Friends,
There are fires in Canada and Minnesota, and it smells like a campfire in Wausau. The air quality is not so good, so it was a good thing that we had the afternoon off and had planned indoor activities for our group. I went to Menards and we have N95 masks with respirators and our people have been told to wear them if they are working outside or have asthma or other health concerns.
The crews had lunch on the jobsite and returned to the school to prepare for the afternoon of fun. We went to Temple Israel to meet my friends, Karen and Peter, and were greeted with "Shalom aleichem". Peter gave us some insights into the Jewish faith, explained the ark that holds the Torah scrolls, unrolled a scroll and allowed us to look at it.
This synagogue has 3 Torah scrolls and the only difference between them is the size of the characters, small-medium-large are available. I cracked wise and said I would need the large print, and Peter pointed out that the scroll is held up, and the reader shows it to all the people gathered to hear it. The large print, it seems, would be too heavy for me. They are kept in an ark behind the podium in beautiful, decorated covers with a pointer because you are never to touch the parchment so as not to get your finger oil on the page and smear the ink. They read every word of the Torah over the course of a year, in Hebrew, every year. This is a reformed Synagogue, and head coverings are not required, men and women worship together, and their rabbi is a woman. Our kids and adults asked great questions, and we learned a few things about our Jewish sisters and brothers.
We left the Synagogue and headed to Walmart. Each mission trip, we bring extra money to spend in the community we serve and purchase items for a local organization as our offering. We were asked to get items that are ineligible from SNAP like cleaning supplies. The youth purchase their own items for this offering, can pool money with other youth to get larger items, etc. We filled the truck bed! On Friday night, all of the items from the Workcamp will be loaded and delivered to the food pantry.
Karen and Peter joined us for dinner at a local restaurant and, while the room was loud, more good conversation happened and I enjoyed connecting with my friend after so long apart. We ate some really good Italian pasta and really enjoyed the break.
We returned to the school to watch the talent show and cheered for the acts, providing affirmation for the individuals and groups getting vulnerable and sharing their talent. Then we worshipped. The youth are not shy about worshipping God and arms go around each other, hands are in the air, clapping is enthusiastic, and God is amazing!
It was the kind of day, and we were the kind of tired that had everyone in their sleeping rooms and asleep in no time!