Mission Trip

Last week, we took 14 youth (Amber Barnwell, John Hitchcock, Adam Throgmorton, Colleen Ryan, Justin Mayo, Patrick Green, Luke Hornby, Matthew Gaw, Rachel Nunnally, Daniel Nunnally, Catherine Ratterman, Makayla Clark, Hali Presley, and Ruth Ellen Wilder) along with 6 adults (Janet Coonce, Janis Nunnally, James Green, Kelly Little, Max Mayo, and myself) to Oklahoma City for our Mission Trip. Our lives have definitely been touched by the people of Oklahoma City.
During the day, a big part of our group worked for a group called, Rebuilding Together, by helping Ms. Donna. We painted the outside of her house, and re-caulked all of her windows, and just did odds and ends inside the house. Ms. Donna is an amazing lady who was so willing to do anything for us. The other half of the group worked at the Oklahoma City Food Bank. They loved it. They came back to the church every night with stories about the people they met, and also about how much they loved to climb inside the big boxes.
At night we went as a group to the Oklahoma City Rescue Mission. This was a place that had about 30-40 children. They were so kind, and sweet. The children were very happy to have someone to play with, and they were so open to new faces. There was one in particular that stole my heart, and I know there were several whose hearts were stolen by one or more children.
Though we worked most of the days and nights, we had time at night to play vicious games of spoons and hang out. Several of the youth would get up early to work out with Janet, and we must not forget about the breakfast that Adam Throgmorton provided.
On the last day we had a chance to find out what makes Oklahoma City unique. We went to the Oklahoma City National Museum and Memorial. It was a memorial for the Oklahoma City bombing that occurred in 1995. It really showed the youth, who were either just born or not even thought of yet, a part of the United States history that they may not have known. It was an experience that was heart wrenching but memorable. We got to spend that afternoon at a local water park. Everyone had fun and went down a slide or two and got in the wave pool, even Pastor Mayo.
For me, the most memorable thing was the 3 hour devotion on Friday night. We had a time to share with each other what we saw that week in each other. To conclude the trip and that time of sharing, we took Communion together. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever taken part in.
The week was a whirlwind, but it was amazing to see youth take a week out of their summer vacation and put their lives on hold to make a difference for someone else. It was also great to see the adults willing to put their lives on hold with their families and jobs to be there with those youth. In her devotion, Amber Barnwell said “We came to change Oklahoma City, but Oklahoma City changed us.” Oklahoma City has definitely changed us, and put an imprint on our hearts forever.