Day 8
After an eventful night of church hide-n-seek that ended with the police doing a walk-through of First Lutheran of Kearney, most of the group got minimal sleep and was ready to be back in our own beds. Breakfast and clean-up were quick as the kids were motivated to be home at this point. With a stop at Starbucks and filling up the vans, we were on the road northeastbound. Most everyone slept between Kearney and our first stop for gas once we made it to Iowa. For lunch, we stopped in West Des Moines and had Culvers with Cori Forcey! It was fun how surprised all the youth were to see her, many of whom have not seen her since she left Prince of Peace two summers ago. Cori parted ways with us after lunch, but she encouraged us to stop and tour her church, Lutheran Church of Hope- West Des Moines. We were all blown away by the size (and budget) of Lutheran Church of Hope (the largest ELCA congregation in the country) and had fun exploring their movie theater-like sanctuary and their brightly painted children/youth center. I am still curious what the VBS budget was as there was a real sailboat sitting in their front entrance. After a long tour to stretch our legs, we made it back in the vans to head home. I am happy to announce that all 13 youth and 4 adults came home with minimal complications ( and no surprise trips to the ER!).
We had an incredible week in Denver, spending time in nature, talking about identity with a focus on the book of John and Jesus’ “I am…” statements, and growing in relationship with one another.
I owe a sincere thank you to all the youth: Lyla, Micah, Wes, Enna, Addy, Natalie, Sofie, Allie, Teruni, Lucy, Teagan, Kaelyn, and Ashwini for their flexibility and willingness to show up with their whole selves all week. It was an honor to share the week with you, and I hope you all know how awesome and loved you are.
To my chaperones: Scott Tunseth, Erika Warkentein, and Bryce Bommersbach. It was a privilege to work with each of you and I am so grateful for your willingness to spend 30+ hours in the car and countless nights with minimal sleep to make sure that PoP’s youth had the best time this week. From fundraisers to group meetings to random kid wake-ups and keeping me calm during stressful moments, I really lucked out with the best. I hope you all got just as much joy out of this week that I did. And some well-deserved rest.
Additional thank yous go to Caryn Josephson for keeping all the fundraising straight and paying all our trip bills. To Kristin Bloxham, for ongoing advice throughout the planning process and for always being backup support if we needed anything. To Melanie Hill, for checking in on me throughout the planning process and while we were in Denver, I appreciate your mentorship. To Pastor Peter, for his assistance in renting the vans and making sure we were set to go before his Sabbatical. To Pastor Walter, for his ongoing prayers throughout our trip. To Milt Warkentein, for hosting a benefit concert on our behalf and for his ongoing, relentless support of Prince of Peace’s youth ministry. We are so grateful to have you as an advocate, Milt! To Andrew Hannesh, the best assistant youth director and husband I could ask for. From not caring that I would be gone over our 1st wedding anniversary, to always responding “Sure, how can I help?” to all my crazy ideas, you make my life better every day. Thank you for pushing me, encouraging me, and hyping me up when needed. All 11 fundraisers we pulled off were only possible because of your support (and willingness to make 100s of pancakes and hotdogs – you are truly the best).
And to the many others that have donated, volunteered, and prayed for the high school youth at Prince of Peace, I am so grateful for each and every one of you. As I celebrated my two-year anniversary of being Prince of Peace’s Director of Youth and Family Ministries this past week, I am continuously reminded of what an awesome, supportive community I get to be a part of. You all make my job so worthwhile. Thank you for making our week in Denver, Colorado amazing.
Peace,
Julene Hannesh
Director of Youth and Family Ministries