This morning we set off from Lake Cities UMC at 8AM on our
way to Senior High Mission Trip to Philadelphia Mississippi. With many thanks
of course to the parents who helped get everything loaded down on the trailer
and in the vans, this morning went as smoothly as I could have imagined.
I couldn't help but to feel like we must have forgotten something
significant because surely getting off for a mission trip shouldn’t be that
stress free. As of yet, I haven’t figured out what might be missing. I guess
checklists really do just make life that much easier.
We stopped for lunch in Shreveport at one of their great
cultural restaurants… Whataburger. Then, we didn’t stop for gas until Monroe
Louisiana, home of the duck commander headquarters. Which was literally 2
blocks from the gas station so we let some of the students take a picture
outside the offices of Phil, Willy, Si, and Jase. Shortly after we got gas we
drove through a grass fire that was a really cool experience and one that I am
sure the students will remember for a long time. (It was a controlled burn and
only smoke was covering the highway, we were 100% safe)
One thing the students in my van did for fun was use a phone
to turn our van into a hotspot. They all connected their phones to the hotspot
and played a network game of MineCraft. I think at one point I overheard James
say to Ian “what are you Ghandi? Hit me!” while in the midst of fighting in the
game.
Perhaps the most fun during the road trip came after we got
off I-20 here in Mississippi. Our van played a great game of “HEY COW” in which
we came up with some pretty awesome rules and decided there should be an app
for calculating “HEY COW” points with our new point system. Everyone knows that
“HEY COW” is a game where you score points by driving by a pasture, rolling
down the window and yelling… you guessed it: HEYY COOWWW, then counting the
number of cows who turn their head to look.
After circling the town like buzzards 6 times trying to find
a specific place to eat we eventually had dinner and made it to our living center
by 7PM. We got unloaded, set up, and oriented all before having a worship
service at 9:30. The lights are out now and the students are in bed. I think I
will head there myself.
Be sure to pray that our week is filled with The Holy Spirit. I will try to post a brief update of our trip (late) nightly.
