2023 Mission Trip - Houston, TX

 Our final day of the trip was bittersweet. We went shopping for souvenirs on 19th street in Houston! Then we went to the Nemmers for a fun taco party.  Two nights ago at Hope Lutheran's bingo night, some students won gift cards to menchies, a frozen yogurt place in Houston, so we all got frozen yogurt after lunch.  We went to abiding word to pick up Pastor Shone who dropped us off at the airport.  I took my final picture with Reggie, it was fun while it lasted, miss him already. Thank you again to the Mattek family for letting us use your car for the week, it was very much appreciated :)  We got to the Airport, went through security and we shopped for some last-minute souvenirs. We flew out at about 4pm.  We flew into MSP around 6:40 and got our luggage around 7:30, it was a very long wait :(  6:45pm 7:30 As of right now though, I'm missing everyone on the trip or involved with the trip. Wishing I could be back in TX right about now :(  It's been...

 We started the day nice and early, got some coffee, and headed to church to practice singing for the service at Hope Lutheran. Chloe and Sophia sang Your Will be Done and a new version of Abide With Me. Following the service, we helped with an easter for kids event which was so much fun! Some groups were making crosses, others were having snacks in the shape of Jesus' tomb, and there was also an easter sensory table.   After the Easter for kids event, we went to the Nemmers and chilled for a couple hours. We all instantly fell asleep watching stranger things around the couch/air mattress.  In the afternoon, we hung out with the LYC group, a youth group in the Houston Area. We played some fun games like 1 fish 2 fish, red fish blue fish, chair basketball, and some fun bible games, and we also taped our hands together and tried to tie our shoes.  Tomorrow is our last day, and we fly back to Minnesota :(  -Sophia 

Happy Day 7! It was another long day of work and fun! We started the day off at Love Dance Studio (Hope Lutheran Church). Chloe and Sophia practiced singing for church tomorrow while the boys played a game of Ninja!  Then, after practice, we all went out into the neighborhoods and dropped off the new mover bags that we got ready yesterday! After everyone got back, we ate a delicious lunch of smoked Texas brisket! Classic Taste of Texas right there folks! We all were pretty relaxed, so we chilled at the Nemmers' for a couple of hours.  Later in the afternoon, we headed to Memorial Park to soak up the sunshine and play around. (Everyone mostly basked in the warm air - it was a lovely 85 degrees fahrenheit, so it was a bit too hot for football)  We found Bluebonnets and just HAD to take pictures! We also saw a giant frog!  After the park, we headed to Rita's for some yummy Italian Ice to cool us down, then went back to the Nemmers' to grab supplies for dinner and headed...

 Today we started off by meeting at Hope Lutheran Church (also called Hope in the Heights), which is currently operating out of a dance studio. We did some training for handing out new mover bags tomorrow. We enjoyed lunch at the dance studio and filled some eggs for the Easter for Kids event on Sunday.  We also enjoyed some fun sightseeing around The Heights. This included shopping at MKT heights, going to a fun coffee shop called La La land, and the Houston farmers market.  We went back to Nemmers to chill out with Lola for a while!!  Then we went up to the Alford's house (friends of the Fuhrmanns) who hosted a pool party for us! We played some mean basketball games. That went on late into the night and now we are at our host families safe and sound.  This is the Alford's dog, Roxi. She was the sweetest puppy.  Finally, BeReal went off while we were traveling in the Mattek's van, who I've recently learned is named Reggie. He's the best.  Another grea...