Saturday's blogs - a little late!
Solomon
Today was a good day. We settled in to our North Carolina home and set up everything for the other state groups to arrive. We made our secret servant bags! Mine has a fancy snowman and a fire and some decorations. Everyone got here all at once, so it was a little harder to meet all the new faces this year, but I think I got most of them! I got to teach some new people how to play spoons (although we used markers) and we played some euchre! All in all, it was a fun, laid back day of excitement and getting to see people again for the first time in a year! I'm excited to head out to the work sites tomorrow!
Nikki
Our Savior, Hartland & St Paul, Northville arrived on Friday night. We took the opportunity while on our own to go into Asheville and be adventurous. We went to drum circle & after some coaxing, all of the Our Savior youth and some of the St. Paul youth went out and danced. Then we tried out some Himalayan food at Kathmandu Café, which was a new experience for all of us. We didn’t recognize all of the food names, but we ended up all enjoying our meal, despite some hesitations. We also thoroughly enjoyed the sitar music. It was fun to take the time get know everyone from Michigan a little bit.
Saturday is always an excitement charged day as we get things ready for the arrival of the other state groups. Returning youth & adults are filled with anticipation as they await the arrival of old friends and new faces. First timers are still trying to figure what they have gotten themselves into and are often nervous to meet all the new people and try to remember 50 some new names and faces. By the end of the evening our youth were all mingling in with the others and seemed comfortable. I am looking forward to having a great week with this exceptional group of youth who want to come spend their summer serving.
Vici
Since I was in Mrs. Spangler's group, we had to come down a day early to get ready for the other groups. I was super nervous but I was also every excited. I honestly couldn't tell which I was feeling more so I just tried to calm down and be excited. On the way down it was about a 12 hour drive. We hit a big a big storm on the freeway in Kentucky. I'm sure that slowed us down for a little bit. I felt back for the guy that had a motorcycle that we passed under the bridge. And the guy that had a convertible top that was open and top was slowly closing. When we got to the Tennessee welcome center there was a bunch of Dolly Parton stuff. I thought it was funny because the last time I saw her was when I was younger watching Hannah Montana. When we actually got to Asheville, North Carolina we headed to the Emmanuel church and unpacked all our stuff and got beds set up. Once we felt we were done we went into town to see a drum circle and eat dinner.when we got to the drum circle some guy had a snake so me and some of the group went and pet it. The guy said it was a boa and his name was Big Boy. Sadly the drum circle didn't last long because it had started to rain. So we went looking for a place to eat. Most of the people wanted to try something new. So we went into a Himalayan restaurant. Me and Laura shared one of their meals. We can't remember the name but it looked like Indian curry. It was rice with a hot tomato and chicken sauce. It was surprisingly good. I also had a tea that was made with different herbs. Once that was all done we went back to the church and met up with some new people that had gotten there. After a little while we all went to bed. Then Saturday all the groups came in so it was kind of crazy for a little while. The Michigan groups went out to eat for lunch. When all the groups got settled in we all had dinner that some amazing people at this church made for us. Then when all that was done we did some really fun group games and then some kind of study time. When all that was done we went to the church to end the day with praying and praising God.
Laura
The drive down on Friday was fairly uneventful; I slept for a solid 90% of it and stared out the window for the rest. This road trip was different than any other I've ever been on because we took bathroom breaks almost every two hours. Other than that, I don't have much to say about the way down here.
When we arrived at the church, we cleaned some things I think; I don't really remember. Then we went to a drum circle in downtown Asheville. I had never been to a drum circle, so of course my expectations were shattered once we arrived. I had expected to see a circle of people playing drums, but when we got there, there was only a semicircle of drummers. While listening to the drums, we had the privilege of petting a very kind snake named Big Boy, and that was pretty cool. We then ate dinner at a Himalayan restaurant, which was probably my favorite part of the day. The food was delicious, and we were provided with a sitar player for entertainment. After the musician packed up, Solomon entertained us by finishing not only his dinner but three other dinners as well.
Then we drove home and did some things I can't remember; there was evening and there was morning, the first day…
Day two: We cleaned some more things including all the water coolers. It's amazing how dirty they were since being cleaned at the beginning of last year--foreshadowing of the dirt we can expect this week.
We made our first Walmart stop today too, and I rescued a friendly dinosaur from the underwear aisle. I planned to adopt him, but then I discovered his captors were requesting a fortune of $25 for his release, and I chose instead to leave him with a kitten I met there. Hopefully they become great friends, I will check up on him next time we go. After Walmart we at some delicious Mexican food. Even if I don't like a single thing about the rest of the trip (which isn't likely), I will definitely say the food makes it worth it.
When we returned from lunch, the other groups began to arrive. There are so many people to meet all at once, but after a day of silly games and constant introductions, I think I know about ten names. We played lots of card games because there wasn't any more cleaning to do. Everyone I've encountered has been lamentably bad at ERS, but I've enjoyed some euchre, spoons, and the classic go fish. I met a girl named Grace from Delaware who had been trained in one card game, Uno, who wanted to learn some more. Grace proved to be a quick learner and soon mastered spoons and go fish. Being a far too honest person, she struggled with BS, but you can't be good at everything. Grace is the epitome of most of the people I've met; everyone is excited to learn new things, meet new people, and serve the Lord.
After dinner we did some group activities which were probably meant to be fun but were positively alarming for those of us who are not fond of holding people we just met like babies (or riding them like broncos or carrying them like backpacks). However, I surrendered to discomfort in the name of competition. Maybe I'll undergo some huge change over this trip and suddenly enjoy surprise hugs; you never know what the lord has in store.
We then had a bible study of sorts. We watched a documentary on moonshine and marijuana featuring the voice talents of Billy Ray Cyrus. I was a bit skeptical about the Jesus connection in the whole thing, but I came to see that PJ wanted us to appreciate the region of Appalachia more. We then answered some questions about "putting on love." I've always wondered why we as Lutherans have to come up with odd phrases to try to relate to everyday life, but the message encased in the corniness was applicable. We're here to serve God, but service is not a locational occupation; rather, we are called to serve him anywhere and everywhere. I must admit, years of bible study has me sick of corn, but witnessing the tearful reactions of some of those around me has proven that preferences differ, and even biblical corniness can change lives.
After the bible study, we went into the sanctuary to sing and pray responsively. ASE has a tradition of allowing everyone to pray at the altar, a tradition which I found to be both relaxing and invigorating. It's nice to simply kneel down and speak to God, which is something I don't do nearly enough of. That's about it for day 2; hopefully I will have more exciting things to report tomorrow.
