Since my blog journey is about halfway to the end, I figured it was a good time to talk about Faith Journey.
I am a proponent of doing service work. We are all in different predicaments. I would like to think that those predicaments were caused specifically by actions. You are in a good spot by doing good things or vice versa. Life isn't always that way. Stuff happens.
Sometimes those going through stuff need to vent or no others have been there and it doesn't last forever. As a youngster, I felt a strong need to help others. The best way to do it was through my church. Each summer they had summer service trips called "Faith Journey".
Faith Journey allowed me to help others and see the US. I was lucky enough to go on 13. Below are the sites and then a few memories.
1987 Houston
1989 Chicago
1990 Denver
1991 Kansas City
1992 Camp Courageous , Monticello Iowa
1993 Denver (to see the Pope)
1994 Camp Courageous , Monticello Iowa
1995 Minneapolis
1996 Smith, KY
1997 Springfield, Mo
1998 Detroit
1999 Denver, Via Cheyenne Wyoming
2000 Dallas
1989. Chicago. Fun times. There were just four guys on the trip, Brad Johnson, Dave Van Blair, the late great Larry Norcross and me. Our job in downtown chicago was to scoop a garage filled 6 feet high with rock. We would scoop it into the back of an old shell van. Then "Demolition" Dennis the driver would take back alleys at 45 mph to a location where we would dump the rock. It was a long hard 3 days. BUT AWESOME. We passed the time with the songs of 1989. Fine young cannibals. Milli Vanilli, Paula Abdul, and unfortunately NKOTB. Great times. Got to see wrigley for the first times. Father Michael Pfleger topped it all off with a great Sunday Sermon before we left.
1992. Camp Courageous. I wasn't sure at first about spending a week there as my singing of "We belong in the city" would attest" but it grew on me big time. Its awesome. Special thanks to Zach Hickman in 1994 for stealing our paddles when we were canoeing the Maquoketa River.
1993. Seeing the Pope. I liked John Paul II. It was cool seeing everyone pack old Mile High. A bunch of nuns were singing and rocking sister act style from the cheap seats.
1995. In Minneapolis it was interesting when people at a homeless shelter would , "you don't get being homeless." I would retort, "Actually, I do."
1996. Appalachia. Its like Justified but more southern. Amazing
1998. I loved going to detroit and also into canada. Fun times. The year I missed was to Miami. too dangerous my folks said. Others didn';t go to detroit for the same fears. It was great working on homes there.
1999. Met the late Taco John. John Turner. He created taco John's. Such a great guy.
2000. Rode a bull. more on that later on in the month
Due to bureaucracy and narrowmindedness, I stopped doing Faith Journeys after y2k. I could never do one now-- Back in the day, no walkmans were allowed. Now everyone is attached to a phone. I don't think I could deal.
I will always do service work, just will choose to do it with Suzy or small groups. maybe a medical mission trip to San Salvador if Mrs. Mangrich lets me ;)
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