it's times like these you learn to live again
wow.
i can't even believe that i'm sitting here again already. it doesn't even seem like a week has gone by, and yet, at the same time, i feel completely different, like i have a new life. mississippi was so life-changing, so amazing, so completely what i needed to make me wake up and see the bigger picture. i don't even know where to begin talking about it. i don't even know the entirety of how i feel about it. i need to reflect a lot....now.
we arrived in memphis around 3:00 central standard time (4:00 eastern standard time) last saturday and were greeted at the airport by father tim, the man who runs Camp Friendship, and his assisstant and friend, brother terry. we drove the 2.5 hours to aberdeen to camp glenmary, where camp friendship is held. saturday night was just a night for talking, relaxing, unpacking, and eating. sunday we went to mass at the catholic church in aberdeen, which is 1/4 the size of my church back home, since in very rural areas of the south, less than 1% of the population is catholic. what a difference from new england, where parishes are hundreds in number. but i absolutely loved the church, it's the type of church i want for my family someday. a small, close-knit community of loving and caring individuals. we chatted with the parishoners after mass for a while, learned more about the culture of rural mississippi, then headed back to camp and started working. we raked leaves for the rest of the day sunday, into long piles so that we could burn them the next day. for the next 3 days, we did the majority of the physical work around the camp...raked leaves, burned leaves, cleaned the cabins, washed all the dishes in the dining hall, etc. tuesday night we took a drive into tupelo, ms to see the house where elvis presley was born, & went out for ice cream. wednesday, in the morning i went to the food warehouse and packed boxes of food for families in need. that was so eye-opening....seeing that these households get one box of food per month as a supplement, so that they don't have to go grocery shopping for a week or two and maybe they could pay the bills with the money they save. it showed me how much i need to appreciate the amount of food i have available to me, and to not waste the food that i have. wednesday night we went to mass again, and after mass asked the parishoners questions about the southern way of life, about the poverty and the struggle in aberdeen. and they asked us questions about sba and all the work we were doing....it was a really interesting conversation. thursday my task was to clean the arts and crafts shed with 3 others, and we tackled and killed almost 50 hornets that liked to live in the windows. in the afternoon there was a tornado warning, so we finished our work early, and since it was our last day of work, we had finished everything that needed to get done at the camp, and even as a bonus, we had replaced the screens on one of the cabins. we slept during the afternoon, and then were treated to a real southern meal....fried chicken, fried biscuits, fried okra, onion rings, and french fries. it was delicious, but sooooo filling and i felt gross afterwards from all of the fat. friday we went to memphis and toured the national civil rights museum, which was incredible. the museum is built off the back of the lorriane hotel, where dr. martin luther king, jr. was staying when he was assassinated. i was 4 feet away from the actual spot where he was standing....it was an indescribable feeling. i really wish i could have met him, because he was truly an inspirational man.
and then we left. it seems as quick as that...we returned to camp, spent one last night in aberdeen, and then woke up, drove to the airport, and flew home. i can't believe that i'm back already. last night i got to see maddy and kc for the first time in a week, and was able to hear about their two trips to lawrence and philly. it was remarkable...we experienced the same things, in different locations and with different people. absolutely incredible. we talked for a long time last night, and we're all feeling the same way - so now we're aware. now what?
that's my biggest question, and my largest shortcoming now. now, i've seen the suffering, i've seen the poverty and the loss in the south. but now what can i do with all of it? i mean, i was amazed by their faith. for people who have so little, one would think they would be bitter, possesive, angry, spiteful....but they're entirely the opposite. they're warm, welcoming, genuine, amazing individuals that have all changed my life in some way. they have so much hope for a better future, it gave me hope and joy to serve them. i don't even know how to put into words what i'm feeling, but i'm so humbled by all of the people i've met. they inspire me to act...now i just need to figure out how.
i guess my week can be summed up best by a statement brother terry said to some of my group members this week...."yes, it gets hard down here, because there is so much need and so much suffering, and you feel like you can't do anything about it. it's frustrating.....but wouldn't you rather light up the world, rather than curse the darkness?"
i can't even believe that i'm sitting here again already. it doesn't even seem like a week has gone by, and yet, at the same time, i feel completely different, like i have a new life. mississippi was so life-changing, so amazing, so completely what i needed to make me wake up and see the bigger picture. i don't even know where to begin talking about it. i don't even know the entirety of how i feel about it. i need to reflect a lot....now.
we arrived in memphis around 3:00 central standard time (4:00 eastern standard time) last saturday and were greeted at the airport by father tim, the man who runs Camp Friendship, and his assisstant and friend, brother terry. we drove the 2.5 hours to aberdeen to camp glenmary, where camp friendship is held. saturday night was just a night for talking, relaxing, unpacking, and eating. sunday we went to mass at the catholic church in aberdeen, which is 1/4 the size of my church back home, since in very rural areas of the south, less than 1% of the population is catholic. what a difference from new england, where parishes are hundreds in number. but i absolutely loved the church, it's the type of church i want for my family someday. a small, close-knit community of loving and caring individuals. we chatted with the parishoners after mass for a while, learned more about the culture of rural mississippi, then headed back to camp and started working. we raked leaves for the rest of the day sunday, into long piles so that we could burn them the next day. for the next 3 days, we did the majority of the physical work around the camp...raked leaves, burned leaves, cleaned the cabins, washed all the dishes in the dining hall, etc. tuesday night we took a drive into tupelo, ms to see the house where elvis presley was born, & went out for ice cream. wednesday, in the morning i went to the food warehouse and packed boxes of food for families in need. that was so eye-opening....seeing that these households get one box of food per month as a supplement, so that they don't have to go grocery shopping for a week or two and maybe they could pay the bills with the money they save. it showed me how much i need to appreciate the amount of food i have available to me, and to not waste the food that i have. wednesday night we went to mass again, and after mass asked the parishoners questions about the southern way of life, about the poverty and the struggle in aberdeen. and they asked us questions about sba and all the work we were doing....it was a really interesting conversation. thursday my task was to clean the arts and crafts shed with 3 others, and we tackled and killed almost 50 hornets that liked to live in the windows. in the afternoon there was a tornado warning, so we finished our work early, and since it was our last day of work, we had finished everything that needed to get done at the camp, and even as a bonus, we had replaced the screens on one of the cabins. we slept during the afternoon, and then were treated to a real southern meal....fried chicken, fried biscuits, fried okra, onion rings, and french fries. it was delicious, but sooooo filling and i felt gross afterwards from all of the fat. friday we went to memphis and toured the national civil rights museum, which was incredible. the museum is built off the back of the lorriane hotel, where dr. martin luther king, jr. was staying when he was assassinated. i was 4 feet away from the actual spot where he was standing....it was an indescribable feeling. i really wish i could have met him, because he was truly an inspirational man.
and then we left. it seems as quick as that...we returned to camp, spent one last night in aberdeen, and then woke up, drove to the airport, and flew home. i can't believe that i'm back already. last night i got to see maddy and kc for the first time in a week, and was able to hear about their two trips to lawrence and philly. it was remarkable...we experienced the same things, in different locations and with different people. absolutely incredible. we talked for a long time last night, and we're all feeling the same way - so now we're aware. now what?
that's my biggest question, and my largest shortcoming now. now, i've seen the suffering, i've seen the poverty and the loss in the south. but now what can i do with all of it? i mean, i was amazed by their faith. for people who have so little, one would think they would be bitter, possesive, angry, spiteful....but they're entirely the opposite. they're warm, welcoming, genuine, amazing individuals that have all changed my life in some way. they have so much hope for a better future, it gave me hope and joy to serve them. i don't even know how to put into words what i'm feeling, but i'm so humbled by all of the people i've met. they inspire me to act...now i just need to figure out how.
i guess my week can be summed up best by a statement brother terry said to some of my group members this week...."yes, it gets hard down here, because there is so much need and so much suffering, and you feel like you can't do anything about it. it's frustrating.....but wouldn't you rather light up the world, rather than curse the darkness?"