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Greetings from 'it
never rains in Southern California' but it really did today:
Yesterday was a great day for watching the famous Rose
Parade! It was cold but we enjoyed watching the parade from
our amazing seating. We had first and second row seats on
Colorado Blvd. It does not get any better than that :-)
After the parade, we enjoyed a picnic in a parking lot as we
waited for the crowd to leave the area. Then we headed to
El Segundo Beach to enjoy the sun and ocean.
This morning we headed for St. Paul Lutheran Church in Los
Angeles. What an amazing service!! The message was great
and the choir was totally amazing!! We then helped them
undecorated their 25 foot Christmas tree. It was donated to
them. I have never seen that large a Christmas tree.
We had a 'sending service' with Pastor Williams at St Paul.
It was very meaningful.
Then we headed to Hollywood Blvd to drive through part of
Hollywood and to see the Grumman Theater where the movie
stars have their hand and feet prints in cement.
It rained and rained!
We completed the evening with pizza and over two hours of
group activities. What an amazing team!!!
Tomorrow we will be in the Watts/Compton area helping a lady
with painting and cleaning projects. We also will be
distributing the many items donated by Iowans--backpacks,
school supplies, health items, marked Bibles, underwear,
devotional books, etc. Please pray for a successful day as
we serve God.
Following are the reflections of our team on their
experiences of the past few days:
Pastor Kendall Meyer:
The reason my wife and I came out to be "Petal Pushers" was
because we are celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary. We
wanted to give back to God as He has served us during our
life together. We arrived in anticipation to serve in His
Kingdom in any way we could. I thank God for the
opportunity to serve as a "Petal Pusher" on four different
floats. Not only did we put on flowers, plant matter, and
other things on these floats but we also developed
relationships with others that we didn't have before. Most
of all, my faith has been increased by spending time in
prayer, devotions, and activities that highlight God's love
for us and how privileged we are to know what He has done
for us. My prayer is that the seeds we planted through our
interactions and discussions will sprout and grow.
Rachel Jurgensen:
It has been another fun and interesting mission experience.
Working on the floats was just awesome, walking in the door
made my mouth drop open seeing the huge floats and all of
the people working together to get the jobs done. The only
part that was frustrating was waiting for a “job”. We all
wanted to get there and get to work -- but soon enough we
all had jobs. Working side by side with people I have never
met before was great, getting to know them, chatting,
visiting about why we were there and telling them about the
“mission” we are trying to accomplish. Seeing the completed
floats in the parade was the “frosting on the cake”. The
Lutheran Hour float was seen by millions and I hope and pray
they are all reminded of Jesus and what He has done for
them. Go Petal Pushers!
Harvey Westphalen:
We just returned from the parade and it was good to see
things as they really are. It was much bigger than I
imagined. So far our trip has been very good. Meeting all
the people that I have never known before. Ellie has done a
wonderful job, keeping us busy. It took a good leader for
this job. We put in long hours but it’s enjoyable. We hope
and pray that we are an example to others who do not know
Jesus. There were a lot of people who were in Pasadena
today. We take four vans to go from place to place. It has
taken a lot to stay together; there is a lot of traffic most
of the time. Tomorrow is Sunday and we’ll attend church.
Monday we will go to Watts to deliver back packs and
clothing. Tuesday we will start for home.
Ronna Westphalen:
It was a privilege to help in the decoration of the
beautiful Rose Parade floats. I helped cut petals from
straw flowers for the Shriners’ float the first day. The
second day I got to help on the Lutheran Hour float. Our
IOWAY team helped on any float in the Rose Palace warehouse
where help was needed. When we went to the parade and saw
that floats that I and the IOWAY team worked to complete,
there was a definite feeling of pride. The amount of
mission materials (underwear, socks, health kits, school
supplies, etc.) for Watts and Compton was impressive as was
the packing of backpacks with those school supplies, Bibles,
markers, and candy canes. The IOWAY team is a friendly,
caring, and hardworking group. Ellie is a great leader.
The drivers and co-pilots are great also.
Mark Rowley:
The Lutheran Hour float was stunning when completed! We
provided a great witness when we went back as the “cavalry”
to work into the middle of the night. There were also
chances to witness, handing out the tools (bracelets, pins)
that we had been given, especially to young people. The
work ethic of our group is extraordinary. It has also been
exciting to prepare for the trip to Compton and Watts.
Kathryn Sprecher:
What a friend we have in Jesus…
Through safe travels in and around Los Angeles
Through new friendships made through opportunities to serve
Him as Petal Pushers
Through the sights and wonders of his creation in the
flowers, the ocean, the scenery through the upcoming
opportunity to serve in the Watts/Compton area
through ways to serve Him in our homes as a changed servant
for Him.
Janet Nelson:
I would encourage everyone to come at least once. The
opportunity to serve with fellow Christians decorating the
floats was great. Experiencing the floats and parade
sitting in the front row at 5AM in the cold was fun. Seeing
God’s creation of flowers used in this manner was amazing.
Witnessing through the Lutheran Hour float the love of Jesus
to the whole world. Meeting people from all over the
country who want to share Jesus was awesome!
Dee Christenson:
I’ve had a great time on the trip! I didn’t know what to
expect coming into it and was amazed by the whole
experience. We had an awesome group and I feel like I’ve
grown in my faith while interacting with everyone. The
teamwork it took to complete the floats led to great
memories and friendships.
Lynn Meyer:
It was a very good experience to have a part in sharing the
name of Jesus with so many. I feel blessed to have had the
opportunity to work on the float and cheer for Jesus on the
parade. Ellie and the team leaders were well organized. I
feel safe. The hotel is very pleasant, clean, and bright.
Terry Rowley:
It has been an awesome experience. I was able to work on
the Lutheran Hour float. The crew chief on that float is
great to work for. I have met people all over, who are
eager to work. We worked an extra shift to help get the
floats done and they were so appreciative of our help. It
is always interesting to see the detail of the floats and
then being able to say we were a part of it as it went down
the parade route.
Trudy Tompkin:
I have a new appreciation for those that work on the
floats. The amount of time and talent is astounding.
Seeing the floats you worked on go down the street was
wonderful. Knowing how many people saw “What a Friend We
Have in Jesus” and that the major television stations had
positive comments about the Lutheran Hour float was very
satisfying. I’m praying that it moved others as well.
Without God’s beautiful work, the floats would not be
possible.
Roseann Christensen:
When I decided to come on this trip, it was because I wanted
to experience decorating the floats, see the parade “live”
and go to California. Although I knew I was going with a
group of fellow Christians, I was not prepared for how much
camaraderie we would develop and the fun we would have! I
found the decorating to be exhilarating, exhausting, and a
blessing. Our devotions and fellowship were awesome.
Nathan Koch:
As an 18 year old and being the only high schooler on this
trip I enjoyed every minute of this trip because of all the
wonderful people I was with and got a chance to meet. If
you are someone who has seen the Rose Parade on TV and think
you know how they make the floats you are in for a treat
because the only way to experience it is in real life in
person watching and helping put together the floats. The
floats are even bigger than what you think when you actually
see them in person. The great benefit of this trip is you
get to have a front row seat at the parade which is the
coolest thing ever. Plus what better way to spend a week of
winter in LA!
Jered Greene:
Arriving in LA to the warm weather is always enjoyable
compared to Iowa’s low to mid-teen temperatures. As a
navigator/copilot, the low amount of traffic was a nice
surprise not knowing what to expect. It was quite the site
to walk into the warehouse to see the monstrous floats that
nearly brushed the ceiling. Having spare time to see
attractions is always a fun adventure. I would recommend to
anyone to make the trip and try to bring them along with me
on the next trip.
Arlene Haase:
The past two days have been a blessed experience for me. It
has given me the chance to help decorate the Lutheran Hour
float with its theme being “What a Friend We have in Jesus”,
and also other floats. It makes me wonder how God must have
felt in creating our Earth in seven days. Yet, with our
Heavenly Father’s leadership He gave us the strength and
will power to get the projects done Wednesday through
Friday. 19 out of 23 in the IOWAY group went back late at
night to help finish floats, but I was among three others
who stayed behind at the motel. During that time I was able
to talk to a lady from the East Coast to tell her about how
the Lutheran Hour was asked to leave the word “Jesus” out of
our main theme. She gave me the thumbs up when I told her
they had refused to take it out. The next morning (Friday)
during breakfast I had the opportunity to give another lady
from the East Coast some material on how to become a Petal
Pusher. Such Joy!
Pastor Gus George:
I enjoyed the float decorating, working with others with the
same goal. I also enjoyed the group experiences and working
on the Lutheran Hour float.
Ruth Gerken:
What a privilege to work on the Lutheran Hour float! It
opened my eyes to God’s amazing nature as the floats used
such beautiful materials from the roses, carnations, silver
leaf down to the onion seeds. Wow God’s creation is amazing
as man uses it to make beautiful floats. How fun it was to
talk to people from all over the country and different walks
of life. Some had amazing strong faith in Christ and others
were searching. Our team worked hard going above and beyond
even working until 3:00 in the morning to help finish the
floats. But we also had time to encourage one another,
laugh together, and just plain have fun! What a blessing
for me to come on this trip even though my husband was
unable to come.
Lisa Schneider:
This trip has been an amazing opportunity for me ... to be
such a small part in the making of the only Christian float
in the entire parade that millions of people saw. Wow!
What a great experience. Another thing is the fellowship
among the people in the group and the different people you
connect with that otherwise you would probably have never
met. I know this experience and the fellowship have
strengthened my faith in God.
Sandy Wulf:
Deciding to go on this IOWAY Mission trip has given me the
opportunity to witness the love that we all have for our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Just being able to be with
the group that we have has been uplifting for me. Working
on the floats was just totally awesome, and meeting
different people while working on the floats and being given
the chance to share the story of the witness bracelet with a
6th grader was the best. Watching the parade and seeing the
floats that we all worked so hard on was very emotional for
me. Being so proud of what we all did and being able to
witness together the love we all have for GOD. We have all
become so close this week and I pray that we can all remain
close. Praise the Lord!
Kathy Schneider:
Mission work takes many forms. Preparing the Lutheran Hour
float for the Rose Parade has been a great way to spread the
Word and form new friendships. I would like to thank IOWAY
for providing me this faith building opportunity.
Sharon George:
Wow what a great three days so far! Going in to the Rose
Palace and seeing the floats we were to work on was
awesome. Once assigned to a float, we begin to see all the
minute ways to put flowers on the floats. Working with our
team members and getting to know each other brought us
closer together. Seeing the changes in the floats in the
two days and then at the parade was great. It was fun at
the parade to compare the floats and how flowers were placed
compared to how we learned. It was a joy watching the
Lutheran Hour float come down the parade path knowing how
much I had worked on it on day two. The only thing I didn’t
care for was putting a person on the float as Jesus after
the beautiful stain glass of Christ, which I felt was
enough. I feel very blessed to have been here to work as a
“petal pusher”. |
