Week 39 - Green Bay is more than just the Packers

My knowledge of Green Bay was limited before our arrival this week, except for the fact it is the hometown of the Packers. The Packers have never caught my interest until now, for two main reasons. First, my good buddy from high school, Anders Carlson, recently was drafted by the Packers as their new kicker. Second, we had a rocking week in Green Bay. Besides the Packers, there is so much more to Green Bay, and I'm not alluding to cheese curds. There is a lot of talk about cheese curds in this area of the country.

We found ourselves in Green Bay this week thanks to our friend Luis, whom we met while working at Malibu Club Young Life camp in British Columbia. Through Luis' connections from living in Green Bay, we linked up with Ecumenical Partnership for Housing (EPH). Ecumenical may sound like a big word, but it simply means multiple churches working together. Still is a big word though. EPH is a collective of churches dedicated to providing housing for homeless families and helping them rebuild their lives. Homelessness is one of the toughest issues this country faces, and there are a lot of different ways groups go about dealing with it. Withnessing EPH’s approach and their commitment to walking alongside individuals in their community has left us impressed. Their efforts are making an impact and offering hope to those in need. Our work for the week was focused on a housing unit where we installed a fence, painted the front porch, and spruced up the basement. Two staff members worked with us at the property as well – one was named Bryce and the other guy had a cool and unique name. His name was Josh.

I'm constantly reminded that working together, especially when helping others like we did with EPH, is the best way to build meaningful connections. In no time, we formed strong friendships with Josh and Bryce, and ended up spending a lot of time with Bryce outside of work. He took us to his girlfriend Autumn's restaurant, invited us over to his house for a grill-out, and even treated us to lunch on his day off. It's not uncommon for us to encounter generosity on our journey, but this week, Bryce's kindness stood out. It struck me that it is not often we receive such generosity from people in the same life stage as us. Usually, it's families or established couples who can offer more. Despite still figuring out his own path, Bryce didn't hesitate to go above and beyond to support us. Also, he was an all-around cool guy who made me laugh a lot.

Bryce and Autumn

Josh and Bryce in their new shirts

July 4th was this week, as you know. We pulled into Green Bay on the 3rd and had no definitive plans for the 4th, so we sought out fellow celebrators to join in the fun. We posted an Instagram story, hoping our social media followers could connect us with people in the Green Bay area to hang out with. We downloaded Hinge, an online dating app, and made a profile for the bus, hoping the bus would match with someone who would invite us to their festive plans. Wherever we went, we boldly asked new people if we could join their 4th plans. Our travels have taught us that curiosity and creativity can lead to unexpected adventures. Unfortunately, none of our creative ideas led to any 4th adventures. Still motivated, we moved on to our next big idea, join a parade. I wasn’t feeling too optimistic about it. Especially after a friend I met at the park, this friend had three dogs, mentioned the need for advanced registration and paperwork to join the parades. I trusted her because she was nice and had three dogs, but we figured we would try anyways. On the night of the 3rd, we parked where the floats were gathering for the Bailey Harbor parade and spent the night there to secure our spot in line. We ended up seamlessly joining in front of Tim's Chimney Cleaning and Outdoor Services, and they mentioned we could hop in the parade no problem. Since they won the best float in their last parade, we trusted their guidance. They even invited us to follow them to Egg Harbor for another parade after the first one, resulting in a day filled with double parade fun.

I have never been in a parade, but I had a lot of fun. One of us would handle the driving while the other two stood on the top deck (don’t worry mom, we were driving slow). The crowd seemed to enjoy it and were incredibly interactive. Some people were confused and would ask what the LOST Bus does. Dads would often make the joke where they ask us where we are, and then we would act like we are LOST. Kids would tell us to flip, do the worm, griddy (a cool new dance move), and do Fortnite dances. When we didn’t know what to do, we would honk and wave. One group of parents even shouted at us telling us we knew their kids. At first, we were a little confused, but they reminded us we had played Bocce ball with their kids the evening before in Sturgeon Bay. Later in the day, we were swimming at a beach in the bay and talking to two teenagers. They asked if we were from the LOST Bus, and they recognized us from the parade. Our big blue bus continues to leave a lasting impression in each place we go, creating memorable connections like the ones we made on the 4th.

Friday night, we had dinner at the home of Dan and Paula Reichel. Throughout our journey, we've had the pleasure of spending time with other members of the Reichel family. Brian Reichel, my good friend from Clemson whom we also hung out with in Colorado, connected us with his brother and sister-in-law in Wauchula, Florida during our first week. Our evening with the Wisconsin Reichels was undoubtedly a highlight. We were also joined by Pam and Ethan, Paula's sister and brother-in-law. Occasionally, we find ourselves in the company of a family that makes us truly feel at home. It's hard to put into words, but it's that sense of being treated like family rather than guests. It's remarkable how quickly we felt that with Dan and Paula. Although we only spent one night together, it was a truly refreshing experience. We had a similar feeling when we connected with Matt and Savanah Reichel and their family in Wauchula, marking the first time we encountered such warmth on our journey.