the green and blue shirts of Chi Alpha took over DC this week. what a wonderful week of fellowshipping, serving, and sharing the love of Christ it was! I am so thankful for the friendships grown and memories made on this trip!
Saturday morning we gathered at the student building at 6 A.M.
we set our suitcases on the sidewalk and marked our seats with backpacks and pillows. Smokey prayed for us and then we were off. our 15 hour drive had begun.. 15 HOURS.
pardon our early-morning look..yikes.
we started our ride by watching Never Say Never..I'm fairly certain the boys/chaperones opposed to watching it are now beliebers..that's probably not true. after 6 more movies, a few rest stops, and dinner at the Old Country Buffett (pardon me while I puke), we made it to DC! wahoo! and then we crashed for the night.
Sunday morning we headed to the National Cathedral..it was interesting to say the least. much different from the Southern Baptist Sundays we're used to. however, it was BEAUTIFUL!
that was the bulletin for the morning..front and back..alllll of that.
after that, we changed into our good ole' khaki bermuda shorts and headed to our first concert/block party. some of the communities we served in were so broken..it was heartbreaking. all I can do is pray that our message planted seeds in those peoples' hearts and that the Lord will continue to work in their lives. minutes after we wrapped up our concert, the bottom fell out of the sky. the girls ran to the buses to stay dry while the boys broke down all of our equipment. that night my friends and I enjoyed some Qdoba and Cold Stone Creamery. YUM! then back to the hotel to rest once again.
Monday we toured the capital and began working at our mission sites.
yay for best friends!
my mission group worked with children in an apartment complex/after school program. it was so sweet to make be crafty with those kiddos and to hear what they know about Jesus. I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with them!
that night we had worship at the hotel as a choir. this year they did something different than a tradition we're used to. they had all 9 seniors line up at the front of the room and the underclassmen came around us and prayed over us. it was such an encouraging and sweet time for me to listen to my sweet friends pray around me. my heart is so full! there wasn't a dry eye in the room-except for Chelsey-but I had enough tears for the both of us.
Tuesday we did a concert at the Lincoln Memorial! OH MY GOSH! it was so much fun and a wonderful experience.
it was so cool to see people stopping to listen to us sing and then they stuck around for the whole time. doing motions with us and learning our songs. some may have been mocking, but the Lord touched their heart in some way.
that night was senior night. all nine of us got into a van and went to Alexandria, VA to get on a boat for a dinner cruise. it was such a cool surprise and a wonderful time with friends. and the food was DELICIOUS!
XA roomie love :)
LOVE this mommy-to-be..cannot wait to meet little baby boy Dedge!
afterwards we stopped by the White House to take a picture..and then my camera died. so I do not have one. while we were there we got into an interesting discussion with a protestor who basically lives across the street from the White House in a tent. he was part of a protest group against nuclear warfare. he had crosses tattooed on his forehead and a cross necklace, so we asked him if he was a Christian..his response was that he adored Jesus way too much to call himself a Christian..wow. he pointed out the hypocrisy of those who call themselves Christians. it was disturbing to hear this from this man who had most of his facts incorrect..but what a call to live out our Christianity even more and let our light shine to the world!
Wednesday we performed at two veterans' homes. this was such a sweet experience! we went to encourage them, and we ended up being encouraged even more. the people at these homes were so thankful and precious. you could see clearly the love of Christ overflowing from their hearts. it was by far my favorite concert. so thankful the the imprint these people left on my heart.
that night, we had the honor of singing the National Anthem at the National's baseball game. you can watch it here. it was SO cool! and the game was fun, too! nothing like a ball park hot dog.
(my camera was dead this day so I have no pictures)
Thursday we performed at a maximum security youth detention center. I cannot even begin to imagine being in those boys' places. there are no words. it just reminds me of how blessed I am to have a wonderful family and to live in a wonderful community. after that, we went to a local church for lunch. we had the best homemade pizza ever. SO good! and we played lots of bump. I love any chance I get to show off my basketball coach's daughter skills. HAHAH. if you know me well enough to have seen me do anything relatively close to playing sports, you know that the athletic gene didn't quite make it to me.
that night was our annual Tacky Prom. so.much.fun.
Caroline won Retro Princess last year. she's determined to go all out from now on.
if only they had done awards this year..
meet my baby freshman buddies. they were SO cute! they're always cute. but yeah. I love me some Macy and Catherine (Caroline's sister - also worthy of a retro princess title..must be a Rush thing..see below)
Friday was free day! we hopped on the metro bright and early and headed to Georgetown (LOVE this place!) and why did we go all the way to Georgetown you ask? YOU KNOW WHY!
BEST CUPCAKES EVER. if only the sisters had been there..
I love any show that comes on TLC. especially ones about cupcakes and weddings :)
after lunch and a little shopping in Georgetown, we came back to the main area of DC to look around some of the museums.
I was obsessed with Wizard of Oz as a child. this girl was real happy :)
yay for chacs!
after a quick dinner at the Air and Space Museum's McDonalds, we loaded the buses and drove 15 hours through the night. talk about awful sleeping arrangements..
we pulled into the church parking lot around 7:15
I am so thankful for the past week! what a way to end my student ministry experience with Hunter Street. I'm going to miss my little baby underclassmen and all that is Hunter Street Student Ministry. so thankful for the way the Lord has grown and used me through this stage of my life.
SIDE NOTE: if you are interested, there are videos on youtube documenting our days on tour.
they should be on the side under uploads..they're not all up yet, but will be soon!
SECOND SIDE NOTE: our homecoming concert will be tomorrow at 6 P.M. at Hunter Street! please come be a part of our last concert! you won't regret it :)
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