Remembering Toronto

First week of August eight youth and three adults from my church flew to Toronto for a week of adventure and ministry with Youthworks. I’m preparing for a group reunion next week and realized that I never blogged about the trip.

It was everything you’d expect from a short term trip –new experiences, different foods (for us it was bubble tea), very little sleep, high emotions, God experiences, new friendships, struggles, and just the right mix of surprises. This is what stood out:

• Surprise leader switch three days because of medical reasons.


• Waiting in the airport 8 hours because the new male leader was Scott, my boss and Sr. Pastor who had to preach before flying to Toronto. We didn’t leave because our rental van needed the license class Scott has (and I don’t) to drive.


• Street walk organized by a downtown shelter and lead by a former addict who shared his experience and the realities of life on the streets.


• Spending two nights (Tues and Fri) in the hospital with one my students. She’s okay now and the trouble was caused by a preexisting condition.


• My ministry site, St. Jude’s Academy of the Arts which is a is a non-profitable organization that reinforces academic programs for "special needs" adults ages 18 and over. Working with the students there was the best part of the whole week.

Below you’ll find some pictures from the trip