April 5, 2013

History Comes to Life

submitted by Nanci, one of our Washington, D.C., Tour Directors with Joshua Expeditions

During a day spent touring the war memorials in Washington, D.C., our group discussed the Honor Flight that brings veterans to see the memorials dedicated to their military service. After touring another site in the area, our group encountered an elderly man wearing a World War II cap. We thanked him for his service to our country, and the boys began asking the gentleman questions about his service in Europe. As they listened intently, I watched our boys become entranced by the 90-year old veteran and the stories from his life. I realized that these young men “got it.” History had come to life!

Learn how history can come to life for your group by visiting the Joshua Expeditions website. Contact us today for more information about American Heritage and State History tours.

November 19, 2012

The Second Thanksgiving

This post originally appeared November 16, 2011
 
submitted by Kim Gryglewicz, Joshua Expeditions Northeast Division Coordinator

This week families throughout the United States will gather together to share a meal and reflect on the things for which they are thankful. In preparation elementary students make arts and crafts, dress up like “pilgrims and Indians”, and learn about the First Thanksgiving. Most Americans know details, both fact and fiction, of this first celebration. But have you heard about the Second Thanksgiving?

According to the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts, there exist only two written accounts of the first Thanksgiving meal, and both accounts describe a “celebration of plenty” in which the Wampanoag Indians and Puritan settlers at Plymouth met together after a bountiful harvest season. From a Christian perspective, however, the Second Thanksgiving is just as important as the first. In 1623, two years after that bountiful harvest season, the pilgrims came together again to celebrate and give thanks. This time, however, the celebration came at the end of a long drought that threatened the harvest. The pilgrims recognized that Christians should be thankful every day – both in times of plenty and in times of strife – so, rather than share in a meal, the Pilgrims joined together in a fast to remind themselves that they served a God who always provides.

This week consider sharing the story of the Second Thanksgiving. Everyone experiences seasons of plenty and seasons of strife, yet the Bible teaches that the Lord is ALWAYS good and faithful. Like the pilgrims, we can all celebrate that truth no matter the season.

photo via Flickr: Lisa Jacobs

October 3, 2012

The importance of being flexible on a mission trip

submitted by Ray Small, Director of College Programs with Joshua Expeditions

The plans were set. A group of students would travel from Tennessee to South Texas to support a ministry that serves lower income communities on the east side of San Antonio. The primary goal was to turn a vacant lot of overgrown weeds, unwanted trees, and piles of trash into a suitable place for the ministry to expand its building and begin teaching computer classes to local residents. However, God had different plans in mind.

On the day the group arrived at the ministry site, the heavens opened up and it started to rain. You don’t need to be in the landscaping business to know that yard work is not best accomplished in the rain. So, the group did what they could by clearing out the trash, and then wondered what they would do for the remainder of the week. The ministry had an answer.

“There are food packages to deliver, but they have to be delivered by hand and there’s no cover from the rain!” Of course, cold and rain could not deter this group of students.

In wind and rain the group joyfully delivered food to people in need. By the end of the week, over one hundred 25-pound boxes of food were delivered to a San Antonio housing project that spread across four city blocks. The students will be quick to tell you: there is no intimidation in the Kingdom of God.