"The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began,
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many path and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say."
::J.R.R. Tolkien::
We have returned from our “break”! After 10 days and many hours spent on a bus, we are grateful to be back in our own apartments in Lubbock. While last week was our week off from school, none of us are very rested, but I know I’m still enjoying our new term this week! It was a fun trip, and the highlight for me was getting to see my sister and three of my closest friends in Arkansas! I’ll try to be as succinct as possible, in an overview of our travels.
At 4am on Thursday, October 7, we began our drive to Ozark, Missouri for the first night. We ate at Lambert’s Cafe, home of the throwed rolls (my first visit), which is definitely worth a stop! Unlimited fresh rolls, fried okra (yum!), potatoes and just lots of good southern food. The church in Ozark graciously hosted us for a night, and I stayed at a beautiful home nestled among rolling hills and watched the sunset over the Ozark mountains. After a few more hours driving the next day, we had 3 hours to spend in St. Louis. I love that city and was glad for another visit! A handful of us walked for an hour to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was in an old, majestic train station that has been turned into a huge mall with a little river running through it and the “Grandest Hall Possible” for its time. The long walk was worth it just to see the Arch from many different angles and a City Garden with many unique sculptures and water fountains.
That night we arrived in Paducah, Kentucky! Our bus driver, Jamie, is the youth minister from Paducah and drove out for two days to Lubbock just to pick us up and make the return trip. The Lone Oak congregation is so incredibly supportive of AIM and ensure that each year’s class can make the trip out there! Saturday, we helped them to run a fish fry for the community. Around 1000 people came. I was a part of the frying of hush puppies for nearly 5 hours, but I really enjoyed getting to know members of the congregation and working behind the scenes.
Sunday through Wednesday morning, we encouraged the congregation, hung out with the youth, worked service projects and held devos daily. The family I stayed with has one daughter on the field now as an AIMer, and I enjoyed hearing stories from their oldest daughter who came off the field this past summer. We also went to the garden of the gods, full of beautiful bluffs and rocks to climb, and made a quick stop to Metropolis, Illinois, the home of Superman. I made sure to get pictures of me and Superman!
After a day of driving, we made it to Bentonville, Arkansas to worship with the youth group there and tell them about AIM. It was so great to be back in Arkansas, and I stayed with a family who has two daughters at Harding right now! We played games, made homemade pizza, and watched Sleepless in Seattle (such a great movie). I was sad we only had one night to stay there!
Finally on Thursday, we made it to Camp Tahkodah for the World Mission Workshop Harding hosted for the 50th year, and saw my sister!!! Another good friend also came up for the weekend which was so much fun! We three stayed in a tent together in "Tent City". There's a lot I could say about the workshop, as it was very training oriented for missions instead of just classes. We were there Thursday evening until early Saturday morning. Two other wonderful friends I made at Harding came up Friday night and stayed for quite a few hours! We took pictures on a swinging bridge and had the best time laughing and sharing our lives! I miss them all so much, it did my heart good to see them again. When I graduated in May, I honestly did not know when I would be able to visit Arkansas. God is good, as always! Now I'm heading back to Arkansas for Thanksgiving and I'll get to spend more time with them!
Dallas was our temporary home on Saturday night, and I enjoyed getting to visit one of the larger congregations there on Sunday. It was very different from what I am used to, but good. Kris, the AIM director, had asked me if I could share about AIM before class on Sunday morning in one of the adult classrooms. I had 5 minutes and told my reasons for coming to AIM, explained what we had been busy doing and where we were heading next in our time. It was a really encouraging experience just to see their faces, interested and supportive. They prayed for all of the AIMers, and especially the three of us who went to that class.
Sunday night we were home! Classes started Monday, but I think this post is long enough for now so I'll save that for later. This weekend, all of us Sunset AIMers are going to the Junior High Retreat. I'll be the 6th grade girls' counselor, and I'm really excited! I'm hoping to get some rest tonight so that I won't be completely exhausted all weekend long.
Thank you so much for your prayers during our trip! We were able to impact a lot of lives as they touched our own. Our God is faithful!
A bond-servant of Christ,
-ej
Down from the door where it began,
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many path and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say."
::J.R.R. Tolkien::
We have returned from our “break”! After 10 days and many hours spent on a bus, we are grateful to be back in our own apartments in Lubbock. While last week was our week off from school, none of us are very rested, but I know I’m still enjoying our new term this week! It was a fun trip, and the highlight for me was getting to see my sister and three of my closest friends in Arkansas! I’ll try to be as succinct as possible, in an overview of our travels.
At 4am on Thursday, October 7, we began our drive to Ozark, Missouri for the first night. We ate at Lambert’s Cafe, home of the throwed rolls (my first visit), which is definitely worth a stop! Unlimited fresh rolls, fried okra (yum!), potatoes and just lots of good southern food. The church in Ozark graciously hosted us for a night, and I stayed at a beautiful home nestled among rolling hills and watched the sunset over the Ozark mountains. After a few more hours driving the next day, we had 3 hours to spend in St. Louis. I love that city and was glad for another visit! A handful of us walked for an hour to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was in an old, majestic train station that has been turned into a huge mall with a little river running through it and the “Grandest Hall Possible” for its time. The long walk was worth it just to see the Arch from many different angles and a City Garden with many unique sculptures and water fountains.
That night we arrived in Paducah, Kentucky! Our bus driver, Jamie, is the youth minister from Paducah and drove out for two days to Lubbock just to pick us up and make the return trip. The Lone Oak congregation is so incredibly supportive of AIM and ensure that each year’s class can make the trip out there! Saturday, we helped them to run a fish fry for the community. Around 1000 people came. I was a part of the frying of hush puppies for nearly 5 hours, but I really enjoyed getting to know members of the congregation and working behind the scenes.
Sunday through Wednesday morning, we encouraged the congregation, hung out with the youth, worked service projects and held devos daily. The family I stayed with has one daughter on the field now as an AIMer, and I enjoyed hearing stories from their oldest daughter who came off the field this past summer. We also went to the garden of the gods, full of beautiful bluffs and rocks to climb, and made a quick stop to Metropolis, Illinois, the home of Superman. I made sure to get pictures of me and Superman!
After a day of driving, we made it to Bentonville, Arkansas to worship with the youth group there and tell them about AIM. It was so great to be back in Arkansas, and I stayed with a family who has two daughters at Harding right now! We played games, made homemade pizza, and watched Sleepless in Seattle (such a great movie). I was sad we only had one night to stay there!
Finally on Thursday, we made it to Camp Tahkodah for the World Mission Workshop Harding hosted for the 50th year, and saw my sister!!! Another good friend also came up for the weekend which was so much fun! We three stayed in a tent together in "Tent City". There's a lot I could say about the workshop, as it was very training oriented for missions instead of just classes. We were there Thursday evening until early Saturday morning. Two other wonderful friends I made at Harding came up Friday night and stayed for quite a few hours! We took pictures on a swinging bridge and had the best time laughing and sharing our lives! I miss them all so much, it did my heart good to see them again. When I graduated in May, I honestly did not know when I would be able to visit Arkansas. God is good, as always! Now I'm heading back to Arkansas for Thanksgiving and I'll get to spend more time with them!
Dallas was our temporary home on Saturday night, and I enjoyed getting to visit one of the larger congregations there on Sunday. It was very different from what I am used to, but good. Kris, the AIM director, had asked me if I could share about AIM before class on Sunday morning in one of the adult classrooms. I had 5 minutes and told my reasons for coming to AIM, explained what we had been busy doing and where we were heading next in our time. It was a really encouraging experience just to see their faces, interested and supportive. They prayed for all of the AIMers, and especially the three of us who went to that class.
Sunday night we were home! Classes started Monday, but I think this post is long enough for now so I'll save that for later. This weekend, all of us Sunset AIMers are going to the Junior High Retreat. I'll be the 6th grade girls' counselor, and I'm really excited! I'm hoping to get some rest tonight so that I won't be completely exhausted all weekend long.
Thank you so much for your prayers during our trip! We were able to impact a lot of lives as they touched our own. Our God is faithful!
A bond-servant of Christ,
-ej
Your trip was marvelous to read! I'm glad you had a great time and enjoyed every minute.
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