This year 31 youth and advisors spent the week at Rehoboth Beach. It was a year of firsts for YOZ, first year we were joined by our brothers and sisters from Living Waters and the first year we included service projects while we were at the beach. The weather was perfect for the beach – sunny and hot. Thanks to the congregation, advisors, and the drivers for making this Youth gathering happen.
Highlights of the Week:
Sunday & Monday – No Air Conditioning on the 1st floor. Need I say more?
Monday & Tuesday – We worked at the New Life Thrift Store located in Lewes receiving, sorting and stocking items for the store. This store has an amazing history. It was started about 19 years ago under the umbrella of the local churches in the Rehoboth / Lewes area. The store only sells the high quality merchandise, however nothing is wasted. Items that do not make the cut for sale in the store are forwarded to a large distribution center that will again sort items for shipment to other organizations or Third World countries. As a last resort, unusable items are sent to a recycling center. Last year the Thrift Store was able to return $500,000 (truly amazing!) back to the local community organizations. The staff was so impressed by our energetic group that we were asked to please return the next time we were at the beach.
Thursday – We spent time at the Rehoboth Beach Lutheran Church of Our Savior serving meals and assisting in preparation and clean-up. The church has a program that feeds about 100 international students and homeless in the Rehoboth Beach area 4 days a week.
Christmas in July was a great deal of fun. The house was decorated with crepe paper and ornaments made from aluminum foil. A tree was donated from the Thrift Shop. The secret Santa gift exchange was fun for all.
The ocean was awesome! The water was warm and there were waves that were large enough to dive through and ride boogie boards.
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