Friday, Saturday, Done

So, by now everyone is home and reunited with their families and friends (except Zach, who is flying solo for the week).  Even so, it only seemed fitting to put up a post detailing the final events of the trip.  Here are a few more things for relatives to look at or just to refresh memories concerning the trip.

FRIDAY

Friday started out like every other day, only earlier.  We packed up our bags the night before, but still had loading and cleanup to do.  Before taking off, we had the opportunity to pray with Raymond, who had coordinated and/or cooked all of our meals at Rescue Atlanta.  We cleaned up, moved a few pieced of furniture, unlocked the gate one final time, turned in our keys, and hit the road.

Both the Stewart Center group and the Walton Reserve group had a great and exhausting day.  

The Walton team showed up at the center to a handful of kids who had shown up early.  The kids were excited that Korey had brought his X-box 360 for the students to play with.  After breakfast, students changed and headed out to the pool for a few hours of swimming.  We became horses, submarines, monkeys and pitchers for the sake of the kids.  In the afternoon, our team lead the students in 3 songs and Jenny and Jordan gave their testimonies for the students, who hung intently on their every words.  A final game of kickball and a few minutes of outdoor activity rounded out the day.  Before leaving, Mr. VanDyke gave our team a copy of the cartoon books he wrote/illustrated.  We also had the chance to pray with and exchange info with the Walton staff.

With all of the field trips out of the way, all 5 of the groups were at the center.  All the kids presence brought extra energy and chaos.  The day's highlights included a great game of "Guess the Cartoon Theme song", some impromptu wrestling matches, and the painting of the basketball court with 3-point lines, half court markers, and an original Stewart Center logo.   Brittany from the Stewart Center also took some time to encourage our team and speak truth into our lives.  It was a touching end to a challenging week.  The Walton team met up at the Stewart center to give some final hugs and fist bumps.  Good-byes there weren't easy, but they had to happen. 

  

And then we were off . . . The goal was to get out of town before rush hour traffic took over.  We failed.  After rounding the first corner from S.R. 20 and I-75, we immediately caught a caterpillar-paced line of traffic.  Eventually, we stared moving at double-digit mph speed and then moved north toward Chattanooga.

Once arriving in Chattanooga, we checked into the hotel, struggled to find a place to eat, wandered lost around town for a few minutes, and landed at Tony's.  It was a nice Italian restaurant where we had a great time around one big table and got to eat and reminisce about the week's events.  It was a great time to celebrate and enjoy each other's company.  The food was incredible and the service was great.  We left full and happy.

After returning to the hotel at 11:00p.m., we dove into our final time of debriefing on the pool patio.  It was a perfect night with warm-cool temperature and an occasional breeze.  The debrief began as a series of questions "What surprised you this week? What are you taking home from Atlanta? "What's next?", etc., followed by responses from each team member.  And the evening ended with a time of encouragement for each student and leader on the team.  Before we knew it, it was 1:00 a.m.  We quickly discovered that we were locked out of the hotel and had to walk to several entrances of the building before finding a door that we could re-enter.  We headed up to the 3rd floor and to our rooms where we called it a night (but not before having been approached by security after a noise complaint - which, by the way, was highly unwarranted).  

SATURDAY

We loaded up the vans and headed north, taking an unscheduled detour past the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga stadium.  Breakfast was a quick stop at the local WalMart to procure juice, chocolate milk, mini doughnuts, muffins, bananas, tubed yogurt, and breakfast bars.  We ate on the road and headed north.  A few potty breaks, one lunch stop, and a couple of hundred miles later, we reached our destination at Southeast Christian Church.  We had the opportunity to meet a few parents, pray with most of the team, and pack up.  It was a whirlwind of a week, but we made it home safely.  

Thank you, God, for your protection along the way and for an incredible week!