Intro (Nikki)
My sincerest apologies for the final blog of 2016 being posted so late. As you will read below, the last 24 hours of ASE are packed full to the brim, as everyone realizes that it is their last moments together with this particular group of people. This is followed by the long trek home, during which the youth write their last blog. After some dinner and catching up at home, I literally fell asleep with the computer in my lap attempting to proof and post the blog. The third time I woke up like that, I just put the computer down and gave myself over to sleep.
Solomon
The last day on the worksite was a bit of a slow day, but we got a lot of time to talk and bond so it was a good day! We did some final touch up work on getting the dirt on top of the trenches instead of on top of the ground next to the trench. We reseeded the ground with some grass seed and picked out all of the rocks and chunks of sod to help even out the dirt piles. After we got out all of the rocks and seeded the trenches, we just had to connect the septic tank to the septic field. The connection was mostly dug out by the end of Monday, so we just had to put the pipe in and bury it. We buried most of the connection, but we were having some trouble making the connection at the septic tank because of the angle of the pipe, so there was several hours where there was a few people working and the rest of us were sitting in the shade drinking plenty of water. So we made use of the time by napping, decorating and signing rocks to take home as mementos, and drawing on each other with Sharpie markers. I got to bust up the old clay pipe and the cement around it with the big pry bar, which was fun because I got to smash stuff with what’s basically a big metal spear! I also mixed and spread cement for the first time! On a less exciting note, I also spent a good 15 minutes or so with my face directly over the opening to the septic tank so that I could hold the tube on the inside.
After the work day, we had lunch with our homeowner at a local restaurant, where we all tried fried okra, most of us for the first time. It was pretty delicious! After lunch, we went to sliding rock, which is a huge naturally occurring water slide! We did bring our swimsuits, but we weren’t sure if we would be allowed to go in the water because of storms, so we went down to go to the bathroom and look at it. So we were already down there by the time we were allowed to go in and our suits were waaaaaay back up at the van, so we just went in our workclothes. So I did go down sliding rock in dirty jeans. Not great for swimming, but it was awesome!
We finally wrapped up with community life and worship. I found out my Secret Servant was Ethan, another servant who’s been here all 4 years with me! It was pretty awesome! He knows me well and I think I’ve gotten the most personal gifts this year. We ended with our traditional worship service and washing of one another’s feet, a potent reminder that we are called to serve and do even the most humble of tasks. I stayed up all night playing cards with some of those whom I spent the most time with this year. We played a few good rounds of One Night Ultimate Werewolf, which gets reaaaally interesting at 2 in the morning! We also played some classics like spoons, crazy eights, and Capitalism. The night went by far too quickly. It was hard to see everyone leave, especially knowing that some of those who have been with me all four of my years here may not come back, even if I manage to come for a 5th year. It’s hard to see people cry, especially those who are normally tough or jovial. The leaders shepherded us into the vans before too long and stopped us from dragging things out too painfully long, but it was hard. I truly hope to do a better job of staying in contact with my brothers and sisters this time around.
No matter what happens in the future, these four years of fellowship and service have been a blessing in my life. God has taught me so very much about myself and Himself in my four years of high school and Appalachian Servant Event has been a huge part of that. It’s changed me in ways that I would have trouble describing. Nowhere else have I learned to open up and step outside of my comfort zones so quickly. Very few other places have been as loving and helpful when I do step outside my comfort zone. ASE is so very unique. You arrive (at least on your first trip) as complete strangers, and after ten days are passed, you leave as family. Thanks be to God!
Vici
Yesterday was the last day of ASE. No one could believe it. Sometimes there would just be silences in conversation; everyone thinking about the morning when we would have to say goodbye.
At my site we finished at around 10:30 am. After we changed and said goodbye to our amazing home owner we went to a waterfall. We kind of had to hike to it, but it was amazing. We got to climb up higher on the waterfall. After it started getting too chilly, we headed back to the vans. Good thing too because we could hear a lightning storm. When we got back to the church we took showers, ate dinner, and played some games. After games we found out who our secret servants were. Then we had our last worship service together. When all that was done we went into the gym to do talent shows. Everyone who participated did really good. Then we got free time until 1 in the gym but after 1 the all nighter was moved into the cafeteria. I slept and then a friend woke me up and we talked for awhile. I was a little irritated because I couldn't sleep after that so I wandered around till I got tired and laid down again. I was woken up again at 6 and we all had to clean up. We all started saying goodbyes and people cried. Everyone started really crying when we went outside and said goodbye one more time. It was really sad I'm hoping that people will stay in contact with me.
I can't tell you how good of an experience that was. You have to go yourself in order to understand it. I really wish more people got to experience it. I'm hoping to go next year if God blesses me with me with the opportunity again. Thank you for taking the time to read all of our journals about our travels. May God bless you.
Laura
We finished the bridge Tuesday. By the end of the workday, only a couple of us were actually still working on it. The others were sitting in the shade of the tent. To be fair, there wasn't much to do by the end. Dennis, Davis, Adam, and I pounded in the final nail in turns. We invited everyone else, but they preferred sitting. We then took a bunch of pictures, and called it a day. Our homeowner came out and said he really liked all the work we had done which was very good considering he had complained about us a few days previous.
We planned to carve our names into the bridge, but then we realized we didn't want to take the time. We then drove into hot springs to visit the site four of our group members served with last year. She remembered PK, Dennis, Adam, and Davis (who actually was not there), but didn't remember Andrew (which Andrew said was probably for the best). She was so excited to see us and wanted to make us lunch, but unfortunately we couldn't stay.
When we got back, we packed everything up to put in the vans. Solomon, Ethan, and I finished our final project for the last chapel. We had our last community life event which was a memory game. I had a lot more fun once I understood that it was a competition between boys and girls. The girls lost, however, because too many people just didn't care about winning.
It was then time to reveal our secret servants. Patrick was shocked that I was his secret servant; he expected it to be someone who knew him better because I was uncanny at guessing things he would like. My secret servant was Heather, which was sort of expected. I was a bit sad that despite the presence of nine cats on my secret servant bag, I didn't get a single cat in my bag. But overall, she did a great job of picking out things I liked. It was kind of funny to watch people guess. Some were so sure it was one person and then were extremely wrong.
We then had our last worship service. It was quite beautiful really. We had it in a circle in the cafeteria, and we sang lots of hymns. During part of the service, we washed each other's feet. It was a very powerful moment, and it didn't tickle as much as I expected. We also served each other communion, which was also very moving. I wouldn't have believed it at the beginning, but those 50 people really did end up being some of my best friends.
During the sermon, all the groups did the presentations we made. Some of the groups did weird skits or PowerPoint things. Some were significantly better than others. One group actually had a really funny and also meaningful skit. Our group went last, and ours ended up being awesome. Solomon's beat boxing was superb and Ethan and I pulled off some of our best rapping. We christened our group White Lightening (yes because we're white), and several people asked when our record was dropping, so we really could have a career if college doesn't work out.
After the service, we had a talent show. Some of the talents were a bit iffy, but a couple people were very impressive. We then began the lock-in by playing gym sports. I had lots of fun showing off by dominating lightening. It was super great until my shoulder popped out. I kind of stood there for a while with my arm above my head while everyone grimaced at me. Finally it went back in, and I lapsed into peculiar fits of laughter and was sentenced to sit in a corner of the dining room with an ice pack.
Soon enough everyone else left the gym, and my group of friends joined me in playing werewolf. We played for several hours, and then a smaller group of us moved into the kitchen to play. This was probably bad seeing as that's where all the snacks were. We played some more werewolf, then we played spoons, then we played capitalism, and we finished with some crazy eights. The whole night was extremely fun. We played some Pentatonix on Cameron's speaker and Solomon, Anna, and I sang along exuberantly. We played lots of Christmas songs, which put everyone in a peculiar mood.
At about six, we were shocked by the fact that the night was over, and it was nearly time to go home. I have never given so many sincere, powerful hugs in my life. Even people I barely got a chance to meet hugged me like a family member they were never going to see again. I wasn't surprised that I didn't end up crying, but I came very close when people like Dennis and Ben sobbed into my shoulder. I made Davis and Cameron promise to keep me informed on the cat cafe, and if I don't come back next year, I assured them I would visit to see the cafe. I said goodbye to Andrew last, and that hug made me the saddest. It still surprises me that he became such an important friend in such a short time.
I basically slept the entire drive until we got about three hours from Michigan when Mrs. Spangler declared she was going to fall asleep of one of us didn't come sit next to her to talk. She Vici, and I discussed the trip and all our favorite parts. I really hope I can come back next year; this has honestly been one of my favorite weeks of my entire life. The people I met will forever be special to me, and I won't forget all the lessons I've learned.
Nikki
This was my tenth year at ASE. In ten years, there was only one that I was not on a septic site. This year, I helped make the pipe connections for the first time ever! I have always known that this is a challenging task, so was not at all surprised when we discovered the 90 degree connector we planned to use coming out of the tank was just not going to cut it. It looked good when we dry fit, but once we started gluing the pipes into place, it just was not getting a solid connection. SO, we had to cut off the already glued angle and start that little, last part over. The 45 was not enough, the 90 was too much, and now our long pipe to the drain field was just a little shorter. After some discussion and laying out a few options, we ended up with a 45 coming from the tank, a short connector pipe, and a 30. Perfect! Too bad we didn’t figure it out the first time around. Once we finished that up, the hole needed to be filled and seeded, then we were on our way.
We had noticed a little place call Juke Box Junction Soda Shoppe on our way in Tuesday morning and had decided to treat the kids to lunch there. Our homeowner came along to have a soda and visit with us. It was a good visit. He asked how we got involved. All he really knew was that he had called the county and then Rich (our most awesome contact and advocate for septic work) showed up, then Rich and Tommy, then the next thing he knew we all were there. I was able to share with him how septic projects are a hallmark of this particular servant event and are getting harder to find. While that is a good thing, it will be a sad day for us when we can’t find a septic site. His phone call to the county, and the particular time it happened, was an answer to our prayers every bit as much as our work at his home was an answer to his prayers.
I could go on with my reflections but I really must get this posted and move back into ‘real life’ and my day job, where they are waiting for me to get numbers done for the ordo.
Blessings to all! We will be back with you next July!
