Kids in Kentucky

Hello Friends!
I'm so sorry that this post is so late, like really late. April 26-28, 2018 the sophomore class gathered at Ephrata Mennonite School at 6:30 in the morning.  We were aiming to be on the road by 7:00am.  17 energetic, excited students boarded a 32 passenger bus with their responsible, but fun, chaperones.  The bus started and the trip was off! 17 sophomores headed to Kentucky, The Creation Museum, and Ark Encounter! We arrived after a very long drive.  At our camp that evening we ordered in pizza and played frisbee, volleyball, and Spikeball! The next morning we headed about an hour away to the Creation Museum.  After exhausting the exhibits, we traveled to downtown Cincinnati for the afternoon and enjoyed, a carousel, a walk across the bridge, and cooling off in the water fountains! We stopped that evening for supper near a few restaurants, I chose Chick-fil-a, because WHY NOT? :) That evening, back at camp, we enjoyed volleyball (again:) and a campfire with singing (yeah, until 12:30am). The next morning, Saturday morning, we headed to the Ark Encounter and enjoyed that.  Finally, we packed up and headed home. Let's just say, that the ride home wasn't as anticipated or as enjoyable as the way home.  But we still managed to make memories, which included #lamejokesatmidnight, Vegetales' silly songs, and some intense games of Rook. Thanks guys for the incredible trip to Kentucky and memories to last a lifetime! ~Panda

New England, New Experiances: Ministry Arts Team Tour

Hey Friends,
Thanks so much to all of you who checked out the MAT blog while we traveled to New England! Sorry we weren't all better at keeping the blog updated; sometimes it was a little hard to find WiFi and such. :) Overall tour was a blast, and I would do it again 100%! Yeah, okay, we had some stressful rehearsals where not everyone got along in harmony, but that was like less than 1/4 of our awesome experiences! After traveling for about seven hours Friday, April 13th we arrived at our much needed destination, Andover Community Church in Andover, Vermont.  The members there provided us with a delicious supper and lodging that night after the program.  Throughout the tour, it was so cool to see God work, and I'm going to say specifically place people with certain host families.  Students on tour were placed with people who had similar interests, and I'm pretty sure that doesn't just happen! :) The next day we traveled to New Hampshire and HIS Mansion.  At HIS Mansion, we had some free time to run off some much needed energy and play basketball and volleyball (always a great way to run off energy;)! Sunday after lunch we left HIS Mansion, and headed to Maine where we sang at Sanford Brethren Church. We stayed in Maine for a night, and then Monday morning left for another long drive to New York City and Followers of Jesus Mennonite Church! That night I got to stay with my aunt and uncle who live in Brooklyn. :) Tuesday morning after a short, impromptu program for the students at Followers of Jesus School we headed for what we hoped to be the warmer Lancaster County (unfortunately that didn't work; it snowed when we got home). Back on the bus traveling home we enjoyed more time for fellowship and some entertaining music ;).  I'm sure that every one of the students on tour, could share their personal experiences and how they were challenged, changed, and humbled by the trip. :)  ~Panda