Matthew the Painter / Comedian - Matthew M

Well hello there guys, its Matthew Morris! Today and this whole week has been pretyy amazing. Lots of close fellowship and lots of great times have been had in Joplin, MO. This week has been managable but this heat is another story however. Lots of heat. I felt a strong connection with the people that we worked for.  Mark and Vicky were great people and it felt good to help them out. We painted all day today, and however yellow it is I think that it looks great! I must say toay that I tried to lighten up the work environment. I got a lot of laughs but the majority were boos...but they secretly, deep down loved them. Well, its pretty late right now and I am looking forward to Silver Dollar City tomorrow. So good night! Or morning, or afternoon, whatever time it is for you right now. See you back in Brentwood! - Matthew M

Taking Care of Vicky - Colleen W

Hey everybody! This week has been wonderful and hot and wonderful some more and I can't believe our work days are finished. For the past two days, we have been helping a woman named Vicky repaint a house for her mother to move into. Vicky is currently taking care of her children and three households all at the same time, so it was clear that our help was needed. As a result of the heat, we weren't able to work past 2:00pm today and were not not able to completely finish painting the house. We were disappointed that we wouldn't be seeing a finished product, but an immense amount of work was done none the less. Vicky was incredibly appreciative for our presence and work at her house and had us all sign a picture frame that will soon hold a photograph of Brenthaven's Youth ROCKS. I am so excited and happy for Vicky and her new bright yellow house. This week has been wonderful and hot and wonderful some more, and Silver Dollar City, here we come! Adios - Colleen W

Will the Painter - Will E

Today, I felt like we accomplished a lot more than any other day. We started painting the house fisrt since we chipped off the old paint yesterday. We ended up up painting almost the whole house in a bright yellow color. The whole youth group worked very hard today and never even looked fatigued on any day of the week. - Will E

Mission (Trip) Possible: A Short Story - Davey P

It was a warm night in the summer of 2012, as the Youth ROCKS team began to settle for bed. The shadows were increasing in number and silence started to spread. Davey had received his mission. He didn't have a reason for it, he didn't need one. Not knowing who was friend and who was foe, he accepted the mission. Poised in his sleeping bag like a cat ready to strike that was waiting in a sleeping bag, Davey watched closely as the targets were revealed. But if that were the end of it all. it wouldn't be a mission worth writing about. The owner of the flip flops that were Davey's target to take, Kip Rush, was less than a foot away. A nervous Davey, trusting nobody, knew that the chance to sneak in quiet was long gone, and waited the many minutes till the lights were extinguished. The unlikely ally, who out of respect has not been named (we'll call him Zoah), dimmed the lights and turned the other way. Humming the tune to Mission Impossible, Davey sneaked over and took the prize for his own. Davey sneaked out and placed the shoes at the door of his employer, and disappeared into the night. The following day, Davey and Zoah's covers were blown. So Davey has two questions left - Why was this mission put upon him, and who revealed his identity? Only time will tell... - Davey P

Farms, Food and Fellowship - Jim G

Yesterday we went to a person's farm. We helped him clean up outside so he can move back in. There were sticks everywhere. We helped him move the sticks to back in the back and saw the mine back there. He hopes to move back home this week. Then we went to Golden Corral for dinner. That was very good and I have had a lot of fun this week! - Jim G

The Lost Mine of Joplin - Hannah H

Yesterday, Tuesday, our youth group went to a man's house named Mark. His property was the first place that the tornado touched down in. He had a lot of land. We were loading sticks and debris on to trailers in the front of the property and taking it to the back of the property. Haley and I got to ride to dump the sticks once. When we got back there, there was piles and piles of sticks and debris. Also, there was a thing that they call the "Lost Mine of Joplin." We were told that they used to mine lead there. Also, it is flooded, and there was a lake at the front of the cave. Mark was once offered 2 million dollars for it, and he wouldn't sell it! That is my favorite part of the trip so far, because it was so beautiful - Hannah H

Demolishing a Ceiling - Zoe N

On Mondy Colleen, Matthew, Joe, Mr Day, Mr Morris and I went to a house that was damaged by the tornado. Unfortunately, we did not have the tools that were necessary to do the job, so we hd to wait for 3 hours for them to get there. But we had fun getting to know each other a little better. Once the tools arrived we demolished the ceilings of two of the rooms. Even though we did not have much time, we got a lot of work done and had fun doing it. I can't wait to see what we have in store for us later in the week! - Zoe N