Infallible.
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This post and my facebook albums are named after Coldplay’s “Paradise” partly because Indiana felt like one of the most amazing places in the world and partly because my friend found the need to sing (sort of) it to us to sleep.
I went to Indiana on a mission trip with my church this past week to help with the tornado relief effort and it was seriously one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The trip was absolutely perfect. I can’t exactly pinpoint what it is about this trip that made it so extremely special but it was. For once in my life, I considered not living in New York. Because Henryville, Indiana was an amazing place.
There were a few different things going on: one group helped with construction, another helped with cooking for victims, and another (my group) helped in the warehouse with donations. We had to unload, move, and sort donated food, hygiene products, cleaning stuff, etc. I seriously have never done so much physical labor in my life.
It was hard work. We came back to the retreat center exhausted. I never want to see canned food again. I learned diapers come in different sizes. I learned pet food smells terrible in large quantities. I learned the power of an assembly line. Working there, I looked forward to breaks and lunch and sitting down. But I wouldn’t trade my experience for the world. There is something satisfying about working and knowing that something you’re doing is helping someone who needs it.
We met this family who ran the warehouse. The couple, Mike and Megan, have this four year old, Nevaeh. They were amazing people. They were so sweet and welcoming and patient with us. Their daughter was crazy. Kitty Kat as she liked to be called was always running around and screaming and always got yelled at but we still loved her. She was absolutely adorable and just such a ball of energy. Mike gave us this emotional speech the day before we left and Megan hugged us all and Kitty Kat tried to come with us. I started tearing up when I hugged Megan goodbye and I was three seconds from crying when I watched Kitty Kat stare sadly at us in the bus. It was heartbreaking.
And of course I got a lot closer to the people on the trip to. There were 60 of us so it wasn’t like other mission trips where I got close to like a lot of people but I did get to bond with my friends more and got to know other people. I think the reason people bond during mission trips is because you’re in an environment where you’re not surrounded my technology and outside influences. It’s each other and the work you’re doing and God. And you’re spending all your time with them. You really get to know people. Bonding is honestly one of my favorite aspects of mission trips.
Indiana almost feels like home. That warehouse felt like home. You felt like you were meant to be there, that you belonged. Maybe it was their Midwestern/Southern hospitality or maybe it was their humility in letting us help but you felt accepted. I put up a picture earlier (it’s under my photography and indiana 2012 tags) of a box that had a sign that said “Birthday presents-donations for storm victims.” It really puts you in perspective of the fact that this wasn’t just a town that was affected by tornadoes; these were people who had their lives uprooted. They had homes and families and history in this place that preceded the storms and suddenly it was all gone. Seeing people donate birthday presents reminded you that these are individuals who needed help. On the way back, we got news of a death. I didn’t know him personally but I knew his whole family because his mom and my mom went to college together in India. He was in his thirties, married five years, and had passed away because of cancer. He was an incredible person with a heart for God. Hearing that after an amazing, fun trip just hit me hard. It reminded me how precious life is and how much you can do with it. It reminded me that this trip was for God and to show that through all the devastation and through all the storms and through all the tragedies, God is good. And God will carry you through. And God loves you.
Jeremiah 29:11
Favorite chapter ever.
The difference between religion and true Christianity.
truth.
I know this video is long but it is definitely worth it.
Day 5: Tuesday. VBS day! funsies. Clearly I was tired because we did three straight rounds of action songs and I was like ready to pass out. The kids were cute though even this one kid that found the need to hit me. We took a little break in between where I got the inner photographer in me out and started taking random pictures. For the record I took the proudest picture of my life there (http://shehasnoproblemwithsecrets.tumblr.com/post/5119905290 ). Afterwards a few of us stayed back instead of going out for street ministry and we just hung around. Props to one of my friends for learning six songs on the piano in an hour (I guess real props goes to our other friend for teaching her…) and then we had night service. And we did like girl’s night that night sitting around talking and it was fun.
Day 6: Wednesday. This was the day we actually went to London. WE TOOK THE TUBE! Let me just say subways are so much cleaner there than they are here. Overall London’s pretty much like Manhattan if it wasn’t for their specific sights like Big Ben and Buckingham Palace. WE SAW THE TELEPHONE BOOTH IT WAS SO COOL. We prayed in front of Buckingham Palace and that was a real mission moment in my opinion. Even on our day off we took the time to fulfill our purpose there. We had night service. It was really hot. I felt like passing out.
Day 7: Thursday. We did street outreach in a flea market type place. We did worship, skits, face painting, paper cranes for Japan, etc. The thing was there were more people out farther than we were so what we did was take our speaking skits and went out there to do it and told people to go down. Then we got up on a brick ledge and started screaming out the words to “Trading My Sorrows” and made actions for them. That was quite an interesting experience. We got a lot of weird looks. Haha. By the time we got back we were done. We had a night meeting. And some REALLY good food for dinner. (:
Day 8: Friday. Good Friday! We had Good Friday service at Southall. We had lunch and half the group went to set up and the other half waited for the van to come back for us. I had my first red bull! We got to the other church and they were already setting up for the outdoor concert. We sat around for a while and then we decided to go get food. I got another red bull and a really good wrap. I still remember that haha. Uhm the red bull made me a little weird. I was very alert. But my crash was HORRIBLE. we went to a pastor’s house for dinner and I fell asleep…yeah. But I think the highlight of that night was after the meeting we got all the SCOG girls together and we prayed with them and it was just nice because we love them so much.
Day 9: Saturday. Leaving day. We went shopping. I spent too much on two sweatshirts but whatever. There were a few tears shed and lots of goodbyes. The plane ride was kind of crazy. Two of my friends (sisters) got voted most obnoxious…again. not surprised. (:
Dang I really miss it.
First off let me just say Scotland is absolutely BEAUTIFUL.
Day 4: Sunday. Finally at like 8 am we got to Scotland after an insanely long car ride (I love my friends but seriously some of them are CRAZY). We had breakfast and then got ready for Sunday service. Somehow two of my friends (sisters who tend to bring a lot of clothes) and I managed to fit our clothes for the weekend into one tiny duffel. Definitely one of the accomplishments in my life. But of course this duffel was under all the instruments so we had to go get one of our friends to unearth it. We tried to get over our disgust of being completely dirty and changed into nice Sunday clothes. The church was nice (apparently it has like 600 members; we were sitting in the front so I didn’t really notice). It was tiring being awake for a good portion of the night with bad sleep peppered in and then going to service. We had a rather uhm filling lunch after it was over (aka there was way too much food and we conned someone into throwing out most of it while feeling extremely guilty). AND THEN WE GOT TO OUR HOTEL ROOMS AND SHOWERED! Granted the showers were like see through and the toilet was in a closest BUT IT WAS STILL A SHOWER! We had night service afterwards and when we did the “Cry Out To Jesus” body worship we messed up but supposedly no one noticed. Pastor Daddy and his daughter (wow it’s weird saying it like that but I don’t want to use names unless they have tumblr…) came back that night! It was a pretty amazing night (more on that to come? possibly?). Oh we had Nando’s for dinner that night! Dang that was pretty good food. When we got back to the hotel we decided to play Canos. Oh my gosh my friends are scary playing that game….
Day Five: Monday. This was our sightseeing day in Scotland. That country is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. First we went to a beach type thing and the air was so fresh and the grass was so green and the sky was so blue. It was like breathtaking. And then we went to a dock over the water and that was really pretty too. We ate lunch by a playground and we kinda kicked off of it…yeah. THEN WE WENT TO A CASTLE. No, we didn’t go inside. But there were a lot of trees and flowers and stuff. The guys re-enacted some Bollywood style scenes in cherry blossom trees. Then a bunch of the guys went climbing in trees and a few people started frolicking in the fields…I don’t know. Oh it was so funny when we were in the parking lot our pastor’s oldest son who’s our worship leader just walked under a tree and I swear he was like talking to it…we were talking to him about it last night and he completely denied it but I have photo evidence haha. It was another long drive back to Southall but we had enough rest stops and I had my first Krispy Kreme donut! Oh and my friends were singing and let me tell you IT WAS AHHHMAZING. But it was still a long night.
