Wonder Voyage 2009 Summer Blog

In some ways being with several different cultures and people groups in such a short time is rather Olympian; but the analogy doesn’t stop there.  Besides a local yet international experience, we ran from place  to place to keep our schedule.  We jumped long over work projects that were hundreds of volunteer hours, yet with 25 people on the job, we were  lightening speed.  We passed the baton of leadership  from Wonder Voyage staff to a group of fledging ministers from IBC.  We swam in an ocean  of school supplies and in Michael Phelps style, bagged gold by assembling over 1000 school supply  bags for needy area kids.  Lastly (i know the analogy is running thin but bear with me for one final thought), we hurled javelins of faith into the future.  The javelins we threw will make a difference!  We threw love to Africa, Latin America, the elderly and the poor…all of who are in our own backyard. 

Thus ends the Dallas blogs…

Today was one of the best experiences of the week (maybe my life). I had so much fun with a group of elderly people. I really liked chatting with a nice lady named Mrs. Cobb. She had so many stories to tell. There is one that really stood out to me. She had fallen and broken her hip so everyone was watching out for her, but she is also watching out for them. That just warmed my heart,, how they all care for each other.

2009Serving..sure, we all serve one time or another, but for me, helping the kids at Mi Escuelita went way deeper than basic serving. When we first got there it was a very simple, cute church, and i thought “okay, this cant be that hard.” when we actually started though, we got our tour and we saw this one poorly painted room. I thought this must be one classroom. I was way wrong. As the coordinator was telling us this was the one room that all 25 kids learned in, i realized this was one of the most eye opening moments of my life. I have so much, and realized that my bedroom was bigger than this and its just for me! This entire trip has been making me realize that i do take a lot for granted and don’t know much. I am helping others, learning, and helping who i am also!

Today, we had the privilige of hanging out with the kids of the Shiloh Village apartments. Volunteering at IBC for the past two years ive heard several stories from students about the amazing joy the kids at Shiloh exibit when the students visit. Pulling up to the apartment, my heart grew in excitement thinking about the kids we would hang out with. The pouring rain outside could not hold back the students from rushing to their favorite kids to invite them to play. The kids ran, some with no shoes, to a gazebo as we did crafts and played soccer. The students, only a few years older than the kids, talked about life and loved the kids as adults. The students showed the kids the love of God and though the kids didnt give anything away to the students love was exchanged between the kids and students.

One of the questions I am frequenttly asked by friends and strangers 
alike is “how in the world can you stand working with teenagers?!” It 
is not a hard question for me to answer because I think young people 
are amazing. It does make me a bit sad, however, to know that teens 
are so misunderstood. That’s why I rejoice when one of our Wonder 
Voyage teams turns those misconceptions upside down.

Our Alabama pilgrims have done a fantastic job this week of 
demonstrating love, grace, forgiveness, humility, respect, humor, and 
hard work. The elderly folks whom we have served have been delighted with them.

Praise for these students came from one really unexpected source, 
however. We made a trip to a local dollar store to purchase some bingo prizes for our next day’s project. An ominous sign forbidding groups of teenagers from entering was pasted prominently on the door.  Apparently the owner has had many problems with local kids wreaking havoc and generally acting disrespectfully in the store. As we entered, I told the owner all 11 students were with me. He said, “Ok,”  but he really looked leery of the group.

Each student selected an item, placed it on the counter, and quietly 
left the store. As I was paying for the items, the owner told me he 
was giving us a 40 cent discount on every item. He said he was so 
pleased and surprised by the students’ behavior. He asked me to give 
his personal thanks to the students and to tell them they were welcome in his store any time.

The entire Christ Anglican parish should be proud of their young 
people. They are truly changing perceptions, by God’s grace, one day 
at a time.

When I left home on this Wonder Voyage for our youth group’s first 
pilgrimage, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Our physical destination was 
Dallas, Texas, but the place my heart and mind were taken was so much more.

I had been to Dallas before, having family that lives there. I didn’t 
expect to see and experience more than he “boring old city” that it 
was the last time I was there. The spiritual experience came enough 
when the people we were serving really enjoyed us being here, and one grateful person even sang a blessing over us!

I had never been too fond of the elderly up to this point, but working 
with them for a solid 3 days has brought me new insight. The elderly, 
though seemingly foregin to a teenager, have an immense understanding of how  everything goes in life. They have advice for almost every life situation, and given the time, you should listen to them.

This Wonder Voyage has been a wonderful opportunity for our group to experience the amazingness of Gods presence. I want to thank God for bringing me here for a reason.

Today we went to the CC Young Center to visit many different kinds of 
elderly people. There were people ranging from indepedent living to 
those severely in need of hospice care. Although we only encountered 
the most able bodied of them all, they were still in need of company. 
I realized today that we needed them and this experience as much, if 
not more, than they did. There is so much to learn from the elderly. I 
believe that they are the wisest, and yet we tend to 
shut them up the quickest.

I learned that on average the elderly in assisted living and nursing 
homes only get visited about twice a month including pastoral visits. 
There is so much to learn from these people but we can be too self-centered and fast-paced to take the time  to truly listen.  We played bingo with four women. One of them was a retired school teacher. We asked her about her funniest memories from teaching. She didn’t remember at first, but once she started recalling things, her face just lit up with joy. Another woman told us she had been a radio DJ on a talk show. She said she would get into lively debates on  issues such as a governor she didn’t approve of. Some of the guys hung  out with a gentleman who apparently ‘kicked tail’ at Dominoes.

The second part of the day we spent exploring and learning about 
Dallas, spending time in reflection and prayer. This trip has already 
become an amazing, unforgettable, life-changing experience; and it’s 
only the first day! I personally cannot wait to see what God has in 
store for us and how He will move in us, so that we can go back home 
and continue on this pilgrimage of life- altering experiences.