Lisa KrammeLisa Kramme
Director of Faith Formation
Nebraska Synod, ELCA

It was Saturday, June 26, and we had loaded into five coach busses earlier that morning, bound for Minneapolis and the 2010 Nebraska Synod Youth Mission Trip. Our bus was scheduled to stop for lunch at a particular fast food restaurant in Sioux City, Iowa, and wisely, each of the five busses was assigned a different place to eat.

All 47 of us ordered quickly, as the restaurant staff members were doing their jobs well. Those in our group who finished eating early found themselves on a backyard-size lawn, behind the restaurant and next to their drive-through lane. Some youth started tossing around a football, and others of us launched into conversation, meeting new people with whom we’d be spending the week. It was a fun time. However, it appeared the manager of the restaurant was watching us.

The man, dressed in an all-black uniform and having a cigarette, was standing near the corner of the building, between us and the door, nervously puffing and appearing annoyed. Although he didn’t say anything to us, we were obviously the object of his interest at that particular time.

I went to the bus, wanting to grab my camera and take some photos of the group building community at our first stop on the trip. When I got off the bus with camera in hand, though, the entire group of people who had been hanging out in the grassy area was lining up to get on the bus.

“What’s going on?” I asked. “It’s not time to load up yet.”

“We know,” someone replied. “They turned the sprinklers on.”

Sure enough, these youth and adult sponsors were speckled with little water drops. Although their spirits weren’t dampened, their clothes certainly were.

“I think they did it on purpose,” one of the dappled people mused. “They didn’t want us on the grass.”

It was true. As I walked back inside the restaurant to let others from our bus know that we were loading early, there was another worker having a smoke, and next to where he was, there was a small, metal door that was slightly open. I assumed it was the door to the sprinkler system controls.

Fast forward to Friday, July 2. We were on our way home from the Mission Trip, and our bus was scheduled to stop at Arby’s in Fairmont, Minnesota. We pulled into the parking lot and unloaded. Not 10 minutes later, a second bus pulled in behind us. We found out that the restaurant they were to stop at had been closed and put up for sale. After a little driving around, the bus driver decided that Arby’s would be the best bet for his crew of 50 to get fed and back on the road as soon as possible.

“Oh boy!” I thought. “What will the staff think of this?” I watched carefully. The front of the restaurant came to resemble more of a waiting line for a popular roller coaster than a place to order a roast beef sandwich. I expected to see looks of tension on the faces of the workers. But, instead, I saw smiles.

I kept watching. One of the youngest employees at a cash register apparently miscounted change back to a customer. Although there were dozens of people behind this person, the cashier looked the customer in the eye, said a heartfelt, “I’m so sorry about that,” calmly counted back the correct change, and all was good. Then the beverage bar area ran out of straws. Thinking I could lend a hand, I approached the counter and asked the manager, “Do you suppose I could get some straws to restock out here?” “No,” the manager said, and then he looked up at me from his work with a large grin. “Gotcha!” he said and smiled again, promptly grabbing a handful of straws to make his way through the crowd and put them where they needed to be.

There was a bell next to the serving counter. A sign by the bell read, “Ring if you like our service.” You can bet I rang that bell. Several others did, too, as the lunch hour progressed. After the bell was rung, the staff would shout out a sincere, “Thank you,” and their work continued.

We boarded the bus about 15 minutes later than we had originally planned, but it was so much earlier than it could have been, given the numbers of people waiting to be served that day.

What wonderful illustrations this “parable” contains. Lessons about hospitality and service are right there. When I was sharing this story with a friend, though, he said that this also has lessons related to leadership. He was right. The leader in each restaurant set the tone for the others working with him. In the first setting, the worker followed the example of his manager and didn’t bother to engage in any type of direct communication before sending the very clear message that we weren’t welcome to stay there any longer. The Arby’s manager, I could imagine, had led his employees through a “what if a bus stops here” scenario when they were trained. “Alright folks, we’ve prepared for this. Let’s show ‘em what we’ve got here!” I can imagine him exclaiming as our bus—and then the second—pulled up.

What type of leader do you find yourself to be? What type of leaders are others within your mission centers? Are strangers welcomed? Is communication friendly, honest, sincere and direct? What are the youth learning from their elders within the day-to-day context of your life together as the church?

Here is what a couple of youth learned while living out our calling to do mission on the Nebraska Synod Youth Mission Trip:

Abby Mussack of First Lutheran in Blair, shared: “My highlight for the trip was when we were painting Miss Mary’s house. Miss Mary is a 93 year-old woman, and she asked Hannah Maschmann and me to change a light bulb for her. Miss Mary was so happy for us to do that since the bulb had been burnt out for the longest time. We were walking back outside to paint when Miss Mary said, ‘You girls are such a delight.’ Hannah and I were so amazed how something so simple as changing a light bulb could make somebody’s day.”

Jennifer Wallwey, an adult from Holy Cross Lutheran in Omaha, was impacted in the following way: “A very moving experience for me was our visit to Bethany Lutheran Church [in Minneapolis]. I had the chance to meet a couple members of the congregation who shared how this congregation had changed over the years. The two men talked about reaching the neighborhood and how their whole focus now is to bring this very diverse community back together as one body of Christ, sharing His love and serving with all they have. Their vision of Christ’s reconciling love and true hearts of service are truly inspirational.”

Haley Huckeby of First Lutheran in Omaha, learned an important lesson about serving: “My favorite part of the trip was helping out at the college [where we stayed for the week]. Even though my group didn’t get to travel anywhere [around the Twin Cities] to serve, I’m still glad we got to be such a big help at the college. When we were in devotions the first night, I said that we were not there for ourselves. We were there to serve others, whether or not we got sweaty, tired or hot. We were supposed to remember who we were serving and why.”

I think it would be a good thing to hang Haley’s quote over our desks, office doors, doors to the sanctuary and those that lead out into the world after worship. “We are supposed to remember who we are serving and why.”

Print