Behind Bars: Transitioning Back Into Society

On May 11, I attended the presentation “Behind Bars: Transitioning Back Into Society” by the COR 401 classes.  This took place in Dietzman at GC, at 10:45 during the Uncommon Day of Learning.  I attended with Kiley Watson. The environment was serious, and they set the mood with how they presented their topic.  The event was pretty relaxing but had a more serious tone to it, as it was covering the topic of juvenile delinquents.  The event went as expected for the most part.  I enjoyed it, because I am wanting to teach in a prison for juvenile delinquents, but I wish they had a little bit more interaction or something to grab my attention a little more. I did not enjoy the fact that it just did not hold my attention very well.  I would most likely attend again if I had the opportunity, if they had maybe more involvement from the audience.

New Church Service

On March 15, in New Orleans, Louisiana while I was on my  spring break mission through Greenville College, we (the students from GC on the trip) attended Trinity Evangelical Free Church on the Sunday after we got there.  The environment was very relaxing, and I felt right at home in that church.  I come from a Baptist background, but this church really made me feel at home despite the fact that it was a different denomination.  It was a beautiful church that had big windows in the front where you could see all of the beautiful green trees and the sun while you worshipped.  I really felt God there! It was very beautiful and made me feel content in that church. The service went as expected I guess, I did not expect to feel so at home like I did, but I did, and the sermon and worship went as expected.  I enjoyed it a lot, and if I could live there in Louisiana, I would consider being a regular attender of that church.  There was not anything I did not enjoy, it was an amazing experience and I wish I could experience it again.  Yes I would attend this church service again, and I wish I could start attending tomorrow, if only I could make my way back down to LA!

LGBTQ Q&A: A Conversation with LGBTQ Students and Alumni

During this event, LGBTQ Q&A: A Conversation with LGBTQ Students and Alumni, on April 20^th at 6 oclock, in the upper union, we had time to talk with LGBTQ Students and Alumni on the topic of LGBTQ inclusion and just random stuff about the opinions and what not of these LGBTQ people.  At the end of the event we had to fill out a survey about LGBTQ issues and what we feel.  I did not attend with anyone, but I sat by some people who were a little familiar.  The environment was exciting, and they had food and we got to make lots of conversation.  The event was memorable and I learned a lot more than I expected to.   The event went as expected, as in “set up” wise and the way they presented it, but I did not think I would learn as much as I did.  I did enjoy it, I really liked getting to hear differing opinions between the LGBTQ students and alumni presenting, but I did not enjoy how some of the students/alumni answered some of the questions.  I would most likely go again if this event was held again, but maybe the topic could be a little different or on a certain LGBTQ issue.

Coming Out...Coming In

On April 18, 2015, I went to St. Louis with a Greenville College COR class (Beth Watkins did the inviting) to see Bishop Gene Robinson at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church.  During the event “Coming Out…Coming In”, Bishop Gene Robinson shared his story with us about him becoming the first (openly) gay Bishop and the trials that came along with it.  We asked questions, had great food, and got to meet other people at the event who wanted to bring LGBTQ inclusion within the churches.  The environment was calm, there was a wide variety of people, especially older people. The event was memorable and exciting, as I have never been to an event like that before and it was a lot of fun.  The event went as expected, plus some.  For the most part it was what I thought it would be, but it was a lot more fun and interesting than I thought it would be.  I really enjoyed it, I loved hearing Gene’s story and the hardships that he went through to make him who he is today, and what we can do to include LGBTQ people in the church and make them a part of our Christian community.  There was honestly not one thing I did not enjoy, I personally thought it was excellent overall.  I would definitely attend something like this again, and recommend other people to attend if Gene has any other events like it!

SERVICE #1

SERVICE:

For my service project, I went to New Orleans, Louisiana for a mission trip during Spring Break.  During my time there, I worked for about nine hours a day for 5 days.  I left for LA on Saturday morning at four am and arrived back on campus the next Saturday at around 10pm.  My service papers will be an overview of the whole week there.

            On the way down to Louisiana, I had some great food and made friends with the people I would be working with.  We had some good laughs and expressed our excitement for the work week ahead of us, and we explored the ideas we had about what the week would consist of and who we would meet and possibly bring to God.  We got to Louisiana, met our crew, and moved into our bunks.  The next morning, Sunday, we attended church on the property that our warehouse (where we kept our tools and also lived in for the week) was on.  We had a great service and met some great people who had helped make all of this possible.

            On work day one, Monday, our day started at 6:30 am and we worked until about 5.  We showed up at the house we were supposed to work at—the whole inside was gutted with some rotten termite-infested boards holding the roof up.  We were put to work cleaning up woods/sticks in the front yard that were from the demolished house into the dump truck.  After that Cheris (a girl that attended the trip with me) and I went around to the back of the house and started tearing out some concrete that needed to be removed.  It was very thick concrete and hitting it with a sledgehammer just does not work the way you would like it to.  It was very hard work so we took a break and went on a prayer walk. 

During our prayer walk, we walked around town, got brushed off by a gentleman begging for money, but were quickly blessed by two lovely ladies who worked at a school in New Orleans.  They were taking a break so we stopped and talked to them and prayed with them. 

After having a conversation about their jobs, life, and God, we started back to our work site. After lunch, we got to meet the owner of the house we were working on, Miss Shirley and her relatives.  She told us her story about the day Hurricane Katrina hit and how God has been working in her life.  We went back to tearing up concrete, throwing wood into a dump truck, and worked until it was time to head back to dinner.

            It was a very exciting day for us, getting to start working at our job site and meeting the lady of the house we were working on, and getting to show ourselves in town and bringing God into peoples’ lives.  I was blessed by God to get to work in a state that is near and dear to my heart and to make an impact on the people of New Orleans. 

SERVICE #2

SERVICE:

During work day two, our day started early with breakfast and devotions, along with chores and gathering up our supplies.  We were tired from the day before but eager to get started and meet some more people in town. When we arrived at the house, our team got right to work with tearing out more concrete.  We had a few girls help us tear it out, but the sledgehammers were not doing it for us and we had to try to use a jackhammer to crack the concrete and break it apart for us to pull out.  The jackhammer did not do much better so we continued using sledgehammers and prayers to try to get the job done.  The boys’ help helped out a lot, and we all worked together to tear out all of the concrete. We worked all day and went back home tired and happy that we were one step closer to getting this lady’s house completed and ready for her to live in.

On work day three, we had usual breakfast, chores, and devotions and headed to our job sites.  Since we finished up the concrete demo job yesterday, we worked on framing the house today.  We swept up dirt and wood pieces to clean the area and made space to be able to frame.  I was taught how to nail braces into the framework to create more support for the house.  

Later that day, some plumbers stopped by the house to talk to Miss Shirley about some work they were needing to do and how she wanted it done.  Miss Shirley was not there at the time so we had ample time to talk to them about what we were doing there and how God works in our lives.  The plumbers talked to us about Katrina and how it changed their lives, Louisiana hospitality, and where to find the best gumbo in Louisiana.  I am so blessed to have been able to create those relationships at our job site and talk to them about God and life.  We went on a prayer walk and was turned away by a homeless man that had seen us walking around and working all week, before we even got to him.  It hurt my feelings but I know that I have to accept this part of mission work—sometimes people will not want to have anything to do with it.

            Later that day, a woman saw us getting ready to leave our job site and stopped us to talk.  She went on and on about how we were doing a great job and what a blessing it was for us to be in New Orleans helping people out.  It meant a lot that she said that, because getting brushed off by someone before we even got to him hurt my feelings.  So getting praise from someone after that lifted my spirits and made me think that maybe God put her there for a reason.

            God works in great ways and I have seen that over the course of these couple days.  I loved getting to finish the concrete and move on to another job.

 

SERVICE #4

SERVICE:

On day five, we started our day with the usual, breakfast, devotions, and chores, and headed to our site.  As soon as we got there, Cheris and I started tearing out rotten wood and old walls to make space for new framing to be done.  We took out some piping and picked up wood and scraps off of the floor to clear the area while the boys did framing. We only worked a little over half the day today, and met with Miss Shirley (the house owner) to go over a few details and to say our final goodbyes. We got to have a day on the town and explore New Orleans with the group we went down with.  We got to try some good gumbo and go into some small shops and an art gallery.  It was nice walking around New Orleans as a cool down from the hard week that we had.  This mission trip has been one of the best ones I have been on yet, and I am so happy God has given me this opportunity!

 

SERVICE #3

SERVICE:

During work day four, I had the usual breakfast, devotions, and chores, and we headed out to the job site.  It was a less “hard labor” day, but we all got very dirty and sweaty anyway working on the inside of the house.  Cheris and I picked up lots of broken wood and swept up wood scraps and dust to keep the floor clear for the boys to be able to work easily on and not trip over anything.  I also got to nail on some more brackets to give more support to the beams keeping the house and roof up.  The boys I worked with tore out the rotten wood and continued framing.  We had lunch and Cheris and I went on a prayer walk and talked to a few people about why we were in town and what we were doing.  Hopefully we sparked some interest and their hearts will start wandering towards god if they are not there already.  I got to take a picture with the homeowner of the house we are working on and got to talk to her some more.  It was a great day!