How I Spent My Summer Vacation
Jun 27 '04 (Updated Jun 28 '08)
The Bottom Line I appreciate the opportunity to share my summer mission experience
Some of you may have noticed that I was "missing in action" from Epinions last week. I usually place a notice on my profile page letting people know when I'm on vacation. However, this time, I simply stated that I was traveling, because what I was doing does not really qualify as a true vacation.
This marks my 5th year on my current job, which entitles me to an extra week of PTO (paid time off). Since my husband just started a new job, and has very little time off the first year, I decided to use my extra week doing something meaningful. When I discovered that my church was planning a mission trip to Carolina Beach, a small resort town on the North Carolina coast, I was one of the first to volunteer. This was not such a difficult decision considering the fact that fun and sun at the beach is very high on my list of favorite things. What I did not realize is how much I would learn and how much personal satisfaction I would gain by going on this trip.
Before I get too heavy into this, realize that traveling for 12 hours in a van filled with teenagers, is not my idea of relaxation. Furthermore, living in a cramped two bedroom suite for a week with 4 teenage girls and the Youth Minister's wife, and arising at 6:30 a.m. each morning, doesn't quite fit my image of paradise either.
Don't get me wrong, there was plenty of time for strolling on the beach and lounging by the pool, which I expected to be the high points of the trip. As it turned out, they were not the most memorable moments.
We were assigned to refurbish an older home in Wilmington, owned by an elderly woman who had just lost her husband to emphysema three weeks earlier. It was a small task really, just a few days of chipping off old paint, re-painting, and doing a little yard work. Yet, our team of 4 adults and 8 teenagers, managed to complete the project with the help of a volunteer coordinator for the mission project.
These teenagers had stories of their own, several of them were dealing with abusive family situations, parents in the process of divorce, and struggles with drug abuse. Fortunately, they chose to deal with these problems by reaching out to other people, rather than trying to face them alone. We spent an hour each day dealing with personal and spiritual issues. Most of our nights were spent helping out with our sponsoring church's (St. Paul's United Methodist) puppet ministry and showcasing the youth's musical talents at the town's public boardwalk area.
Our greatest blessing, however, came from the warm greeting we received each day from the grieving lady in Wilmington who welcomed us each morning with a warm reception and a thankful spirit, that we were able to minister to her at a time in her life when she was in great need of moral support. The repairs on her home were merely symbolic of the chipping away of her past, and an attempt to revive her spirits with a fresh coat of paint.
On the next to last day of our project, she honored us by telling us that we would always be like family to her. All of a sudden, the grueling hours of riding in the van, 6:30 a.m. wake-up calls, and cramped living conditions, had all vanished, and in their place was the voice of God saying; "well done, my good and faithful servants."
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
skbreese
|
 in Movies |
 in Movies |
 - Top 500 |
|
Member: Sheila Calabrese
Location: Chattanooga, TN USA
Reviews written: 1139
Trusted by: 537 members
About Me:
To err is human, to purr is feline
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.