Day Camp at the Salvation Army Eastside

This day starts early with 8am breakfast at the Payne Avenue worship and service center. All day, every weekday for the summer this Salvation Army location hosts a day camp for elementary age students. Each week has a theme and this week's theme was arts & entertainment.

The Speed BUMP team ate breakfast with the students and prepared for the opening. They shared their music and in true partnership, the SA kids taught what they've been learning for the summer. It was going to be a day of learning with and from each other.

Next up the team gave the students some drawing lessons and played some games. The kids put together photo albums of their adventures for the summer and shared their favorite stories.

Then the highlight: break-dancing lessons from Sarah Kelly of Hip Hope! It was fun and we learned you have to be physically fit for this kind of workout! We danced and had fun for two hours - lunch was late and welcome, especially for the guys!

Afternoon game time included board games and as many rounds of 9-Square as the team and kids could squeeze in the remaining hours. "Wait - it's time to go already? Will we be seeing these kids again?" It was amazing to watch relationships bloom in such a short amount of time and the 8 hours flew by.

For dinner the team enjoyed the "tradition" of Blue Door Pub Blucys for dinner with our host, John Hutton at Knox. It was clear his heart for ministry to international students. The team was taken with his humility as he shared the story of how God made provision for Knox to be used for serving internationals studying in the Cities.

Plumbing problems forced the usual change in schedule and we were allowed to use showers at the
Hospitality Center for Chinese on the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus. allowing us to see yet another way to "go" to those God has brought to us. Change can be good.