Wonder Voyage 2010 Summer Blog

“Where did you meet God today?”  This is the question that Emily, our leader and guide has posed  each evening as we reflected back on the events of the day.  The answers among our group of 15 were thoughtful and varied.  For some, God was found in the beauty of God’s creation around us.  Whether it was the live oaks and Spanish moss of the local plantation or the quiet blackwater river where we kayaked.  For others God has been found in people we’ve met who dedicated their lives to serving others or to telling the stories of their people and their culture.  For me, a J2A Leader who started the  journey with a group middle schoolers, I have watched them evolve into high schoolers and young adults.  Along the way I have met God each day in their faces, full of beauty and grace, wonder and praise.

At Boone Hall Plantation my youth group was taken on two tours.  The first tour was of the ornate mansion in which the rich, white landowners would have lived.  I was wowed by the grandeur of the lives of the people living in the mansion lived, and was convinced it was everything you could dream of. However, there was a second tour which was much more realistic, eye-opening, and moving.

The tour of the houses in which the slaves lived was on the opposite end of the spectrum from the mansion.  One house which stood out to me was the praise house where the slaves worshipped.  We heard stories of how they used their hands and feet as instruments.  Even though I am sure the slaves often felt that nobodywas on their side and they were hugely abused and mistreated, they worshipped with immense zeal passion for their Savior.  The Savior they trusted with all of themselves despite overwhelming odds.  I found this zealous worship to be incredibly inspiring and I am so thankful I experienced it.

I was struck by the fact the white folks living in the mansion knew perfectly well how gruesomely the slaves were being treated.  They didn’t seem to care a bit.  I pray I have compassion for all humanity, regardless of stereotypes.  This trip has been incredibly useful for discovering myself, my country, and my Lord.

The pilgrims from Winchester, MA arrived later than expected.  A much longer journey than they had anticipated today.  After taking some time to settle in and stretch their car-cramped legs, the group gathered for dinner.  The group has been traveling together for 4 days.  Taking in all the new sounds and sights around them, I found these pilgrims to be quite insightful about their journey thus far.  This group will continue to follow in the faith-filled foot steps of those who’ve gone before.  Tomorrow their feet will take them to serve others.  They will also walk on historic ground at a Plantation to gain a greater sense of what life as a slave in the Low Country of South Carolina would have been like prior to the Civil War.

Asked tonight about how it felt to arrive in each place they’ve been, the group talked about being excited, some said they felt at peace, and others said each new place was better than the one before.  Most of the group had seen the movie Amistad, so I asked them to think about how it must have felt to arrive in Charleston on a slave ship.  The group responded with a much different description. Pilgrimage for this group has and will continue  be eye-opening.