The Lutheran Church of Hope – Ankeny IMPACT team shares about their day that started with an emotional, tear-jerking devotional, which profoundly affected the entire team. Instead of a workday, the team had their Cultural Experience Day , filled with adventures to a local Farmer’s Market, a visit to Pete’s Pub for lunch and shell gathering , and fun at Winding Bay. After a day of exploring, the team shared vulnerable stories during their IMPACT session, where they realized just how intentionally God had placed them together.
We started the morning like every other morning in the meeting hall with breakfast. Little did we know that we would all be profoundly affected by the devotional story our fellow team member, Shane, would tell. It was an emotional story that brought all of us to tears. Literally ALL of us. But in the end, we were inspired and in awe of the connections and future events that would ripple through those involved in his story.
Rather than another work day, today was all about having a cultural experience.
We started our adventure at a small Farmer’s Market, Maxwell’s Grocery, and Salty Island Gift Shop which had multiple handmade crafts. Another long bumpy drive brought us to Pete’s Pub for an incredible lunch and shell gathering at the beach.
Next stop…Winding Bay for some fun in the sun and in search of the lost Apple watch (inside story). Telling stories on the way back to camp, we discovered so many connections we had to each other. It seems God placed this team together for this particular trip at this particular time.
Back to camp and another delicious dinner and our Many Hands IMPACT Journey workbook. Vulnerable stories were shared, many supportive tears were shed and powerful prayers were prayed with “many hands” laid upon our newly formed family members. In the end, we learned that even the smallest encounter can make a huge IMPACT if you have the love of Jesus in your hearts.
– Beth, Susan, and Tonia
