Wisconsin Rocks My Face Off
Got back in town yesterday evening from my adventures in Milwaukee and Chicago! Milwaukee first--I was introduced to LOTS of people, many of them as "This is Chris and Erin...they rock my face off!" so I'm returning the favor. We had long, full days, which will hopefully be fruitful in the days, weeks, months, and even years to come for the mission. It all started at 8:45 the morning after our plane landed around 1:00 am with speaking to 7th graders, then 8th graders, then high schoolers, and finally students at Concordia, Mequon. Hitting up all the grade levels in one day! We even squeezed in a trip to the Jelly Belly factory in Pleasant Prairie that afternoon. I especially enjoyed our time at Concordia, where I met a senior named Emily who is a Spanish/German/Education major that has already applied for an LCMS World Mission position in Spain. Actually we met at the highschool, where she student teaches, but we really got to talking (in Spanish) that night. I mentioned that she should consider taking my job when I leave, which would be a total answer to prayer. She actually seemed interested; I can't wait to talk to her more when she comes in June (the church we were visiting, St. John's in West Bend, is bringing a group the week after Father's Day).
The next day was mostly sightseeing, although we did discuss SOME mission business over dinner at a typical fish fry place. We strategized a little bit with the group leader/missions director from St. John's about how to make their week as impactful as possible.
More sightseeing on Saturday, then the St. John's school auction that evening. It was one of those elegant, sit-down dinner affairs that we were privileged to attend so as to rub elbows with some of the biggest movers and shakers in the congregation.
Sunday was OUR day. It started off with a mission fair in the morning, which was the driving force behind our being in Wisconsin in the first place. The plan was to use my prize winnings (mission fair materials and a Skype session with a missionary) from the LCMS Mission Month Photo Contest in October, but unfortunately there was a mix-up and the box of materials never made it to us. Mostly we were OK, although I was missing some of the kids' stuff since a couple Sunday school classes spent some time perusing the tables. We did get to Skype though, with Katie Lane in Peru. Smal world--her dad, mom, and brother have all been to YLM on a servant event with Mayer Lutheran High School in Mayer, MN! It was great to "meet" a fellow GEO, and I could tell she was encouraged by getting to see and hear some familiar faces and voices. Sunday night the church held a YLM-only dinner fundraiser for us. Chris cooked Mexican brisket, rice, and charro beans, and we were able to give about a 40 minute talk followed by some Q & A. About 30 people were in attendance, including our friends Ellen and Marybeth from St. Paul Lutheran Church in Mt. Prospect, IL. We drove back to Chicagoland with them to begin the next leg of our adventure, but that's another blog for another day. Here are some photos from The Dairy State:
Miller Park--the Brewers were out of town the whole time we were there, we checked!
Cases of Miller Lite fresh off the packaging lines at the MillerCoors brewery.
All of that inventory will have turned over in 36 hours!
The conveyor belts go right across the street!
Brew kettles at Miller.
Mural in the historic Miller caves. I gotta say, after touring all 3 major breweries, Miller is the only one with caves!
The Milwaukee Art Museum.
Splendid view of Lake Michigan, wouldn't you say?
Cedar Creek in Cedarburg, WI, one of America's Prettiest Towns and home to the Cedar Creek Winery, which we toured.
Big Cedar Lake as seen from Timmer's, the fish fry where we ate dinner on Friday night.
The mascot of Sprecher brewery, a griffin. Aside from beer, they also make all kinds of soda: root beer, cream, orange, red apple, Ravin' Red (cranberry + cherry), red raspberry, and probably some others. You get unlimited samples of that at the end; red raspberry is the best!
We went to a burger/frozen custard place for lunch after Sprecher, and they had cows by the parking lot! Here's me and Patti, a friend from St. John's who has been to YLM twice.
Of course I climbed ON the cow instead of just posing WITH the cow!
Our table at the St. John's mission fair on Sunday morning. Thanks guys for the display board; it added a much-needed vertical element! Also, you can't tell in the photo but the computer is playing Mariachi San Pablo music!
The next day was mostly sightseeing, although we did discuss SOME mission business over dinner at a typical fish fry place. We strategized a little bit with the group leader/missions director from St. John's about how to make their week as impactful as possible.
More sightseeing on Saturday, then the St. John's school auction that evening. It was one of those elegant, sit-down dinner affairs that we were privileged to attend so as to rub elbows with some of the biggest movers and shakers in the congregation.
Sunday was OUR day. It started off with a mission fair in the morning, which was the driving force behind our being in Wisconsin in the first place. The plan was to use my prize winnings (mission fair materials and a Skype session with a missionary) from the LCMS Mission Month Photo Contest in October, but unfortunately there was a mix-up and the box of materials never made it to us. Mostly we were OK, although I was missing some of the kids' stuff since a couple Sunday school classes spent some time perusing the tables. We did get to Skype though, with Katie Lane in Peru. Smal world--her dad, mom, and brother have all been to YLM on a servant event with Mayer Lutheran High School in Mayer, MN! It was great to "meet" a fellow GEO, and I could tell she was encouraged by getting to see and hear some familiar faces and voices. Sunday night the church held a YLM-only dinner fundraiser for us. Chris cooked Mexican brisket, rice, and charro beans, and we were able to give about a 40 minute talk followed by some Q & A. About 30 people were in attendance, including our friends Ellen and Marybeth from St. Paul Lutheran Church in Mt. Prospect, IL. We drove back to Chicagoland with them to begin the next leg of our adventure, but that's another blog for another day. Here are some photos from The Dairy State:
Miller Park--the Brewers were out of town the whole time we were there, we checked!
Cases of Miller Lite fresh off the packaging lines at the MillerCoors brewery.
All of that inventory will have turned over in 36 hours!
The conveyor belts go right across the street!
Brew kettles at Miller.
Mural in the historic Miller caves. I gotta say, after touring all 3 major breweries, Miller is the only one with caves!
The Milwaukee Art Museum.
Splendid view of Lake Michigan, wouldn't you say?
Cedar Creek in Cedarburg, WI, one of America's Prettiest Towns and home to the Cedar Creek Winery, which we toured.
Big Cedar Lake as seen from Timmer's, the fish fry where we ate dinner on Friday night.
The mascot of Sprecher brewery, a griffin. Aside from beer, they also make all kinds of soda: root beer, cream, orange, red apple, Ravin' Red (cranberry + cherry), red raspberry, and probably some others. You get unlimited samples of that at the end; red raspberry is the best!
We went to a burger/frozen custard place for lunch after Sprecher, and they had cows by the parking lot! Here's me and Patti, a friend from St. John's who has been to YLM twice.
Of course I climbed ON the cow instead of just posing WITH the cow!
Our table at the St. John's mission fair on Sunday morning. Thanks guys for the display board; it added a much-needed vertical element! Also, you can't tell in the photo but the computer is playing Mariachi San Pablo music!Until next time, blessings!
Erin
Erin
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