Memphis Mission Trip - Parent Review

We just returned from our first mission trip to Memphis Tennessee, it was interesting to say the least and amazing , I will do my best to put it into words what we experienced.

We decided to leave late Friday night, our logic was that the kids would sleep and then we would be able to make great time, but little did we realize that the kids all decided to not sleep but go on a sleep strike. Well, 9 boys without sleep is quit funny, the conversations that were going on behind me as I drove were a combination of absolute brilliance and utter lunacy. At one point there was a two hour conversation about how to survive a zombie apocalypse, there was the constant radio war, what music and who likes what and at one point a Fergie song came on "Big Girls Don’t Cry" and all nine boys were singing at the top of there lungs to this song, this big girl started to cry!

Once we got to Memphis we went to the host church and met up with our trip leaders from Leader Treks. Leader Treks is a Christian based leadership organization. They gave us a quick orientation and then we got right to work. The kids were required to make each meal and clean up after each meal. The Leader Treks program is very similar to our leadership program and our kids jumped in with both feet, they did a great job.

Our task for the week was to clean up and refurbish a home in a low income neighborhood. The neighborhood is right in the middle of a seriously rough area. The people that lived in the house were all professional people, nurse, teacher, artist, mom and they all decided to live there for a purpose. The purpose was to give back to the neighborhood they live in, to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a very low income area. They had a community garden, they had community chickens, they all worked together in unity for the good of the neighborhood. They spent all of their free time pouring into the people that lived around them, and by doing this they rarely had time to take care of their own home. The house is a fourplex, we completely gutted the down stairs and started over, ripped up the flooring and carpet, we stained the concrete that was underneath, we painted all the walls, ripped out a wall in the kitchen, put up a wood beam, installed some cabinets, tried to remove a giant stump from the back yard, stained some other wood beams and put up some crown molding. We usually started our days at the site around 9am and then the kids would work until 3pm then the neighborhood kids would come home from school and our kids would go and play and interact with them. It was an amazing experience.

Wednesday night we hosted a group of inner city kids who were a part of a local discipleship group, they were kids that came from gang backgrounds, some were from New Orleans and are living in Memphis now because there homes were destroyed from hurricane Katrina. These kids were able to share how God is working in their lives and our kids were able to share their stories as well. On Thursday night we were able to have a bonfire with the neighborhood kids and the people that lived in the house, we worshiped and ate smores! Friday night we all went to eat some famous Bar B Q!

The change I saw in the kids was a dramatic increase in self confidence and compassion. They really gave of themselves and they loved it, it felt good for them to give back and work for people that work for others. They were able to be a part of something very wonderful and they could see and feel it.

I tend to see our kids as young adults and they are, but when I was watching them interact and play with the neighborhood kids, I realized that they really are just kids themselves and they have hearts that are tender and giving, hearts that love, hearts that don’t care about skin color or net worth, it was a wonderful thing to see and be a part of. I am very proud of our ALA kids and everyone who interacted with them loved them and were impressed by them, they were a blessing to Memphis.

In summary the trip went very well and we all learned more about who we are in Jesus. I learned that driving 1600 miles one way with boys who don’t sleep promotes mental instability in me. They learned that when you give of your self from the heart it is better than receiving. I learned that going into my 17th straight day of working I love theses kids more every moment and what a true blessing it is to be a part of their life. They learned that giving piggy back and bike rides to young hurting kids is loving on Jesus. I learned that working 17 days straight and driving across the country is a small price to pay for what I get in return, I get to see our creator love on and love through some of the greatest kids on the face of the planet. Thank you Jesus, I am truly blessed!