Just like us and ANTS!

Last week I had the pleasure of traveling with 26 middle school students and 4 other adults to Clinton, SC to work at Thornwell Home for Children for two days.  As is often the case we went planning to give and received much in return. We wiped down rooms and trimmed bushes to prepare a house that was re-opening and mulched planters at an apartment complex during the mornings.  However, the evenings were our highlight.  Both Monday & Tuesday evening we got to spend time with some of the children that live at Thornwell.  The cottage in which we stayed was next door to the elementary boys cottage.  So in the evening when our group came out to play football the boys would come join in.  All I heard about on day 2 was how great an athlete one particular resident was!

One evening we also had an ice cream social with many of the houses.  A part of our group got to spend time with several of the high school girls that live at Thornwell.  It was so neat to watch our groups bond. The girls took turns, Faith and Thornwell alike, doing gymnastics and tumbling.  Then we sat around and talked about life (a.k.a. boys). It was such a neat experience,  my favorite part was when a student looked at me on the walk back to our cottage and said, "Those girls are just like us!"

After a few days at Thornwell we traveled to Maryville, TN to participate in the Montreat Middle School Conference.  We learned what it meant to roll away stones in our relationship with God and then in the lives of others to allow them to have their needs met. It was a great learning experience for our group.

High/low from the trip: My high would be talking with Matt & Stacy two of the family teachers for the Berkele Cottage (high school girls house).  To hear the story of how they decided to move to Thornwell and become family teachers was so inspiring and I just loved getting to chat with them.  The low point came from the dorm at Maryville College.  One of the boys tried to tell me his room had an ant problem.  I looked and it seemed minor.  So I told him to shake his stuff off and wipe it down.  Then I called the RA and didn't think about it again.  That night we realized the problem was major.  The bed was covered in ants!  I felt so bad that I had not taken it more seriously... and that we had to stay up past 12:30!