D.C. - Recap (Stephen Smith)

First of all I would like to thank all of the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and everyone else that helped make this trip possible for all of us. I know that this trip had a huge impact on all of us, so thank you.

Starting Sunday morning when we were packing the vans in front of church I don’t think that any of us really expected anything about the next week. Just driving into DC and seeing some of the neighborhoods was an instant shock to me, seeing the way some people had to live. The first morning we woke up, and were all tired. We drove to a brick building, and as soon as we walked in the first thing we were told to do was to go upstairs and make the beds. As we all worked together I saw how close our group was going to get. We hardly knew each other, but, by later that day when we were shucking corn you’d have thought we were all best friends.

The Boys and Girls Club was my favorite part of the trip. Each day, except Wednesday, we visited the B&G club to just help in any way we could. Our time was spent either playing games with the kids, or helping in the gym, or helping in one of the classrooms. I was mainly in the 7-8 year old room, which was insane. The kids were really loud, but when it came time to work, they would ask for our help and work through it, usually without problem.

Other places we went were Food and Friends, were we packed or delivered food to people with life threatening illness. It was cool to be able to see how some of the people lived, and it was also cool to be able to pack all of the food.

One day we went to “Downtown Cluster” which is a geriatric center. We talked to and sang for the elderly. It was very, very interesting. As soon as we got there I could have sworn I heard a cat. Every 2 or 3 minutes “MMEEOOOW!” I had no idea where it was coming from, until right before we left. I looked at this very old woman, who looked me straight in the eyes and let out a meow. I tried so hard not to laugh.

The rest of the time was either eating at different ethnic restaurants, which was always fun, or just hanging out and getting to know each other. We all got really close and I made a lot of strong friendships from this trip. I am very happy that I went on this trip and I know the experiences that I gained will lead me for years to come. I got closer to God, and he helped me realize that even though it may be hard work, its important to get to know the people that I am walking with, on my walk with God.

So, again I’d like to thank everyone for the opportunity to go on this trip. I hope I get to go on more trips like this in the future.

- Stephen