER UPDATE # 8   (SUNDAY, JAN. 3, 2016)

A week ago today the Petal Pushers from Iowa met in Kansas City and prepared to fly to LAX the next morning.  The group from Indiana flew from Indianapolis early in the morning and we met  when we arrived in California.  We have bonded and become one group of God’s purple shirted people on a mission.  So much has happened since then.

We decorated floats for three days, watched the famous Rose Parade from Colorado Boulevard, toured the USS Iowa Battleship, some went to the Reagan Museum, and most of us went to the beach.  We have eaten together and had group devotions at the hotel many times.  We have been shopping at the 99¢ store, engulfing the store in purple shirts, and today we went to the Union Rescue Mission in the midst of Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles to work and hand out personal and health items to the homeless.  We also handed out bags, underwear, socks, t-shirts, Bibles, hats, candy, etc.

Our journey to Skid Row was made easier this year because Ellie reserved three van/buses to take us there.  This was much better than maneuvering eight rental cars and all the items we brought with us into the fray of the city.  I am positive all the drivers agree it was so much better to be taken there.   When we arrived we unloaded all of our cargo into the building and were taken into the chapel for an orientation about the Union Rescue Mission.

As we were given tasks, some were asked to play with children, some worked in the kitchen and food serving line, some prepared food for tomorrow’s breakfast, and many set up tables and laid out items to be given to different groups of homeless people who came through.  We came with thirty suitcases of items plus boxes and boxes of Bibles and overflow items.  We left with nothing, not even the empty suitcases!  Thanks to the giving spirit of God’s people in Indiana and Iowa, the love and face of Jesus was present today on Skid Row.

When we returned from Skid Row around 3:30, we went to our rooms for naps and met again at 5:45 to share a group meal at the Hometown Buffet a few miles from our hotel.  On the way back to the hotel, the drivers filled the rental cars with gasoline so we are ready for our return to Enterprise early in the morning.  The Iowa group must be on the road by 6:00 a.m. in order to fly back on Southwest Airlines at 8:30.  LAX is sometimes a zoo so there will be no time to waste jumping through the security hoops and check-in procedures.  The Indiana contingent will have an easy day tomorrow for they do not leave California until 6:00 p.m.  The problem they will have is a very late arrival in Indianapolis.

When we returned to the hotel this evening, we had our Sunday worship service led by Pastor Ernst.  He was a former pastor in Iowa District West and is now retired and living in Indiana and is a member of this mission team.  We took a collection during the service, a common practice among Lutherans, and it will be given to Kimberly so she can purchase books for the children in her classroom to read.  She had expressed that as a concern last evening when she spoke to us.

As our last night came to a close, Ellie shared some ways we can continue to serve when we return home.  Some items she shared included making pillow case dresses, shorts from t-shirts, witness bracelets to give to people at fairs next summer, and sponsoring kids in Haiti.  We also received lists of addresses for everyone on our mission team so we can stay in touch when we get back home. 

Ellie ended the serious part of our evening by bringing to our attention a sobering thought.  She pointed out that the people gathered in the room tonight will in all likelihood never all be together again.  God had brought us all together as strangers and now we will scatter as friends to be lights and salt in the world where we live.  After all the fun we had and the experiences we shared and the work we accomplished, we had arrived at the finish line.

Secret servant gifts were handed out and the identity of secret servants was revealed at the very end of our time together. With nothing more to be done, we formed two circles and had closing prayer.   Each person took a turn and expressed whatever was on his/her heart.  There were grateful hearts for all that had happened this past week and for friendships and opportunities we had shared and experienced together.  The meeting room we were privileged to use all week was tidied up, chairs stacked, trash collected and papers picked up and lights turned off.  The room fell silent and the doors were closed as we disbursed to our rooms.  The Pasadena Mission Trip was finished.

As the mission trip is coming to a close, just a personal comment or two.   I can truthfully say I am really tired.  I sense a need for time away, time to recharge and process all we have accomplished this week.  I need some quiet time to come down from the high and get back on smooth ground.  Routines are generally boring but I am ready for a simple routine again for a short time at least.  The only thing I am not ready for are the temperatures I hear about back in the Midwest.  There was some mumbling about single digits but I have decided to ignore that for the time being.  Maybe I will be able to sleep on the plane tomorrow and wake up in Kansas City only to realize the cold temperatures I heard about was just a dream.

So, to my readers wherever you may be, thanks for staying with me and for being part of our mission adventure in sunny California!  I hope this has helped you to visualize all that has happened during our adventure and perhaps instilled a desire to do something like this yourself.

At any rate, as I close this last update, may God bless and keep each member of this team and all those who have been part of the adventure by reading daily updates.

Sincerely,

Lynn Menz

Pasadena UPDATE #6 1-2-16

Pasadena UPDATE #6   1-2-16

Today was scheduled to be our “free day” and so it was.  Some people drove to Simi Valley to visit the Ronald Reagan Museum and to see the beautiful country in that part of California, north of where we are staying.  I asked a few of them about their day when they returned and I heard how they very much enjoyed the trip and the visit.

Some people drove south to the San Pedro area to the Battleship USS Iowa.  I was in that group.  We had a tour arranged but due to some technical difficulty it didn’t get scheduled.  However, there was a tour guide, a volunteer, who happened to be there on his day off so they asked him to take our group.  We were treated to over a two-hour tour of this magnificent ship even though the tours are slated to be one and a half hours long.  This man had so much information at his disposal, including much technical information about the ship, its armaments, operation, times it saw action and people who had served on this ship.  What a fantastic day we had!

Some people stayed at the hotel to simply take a break and rest from the long hours we have been keeping.  Still others took a shuttle and went shopping on a pier at a nearby beach.  From what I understand, and from a cell phone photo I saw, they ate in a restaurant that is built out over the water.  I also was told they had a delicious meal which included eating shark!  And I am betting they had some great shopping experiences as well.

Most of the people also worked in a trip to the beach.  Our group came back from the battleship and headed for El Segundo Beach.  Heather had never seen the Pacific Ocean but she has now connected with it as a cold ocean wave came rolling in and washed over her bare feet.  Cheryl also immediately had her shoes off and walked on the sand towards the water.  As the next big wave came in, she began rapidly backing up to avoid getting her pant legs wet.  She ended up getting really intimate with the mighty Pacific for she stumbled and ended up sitting in the sand as the wave caught up and sloshed past her.

We posed for photos on an outcrop of rock before returning to the hotel.  We had a nice tour of the town of El Segundo in the process because our fearless leader forgot which street would take us to the ocean and we had to drive around a bit to find it.

At five o’clock we all met in the hotel meeting room, received purchasing instructions, and drove to the 99¢ store to buy the remaining items to fill the towel kits we will be handing out at Skid Row tomorrow.  Back at the hotel, we unloaded everything onto tables and filled the waiting towels with all the personal hygiene items.  All the suitcases we had filled back in Iowa, and all those we just assembled, will be traveling with us to Skid Row tomorrow.  We will also be taking socks, underwear, coloring books for kids and boxes of Bibles for distribution.

Kimberly, a friend and teacher who has an amazing ministry in a very poor section of Los Angeles, met us at the store and we purchased about four hundred dollars worth of school supplies she needed for her classroom.  She is an amazing and dedicated teacher who requests all the middle school students who are problem kids.  She does so because she understands where they come from, why they act the way they do and knows how to deal with them.  They respond to her love and her discipline and dedication to the teaching profession.  She tells them she is praying for each of them and will love them and there is nothing they can do about it.

Kimberly came to the hotel and spoke to us afterwards about her teaching experiences and gave her personal story and testimony in her riveting presentation!  We were spellbound for nearly an hour as she spoke.  She told us about how she pushes her students and requires more of them than other teachers.  Gangs live in her area and she talked about how she deals with members who put graffiti on her property.  This beautiful woman stands upon the word of God and refuses to be fearful.  I am sure it brought a new perspective to all of our lives as we listened to her amazing stories.

She had also brought cupcakes and two cakes  that she had baked.  Amazingly, in this year’s Petal Pusher mission team, there were seven December birthdays so we all got to sit around the cake table while everyone sang Happy Birthday to us.  Then we dug into the cake.  We were not prepared. We were without silverware and plates but the hotel provided plastic plates and spoons from the breakfast area.  We found that cake can be cut with the handle of a spoon but it produces a lot of crumbs.  Eventually someone went to their room and returned with a real knife and all was well.

Today was a free day but it was filled with so much activity that it was exhausting, especially for those who did the driving.  It is past midnight and we are just getting to bed.  Tomorrow will come early as we are scheduled to leave at about 8:30 for our service project at Skid Row in the downtown area of Los Angeles.  That adventure awaits.

Good night!

Lynn Menz – one of the December birthday cake eaters

Pasadena update #6 1-1-16

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Welcome to 2016 and what it will bring into your life!  For me, it started much too early!   Ellie set the alarm for 3:30 a.m. and that just doesn’t seem to be the right way to begin a new year.  But, what do I know?  We needed to be ready to meet our group in the lobby of our hotel to start the day’s adventure at 5:00 a.m. Did you know it’s still really dark at that hour of the morning?  As my two year old grandson would say, “I no yikes it!”

Obviously, there is a reason for such an early start.  We needed to be on California’s numbered cement ribbons, also known as interstates, so we could arrive in Pasadena by 6:00 to claim our seats for the famous Rose Parade.  People had been up all night saving them for us right along Colorado Boulevard.

 Today we had to match up cars and drivers and riders.  After the parade, some were going from there to shuttles that took them to the football game.  Vivian was already on the parade route because she will be riding on the float.  Those who are not attending the game need to have enough cars and the right drivers to get back to our hotel to watch the game on TV.  We finally had it all worked out so everyone was able to get where they needed to be.

The parade was awesome, as it always is, viewed from our spot along Colorado Boulevard, right in the middle of the route.  It began with a fly over of the Stealth Bomber down Colorado Boulevard, truly a sight to behold!  As that plane comes low towards our position nearly everyone gasps and all eyes are looking up, following it as it roars past.   When there is a conflict, I am certainly glad I am on the same side as that bomber!

 I believe there were forty-four floats in the parade this year in addition to all of the marching bands and equestrian units.  I won’t even attempt to explain any details of all the magnificent floats in the parade.  If I use one word to sum it up, it would simply be fantastic!  After decorating so many floats and understanding the work and skill that went into each one, there is an appreciation level greater than what the average person sees.  If I had to pick out one float that topped them all, it would be the Disney entry!  Find it online and see for yourself.  As one person expressed, it almost made me cry when I saw it because it was that beautifully done!

The Lutheran Hour float was near the end of the parade this year and all of the Petal Pushers stood and cheered as it went past.  Vivian, a member of our group, was riding on the float and waving to us and we cheered her on. To be honored in that way no doubt made it a day she will never forget.  Of course we have great pride in our beautiful float, the only Christian float in the parade.  Many in our group worked very hard to decorate it.  We now have those memories and photos of it moving down Colorado Boulevard so we can relive this experience for a lifetime.

As we arrived at our viewing location early this morning in the dark and cold, Eric Hansen from Channel 8 TV, and Glenn his photographer, came to enjoy the parade with us and to do additional interviews.  He generated additional reports and they have already been aired back home in Iowa.  We cannot wait to see what he put together.  We have had quite the coverage from that station.  It would be great if many of you could write and thank them for covering our efforts in Pasadena.

After the parade, we went back to our cars and had a ‘trunk lunch’ of sandwiches, chips, etc. We do this to allow time for many of the million people in Pasadena to leave before we head to the game and back to the hotel.

Then there is the big game.  I hope those who went enjoyed the adventure if not the score! Memories were made even if the ending left so much to be desired.

Our evening ended with devotions at 7:30, sharing pows and wows from the day, and sharing of prayer needs so we can each pray for others in our group over the coming weeks.  Tomorrow is our free day so we discussed tomorrow’s events.  Groups will go to visit the USS Iowa Battleship, the Reagan Museum or go to the beach.  Afterwards we plan to go to the 99¢ store to purchase items to complete our service project items for Skid Row the following day.

Lynn Menz – Exhausted Petal Pusher and Rose Parade watcher