St. Paul's Chapel And University Center in Iowa City

While other college students packed their swimsuits and suntan lotion for Spring Break, four students and one Deaconess-Intern from St. Paul’s Lutheran Chapel loaded their bags with old jeans and t-shirts in preparation for their Spring Break servant event in St. Louis, MO. While there, the students volunteered at two inner city Churches: Transfiguration Lutheran and Emmaus Lutheran. At Transfiguration, the chapelites helped manage a clothing drive, prepared food bags from the food bank, sorted boxes in several storage rooms, and spent time with the neighborhood children – playing games with them and telling them Bible stories . At Emmaus, they helped clean the basement and the old school associated with the church in preparation for the church’s 120th anniversary dinner. The students also took some time after working all day to see some sights in the city, including the zoo, art museum, science center, the Seminary, and, of course, Ted Drews. After an enjoyable week of hard work and great fun, the students headed back home, loaded with stories to share and books to read (over 150 combined, thanks to the Seminary library book sale and books from Emmaus!). The chapelites would like to extend a special thanks to Grace Lutheran Church in Storm Lake, IA and Park View Lutheran Church in Eldridge, IA for helping fund this trip. This work in the inner city was an eye opening experience and a great way to tangibly share the love of Christ with others.