On the Road Again; Return to B-Town

Sunday morning we woke up bright and early to a good nights sleep, some of us even a bit chilly from the unusual change of having air conditioning at night.  After saying our final goodbyes to the Heifer Ranch, we hit the road ready to go. Within 30 minutes of driving, we were forced to pull over due to discovering a screw in the tire of the Black Vulture.(Our small black  Ford Flex)  After patching it up at a roadside gas station, we turned the caravan around to head back towards a Walmart vehicle service center.  Because it was still rather early in the morning, we decided while we waited in the parking lot of the Walmart Super Center, we would all take a quick nap. Finally we all returned to our cars, and headed to an Enterprise to avoid an hour wait at Walmart.  This was sadly the Black Vultures final flight, before retiring.  After switching cars at the airport, we finally got on the road to drive on.  But just when we thought things were looking up, the “turtle shell” luggage carrier on the top of the “Daddy Van” or “Swagger Wagon”, started to get loose and move around, therefore we again had to pull off the road to secure it.  After this stop, we FINALLY got on the road again, after praying multiple times for safer travel.  Eventually, we all woke up to the hollering of our drivers, who were overjoyed to have finally left Arkansas and entered Tennessee, ONLY 2 hours behind schedule.

Shortly after, we stopped for a tasty lunch at Dyer’s, a hamburger joint on Beale St. in downtown Memphis.  After letting the buckets of grease we had all consumed at lunch set in, we headed back down the road. Within less than an hour of driving, we had to make a pit-stop, due to the large amounts of soft drinks everyone had enjoyed at lunch.  We continued travel in a similar pattern until we finally reached our stop for the day, a town not far past Nashville, TN.  Tired and hungry, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner.  Shortly after reaching our hotel, the whole group was enjoying the indoor pool and spa.  After partaking in an intense session of water aerobics, the group retired for the night, exhasuted from a hard days travel.   We wrapped up the night with pleasant devotions reflecting on the past 9 days experiences.

But of course, the night was still young.  We then made a group trip to the vending machines located in the lobby, and experienced multiple monetary difficulties. Finally, with the help of a strong worker,                                                    our candy was violently shakin out of the machine, and retrieved by the buyer.  All in all, its been another great day on the road.  We can’t wait to get home and share our amazing experiences wih everyone.  See you soon!

Saturday at Heifer International

We spent Friday morning at the Heifer Ranch participating in some games on the Low Challenge Course. These games were designed to work on team building and cooperation with one another, so that we could better get to know the other group from St. Louis that we would be spending the night in the Global Village with. One of our favorites was called Hoop Tag, a game that we will bring back to UMYF and play in the fellowship hall.

Friday evening we went into the Global Village. The Global Village is a simulation designed so that its participants may come to better understand what it’s like living in the shoes of people in extreme poverty. The Village consists of housing that imitated the conditions of Guatemala, Thailand, Appalachia, Tibet, Urban Slums, Zambia, and a Refugee Camp.  We were split between Guatemala, Appalachia, and Urban Slums.  Each of the groups was given a basket of resources to make dinner with.  Because the only group who had enough to feed themselves was Guatemala, we combined all of our resources to make a simple potluck dinner.   At night, we battled biting bugs and extreme heat, but we survived.

Saturday morning, everyone in our group woke up in different countries. Those of us living in the Urban Slums were required to make breakfast Saturday morning for the entire village. We awoke not by alarm clocks, but by the rising of the sun and ceaseless crowing of a rooster.  Because there were no cooking facilities in the Slums, we prepared the oatmeal for 33 people in the modest stove in the Guatemala house.  Though the meal was simple, there was just enough.  For many of us, it was a much smaller breakfast than we were accustomed to. As we completed chores in the Village such as washing dishes, sweeping, carrying wood, and gardening, our stomachs growled. Many of us were also very tired from the lack of sleep in uncomfortable conditions. Not to mention the 100 degree heat, even in the morning.

We concluded our Global Village experience with a debriefing session.   We reflected on how much we have to be grateful for. Sometimes the simple things, such as air conditioning, can be overlooked.  We were all thankful to have a home, a bed, and food to return to.  There are millions of people across the globe living in awful conditions every day.  Our group transitioned from having sympathy for these people, to having empathy.  Through the trials we went through in just one night, we bonded over how blessed we feel.  We were able to grow and learn because all of us (well, except maybe mountain man Andrew) were outside of our “comfort zone”. This has become a commonly used term on this trip. Getting outside of our comfort zone has pushed us and allowed us to see things from new perspectives, and develop newfound gratitude for our blessings.  I believe that now, some of us will think twice about things we may have felt entitled to before.    I am very appreciative that Heifer was able to offer us such a meaningful and eye opening experience. Also I believe that now we feel more called to improve others lives and to implement change in our own.

We spent Saturday afternoon undergoing more activities on the challenge course. Despite the extreme heat, we tried to stay good natured and upbeat. We were able to complete the challenges by working together and listening to each other.

Before we went to dinner, we spent some time with Goby the Camel. A few of us even got a kiss! Following dinner, we had devotions and popcicles to cool off. Our day ended with a good ol’ game of Mafia.

In sum, Friday and Saturday were challenging days, but all of us learned something new.

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Our Trip…

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Memphis, Home of the Blues

Today after only a few hours of car riding we arrived in the beautiful city of Memphis. It’s such a blessing to be able to sleep in a nice warm bed for a night and it makes me feel even more for the people that we helped just yesterday. First thing today we went and ate at Huey’s Burger Joint. At Huey’s they have a tradition of shooting tooth picks into the ceiling. They asked us to guess the amount of tooth picks in the ceiling for a dollar and all the proceeds would go to the local zoo. After this unique stop we went to be refreshed by a pool on the 8th floor, which felt terrific after a couple of days in the Tennessee sun.

After the swimming we went to visit some of our feathered friends, the ducks, at the Peabody Hotel. These trained ducks got out of the fountain and put on a little show for us on the way to their elevator. Then we went to eat famous ribs at the Rendezvous which had some of the best ribs in the nation. We then took a trolley around Memphis and right by the Mississippi  River. Overall the day was a good relaxation day but we are excited about bringing our newfound energy to Arkansas for work. I pray that God gives us another day of good driving weather tomorrow and I’m thankful for the opportunity to share his love.

Our Last Day In Nashville, TN

On our last day before hitting the road again we got a real feeling for how others are helping those in need in the city of Nashville. We arrived at The Bridge Ministry’s warehouse to volunteer where we met another youth group from Oklahoma who was also doing some work there. We all split up into different groups to do different jobs ranging from wrapping forks in napkins to organizing and packaging coats to digging in a freezer for cakes. At the end or our exhausting (but still rewarding) time in the warehouse we were treated to snack bags given to us by Roberta Ashley and Brenda Whitcomb that definitely kept us moving through the day.

Moving on from all of our hard work sorting and stacking we went to see where all of this work really comes into play. Just down the road under the Jefferson Street Bridge the Bridge Ministry holds a service, hands out hot meals, and gives away food to those in need on Tuesday nights. We were divided into groups that would do things like hand out food, or unload water and clothes to be given away. People were already forming a line by the time we got there and were ready for the service and we were ready to see what this church under the bridge was really all about. As the music started playing and the food and people started to flow out into the seats you could really begin to feel the presence of God. In each of our jobs we got to really get up and meet the homeless community and connect with them in way that will stick in our lives forever.

Mission Trip Photos

Day 2 in Nashville

Today was our first full day on our mission trip! After a long day of traveling and a short time asleep we got early this morning and after eating breakfast we went on to the Dollar General to begin our first service. Our group split up into groups of about five and were given $200 per group to spend on packs for homeless youth in the Nashville community. Our goal was to fill as many bags with the items on a list we got keeping it within our budget. We ended up with 25+ bags that included items such as toothbrushes, towels, underwear, and other needed items. We brought these bags to an organization called Oasis that helps youth in need of a temporary place to stay. Oasis then has workers who go out into Nashville finding young homeless people to give these survival packs to without any obligation to these youth. After a tour of the Oasis building which accomidates about 12 youth at any time, we had a quick lunch in front of a replica of the parthanon.

Soon we were pulling into a place called One Room at the Inn. One Room at the Inn was started by a pastor who handed out pb&j sandwhiches to the homeless, which led to people sleeping in the parking lot of his church at nights when they needed a place to stay. One cold winter night the pastor couldn’t let these people stay outside and sleep and so brought them inside his church. That one night turned into one winter, and then several other churches joined in giving places for the homeless to stay at night during the winter. Today there are more than 100 churches who participate during the coldest months of the year that provide dinner, shelter for the night, and breakfast to 5-15 people, with the ideal number being 12. These people are picked up at a very nice complex that One Room at the Inn now owns and works out of. They also have other services providing for homeless people struggling with addictions, and for homeless veterans among others. Men who successfully go through these programs and have a job are eligible to rent out apartments there at One Room at the Inn. One Room at the Inn is also open during the day and gives free classes to participants that include bible studies, computer classes, yoga, and art classes. These classes can earn people points in which they can use to buy new items like bus passes, and laundry detergent from a store there. One Room at the Inn also has showers for people coming in during the mornings. We spent most of our time at One Room at the Inn learning about their various services, but we also spent some time cleaning out one of their apartments for a new resident and some of the guys drilled holes to make room for electrical wires.

After a long day we had another good meal, feeling a little more gratefull for it than we usually would have been. Gratitude was the topic of our devotion tonight where we discussed the many things that we have been blessed with in our lives that so many people go without. We have homes we know will be waiting for us when we arrive back on Monday, and families to welcome us there. We have a meal at the table three times a day, and we have the opportunity to help others. We were also graced tonight with one of Amy Fisher’s friends named Megan Peeler who has a beautiful voice and led us in song. (She is online, so feel free to look her up and hear her talent) Right now we are in the middle of an intense game of sardines and there are screams coming out of the dark hallway…(and are feeling especially gratefull for the wonderful, energetic, passionate people in this youth group) Soon we’ll be off to bed, looking for another good day of service.