We finally began our real work today. Not that driving seven hours, dealing with a hotel room mix-up, driving another seven hours, and trying to process Rand at the end of all that, isn’t hard work. It’s just not the work we came here to do.
The work we came here to do is helping people like Virginia at the Cross Cultural Community Education and Activity Center in the Pearl Lane area of Chamblee-Doraville. The building was formerly military housing from World War II, and is in an area that’s now home to a large Hispanic population. When Virginia and the mission moved there in 1992 it was largely Cambodian and Vietnamese. Many of their families had moved in around the time of the Vietnamese war to escape what was going on back home. Virginia works with all of them. There is not one people group she is trying to reach. She said they “are here to help this community, whoever that is.”
We spent the first part of our day prepping the inside of the building for some paint work. We cleaned, taped and primed many of the walls, then started the painting that we’ll be doing over the next two days. It was great to see the kids so eager to work. If someone had nothing to do, we didn’t find them sitting around, relaxing and enjoying their day off. They found us and begged for something to do. They wanted to help.
And they did a great job of it. We knocked out quite a bit of work in just a few hours, then headed back to the church for lunch. Hayden and Connor had a difficult time with lunch, because they each ate 20+ pancakes at breakfast (not to mention sausage, bacon, and mounds and mounds of butter). Those of us who were able to enjoy our lunch got to the dessert, and had a pretty intense debate as to whether or not the little chocolate cupcakes we had were “Ding Dongs, or Ho Hos.” Finally, someone got up to look at the off-brand box to see if we could find our answer there. It said they were “little chocolate cupcakes.”
We rested for a little while longer, then got everything ready for the afternoon with the kiddos. We were all ready to employ Rand’s “Hola. Fiesta. Ninos. Do you like cookies?” method. This, however, seemed to fall to the wayside once we arrived at our sites.
Each team (There are three of us, and this is only my perspective. For another team story, see the guest post below, by Sarah!) has two sites to visit. I’m in Team 1 with Kurt, Halie, Jon, Luke, Emily, Ryan, Lydia, Rachel and MacKenzie. We showed up to the CCCEAC at Chamblee-Doraville to an almost empty neighborhood. Then a school bus pulled up. Out poured a ton of kids ready to be away from school. Most of the older ones wanted nothing to do with us. But quite a few of the little ones stayed around, and went absolutely wild. They had somewhere near zero attention span. Then it was time to go to the next site.
At this one, the kids were a little calmer, and they responded a little better to what we had for them. We even helped them with their homework, and led a 45-minute game of duck-duck-goose while we waited for Kurt and Rand to return from the other sites and let us back in to our van so we could get the cookies. The kids were ready to start a mutiny for those cookies.
Once we got all of the cookies passed out, and peeled the kids off of our backs, we headed back to the church to grab our wallets so we could go grab some grub. We found plenty of options at one of the…no, at the nicest mall I have ever been in. We were even able to make it to and from the mall without getting lost.
We got back to find the local basketball league still in the gym. They were supposed to be done well over an hour ago, but they are still going. But since our group is so flexible this week, it’s no big deal! We chilled, I wrote this, and now we are about to have our debrief. Good night, and we’ll talk tomorrow.
And now, Sarah!
Working with this group is seriously humbling. I love these kids. And not because I’m supposed to since I’m one of their youth ministers … but because they’re impossible NOT to love. I know Kurt, Carlos, and Carol all feel the same way. There’s something to be said about a group of teenagers who choose to spend their Spring Break(s) sleeping on the floor of a family life center, showering in shifts, and giving out free (and incredibly authentic) hugs to children who have very VERY little. Have I mentioned how much I love them? I know you do too. And if you’re a parent reading this, like Eddie said before, you have every reason to be proud.
I represent TEAM 2 (2 Legit). This team consists of: myself, Taylor W., Connor W., Sara, Addie, Kandi, Megan, Anna T., Hayden, Jerimiah and Jennifer Smith (and baby Smith … who has been named after everyone on this trip so far). In an effort not to repeat everything Eddie has already said, I just wanted to make mention of a few highlights that stick out in my mind from Team 2’s escapades.
We were warmly welcomed at our first stop, Highland Terrace. I mean, warmly welcomed. The first two little girls that we saw ran up to Anna and Kandi and wrapped their arms around their necks (no “Fiesta! El Nino! Muy es bueno hola!” necessary). We found this same sort of welcome as kids poured into our field. At one point, the number was as large as 35. They came armed with jump ropes and huge smiles. They melted our hearts almost automatically. One little boy, Angel, is destined to be a pastor. Call me crazy, but no typical 7-year-old knows the story of Jesus’ temptation like the back of his hand. Am I right?
As today has gone on, I have heard stories from the students in team 2 about how they instantly fell in love with the kiddos they ministered to today. I was simultaneously falling in love with the students who were leading team 2. Here’s why. They really know how to show unconditional love. For instance, there was one particularly angry little boy that kept trying to express his anger through little outbursts of, well, head-butting Taylor and picking up large boulders while glaring at other children. Connor, Hayden, and Taylor just continued to smile, hug, and reassure the little fella that he was safe enough to let his little 6-year-old guard down. At one point, another little boy flipped over the handle-bars of his bike after the chain came loose and began to cry. Without flinching, Hayden Haschke ran to his aid, calmed him down, made sure he was okay, and even fixed the bike. Many label this “seeing a need and meeting it.” I call it love. And it doesn’t end with just the little ones. Jennifer made a connection this afternoon with the mother of one of our little Bengali boys. The woman found out Jennifer liked cheese pizza and wasted no time preparing one for her. I’m not kidding. She made a pizza. Because Jennifer mentioned she liked it. A connection was made. I mean, we’re talking about true connection where race, religious affiliation, or social status didn’t matter in that very moment. However, Love did. And Jennifer knows the True Lover (please pray that she is given another opportunity to meet with this sweet woman).
Every last teenager on our team (the mission team as a whole) conducts themselves like mature adults. They’re pouring every ounce of themselves into the lives of sweet little ones and have come home exhausted tonight … but encouraged. They are indeed, bringing the church “to the people!” Thanks for praying for us. We are certainly feeling those prayers. :)
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