It would be my luck to end the summer by getting sick. I woke up at 4:00 in the morning throwing up, and that lasted for a while. I've been at Luke's apartment all day today to try to regain my strength, and I'm finally holding some soup and saltine crackers down. I think I may finally be able to go home soon. This summer has flown by...I still can't believe it's over. I don't think the reality has completely hit me yet...it may not until I'm home and actually don't come back to Mobile.
It was hard to say goodbye to our kids on Thursday. Some of them wanted my phone number, so I gave it to them and told them to call me any time they wanted to, and I definitely meant it. We gave them sunglasses (thanks Dad!), blue cinch bags, notebooks, a toothbrush, toothpaste, candy, and extra stuff like toys, bubbles, pencils, or bouncy balls that we had left over in our prize box. We also had a pizza and ice cream party, so of course that went over well. Lots of them asked if I'd be back next summer...I told them that I definitely hope to be. I didn't want to make any promises though, because ya never know what road life will take you down. I already miss those kids, though, and they will forever be on my heart. Just a few minutes ago, two of the kids, Iman and Oneka, called me! I was SO excited, and then I found out that they called Jessica and Wes also. That just shows that we actually did make an impact, and the kids love us just as much as we love them. :)
Thursday night was also our last dinner provided by Whistler. It was Mrs. Judy's birthday, so I had everybody sing happy birthday to her, and we just had a lot of fun in fellowship over dinner. After dinner was our last organic worship, which went really well. We served communion to one another (which was WONDERFUL for me, because I'm used to having it every Sunday but have only had it once this summer) and washed each others' feet. After organic worship, Jessica, Stephanie, Liz, and I picked up Cora (who is the 15 year old daughter of Mrs. Paula, an awesome lady in the church, and to whom I have grown very close), and we took her to the movies to see Inception. That movie was so good! We had a great time together in the movie, and then Jessica and I spent the night with Liz and Cora (who are sisters, in a way...Liz was adopted into their family) in Saraland, which was a great experience. We were able to have a wonderful breakfast prepared by Mrs. Paula the next morning and just enjoy extra time with this wonderful family from Whistler church.
Last night we all went to a banquet at South Alabama's Wesley Foundation. Mom, Dad, Lexie, and Luke came! We sat at a table with Sheridan's family, and we had a great meal, and then Don and Jean made some speeches and showed a slide show. Jean also called each of us up by team to say some stuff about what we'd done over the summer, and we each got an envelope with some pictures from the summer in it. The banquet was a great way to say goodbye to all of the interns, even though it was sad to do so. This morning, Mrs. Judy, Mr. Charles, Mrs. Paula, Cora, Sara, and Reverend Fail were all at Whistler to help us clean and to say goodbye, so I was so happy to get to see them one last time before I left (even if I was sick, hah). Those people have made a permanent impact on my life, and I love them so much.
Well, I guess this raps up my 3.0 blog. Thank you to everyone who read it and gave me encouragement along the way! Hopefully I'll be back at church tomorrow; it just depends on how I'm feeling in the morning and when I make it back to Montgomery. This summer has been the best experience of my entire life, and I will forever cherish all of the memories and all of the lessons that came out of it. We were each asked to write a reflection about the summer, so I'll end with sharing that:
"This summer has, quite literally, been the best experience of my life. I’ve always been aware of the struggles related to living in poverty and developing racial stereotypes, but I’ve never actually done anything about it before. I’ve always had the excuse that I’m too busy with extracurricular activities, and too enveloped in my school work, which is all true. Education is very important to me, so I spend a lot of time studying, but this summer has helped me to realize that making an A on every single test is not nearly as important as making a difference in this world. The summer has also reinforced to me the importance of modeling our lives based on how Jesus wants us to live. His life is the perfect example of unconditional love, humble service, modest living, and genuine actions, and as Christians, we should naturally live in the same way. We should be as willing to help people as these churches have been willing to feed us, and we should always appreciate the blessings we have been given. It doesn’t matter if we only get a sandwich for lunch, or just a bowl of cereal for breakfast, or snakes and mice in our rooms, because at least we have a roof over our heads and food to nourish us. Although I am leaving Mobile tomorrow, I will not leave this experience or these kids behind. I am going to do my best to remember these things I have learned every day, and I will always be in prayer for Whistler, for these beautiful angels of God that have come to our day camp each day, and for the various ministries that we have visited this summer. I will never forget Tonny Algood’s true servant’s heart, or Reverend Fail’s compassion for the impoverished in this world, or Mrs. Judy Lacey’s love for anyone and everyone she meets. I will always have pictures in my mind of Shakarria, Levonta, Satoryia, Arlexsia, Laila, Oneka, Cantrell, Isjiaa, and all of these other kids who I have grown to love so much, and I will never forget certain moments with them, like Shakarria crying in my arms about her dog dying and about feeling worthless, or like Isjiaa begging me to play Chess with her so she could have companionship. As I go back home, I hope to change the way I live, and be optimistic and sure of God’s love instead of being cynical and letting anger get the best of me sometimes. Thank you, Don and Jean, for everything you have done for us this summer, and for making this internship so special and so inspiring."
I'm still sorry that you got sick on the last day, but I hope that you are feeling better. :-)
ReplyDeleteErin, I have enjoyed working with you this summer. Even though it was your last choice, I'm glad that you were placed at Whistler and we got to work together and hang out. :-)
I loved your reflection, also! :-)
P.S. I think you should keep your blog! ;-)