Fall Break in Pittsburgh
Wow. It's been an unforgettable Fall Break from last Wednesday to yesterday. What made it so unforgettable was that I used it to do something for other people instead of for my own personal enjoyment. I voyaged with some of my friends from BCM to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on a mission trip. This was the first one I'd signed up for that didn't involve my old high school, but I knew God was calling me to do His work. I'm so glad He did.
The rides to and from our destination in the van driven by Rodney were zany times that I'll never forget. We had so much fun chatting, sharing things about our childhoods, including the quirky stuff that provoked laughter from seat mates. I learned that Lauren had quite the "rough" home-life growing up in Royston. I guess hitting chickens with sticks, encounters with a three-legged dog, and touching tongues with your twin sister will do that for you. Lauren is amazing, by the way. I made friends with Brandy Scott on the ride from the mission house where we stayed the first night. She's a perky, funny girl who randomly elbow-tapped me for no reason other than she was being crazy. Hey, no rhyme or reason to insanity, is there? Of course, Rodney did his usual terrific job of getting us to our stops without too many close calls along the way. Major kudos to Jon for his uncanny road directions.
The first night and day (Wednesday-Thursday) at the mission house was lots of fun. The couple who owned the house, Mr. and Mrs. Gary Melton, were extremely kind and went out of their way to make us feel right at home. Of course, if you've ever been to a mission house in your life, you're well-aware that sleeping conditions are not exactly luxurious. We slept either on pews or on the hardwood floor with an air mattress (but I decided to forgo the mattress). But I had no complaints. It's actually good for your back to sleep on a hard surface. It made me glad that my nosebleeds from sleeping on floors as a child quit happening long ago. I never did figure out why.
Thursday morning, we worked the mission house, pulling boxes of clothes out of the attic and setting them out on tables, as well as running the store. I got "stock boy" duty, which means I had to keep the shelves supplied with food and drinks for the customers to select. Matt was a big help on that; the two of us worked together running back and forth between the back room and the front counter with potato chips, V-8, chicken beef broth, Debbie Cakes, Spaghetti-Os, and all sorts of canned and boxed goodies. It was rushed and crazy at times, but wow, it was fun! The ladies who also worked at the home were kind enough to make us lunch, too. It was the first time I tasted ramen noodles; not bad at all. We finished up around 1:00 just in time for Gary to send us off with a great song: "If I Had a Dollar." He is an incredible singer; he kept us and the customers entertained with songs he sang on the balcony during the morning, mostly folk songs. That was awesome; it became the official song of our trip.
Later that day, we arrived in Pittsburgh and met Jerome, the University BCM director. We also got to meet his wife and three kids Calli, Caitlin, and Caleb the following night (they were just adorable, by the way). He helped us get oriented with downtown Pittsburgh and took us to a few sites, including dinner at Lulu's. I ordered honey chicken tenders, and oh gosh, they were some of the best samplings of chicken I have ever tasted. Chick-Fil-A finally has some competition :) After that, we headed to Carnegie Melon University where we participated in the CrossSeekers' large group worship. It's similar to our TNT, but in a different location. The students were quite friendly and made us feel right at home with them. That evening, we set up temporary home base at Cranberry Baptist Church about 15 miles outside of Pittsburgh. I slept in the nursery room, curled up inside a kiddie tent. Believe me, it was pretty cozy even if I couldn't really stretch my legs out.
Friday, we spent the day at the University of Pittsburgh campus. Jerome helped us set up an outside table with a basket of candy and information about CrossSeekers. I went around the campus University Center with Brandy and Rodney to do surveys for students and get the word out about Fusion, the CrossSeekers group fellowship. Brandy makes for a great spokesperson. She has no fear at all about walking right up to people and speaking in a clear but friendly voice. I told her that she could pass for Vannah White from "Wheel of Fortune." We received several interesting responses to our survey, "If you could ask God one question, what would it be?" Most took the general route of what is our purpose or why is there so much evil in the world. Some of them were extremely personal, like "Why did He take my grandmother away?" or "What do I need to do to be saved?" I wish that we could've stayed longer and dealt with their inquiries, but at least this time, we were only there to plant the seed.
That afternoon, we went back to the church to unwind a bit and relax, so I took that opportunity to finish some English homework. The outdoors are excellent for that sort of thing especially when the air is cool and crisp and the sun is shining from a crystal blue sky. In the evening, Rodney cooked us spaghetti and we ate at the church. Then we met Jerome and his family and took a walk through downtown, stopping at a coffee house to discuss ideas for our next trip up there and an ice cream parlor. That was tasty fun. A word of advice: order the waffle cone and you'll find an M&M at the very end of it. I'll have to remember that the next time I come to Pittsburgh.
Saturday was supposed to be set aside for construction and city service projects, but that kind of fell through. No problem, though; we had a backup plan. We spent the day traveling around to different college campuses to do prayer-walks, lifting up the praises and needs of the universities along the way. It was very cool to just walk down an unfamiliar path, gaze at an old residential building, pick up an acorn or crimson red leaf from the grass, and realize again how wonderful and majestic God is. He really does move through His people, using them for seed-planting and spiritual growth in others' lives. I feel like we need to spend more time immersing ourselves in His creation and listen for the signs and wonders He lays out there for us, and remind ourselves of the wonderful and loving Lord that we serve. We owe Him every breath we take, every move we make, and our total worship.
Lunch and dinner were also big highlights. We ate sack lunches on the grounds of Robert Morris University, and I got to do some cartwheels down a long hill while a few of the others rolled down sideways. I haven't done that since my days at Windy Gap, so that felt good to experience. Dinner was spent at Uno's Pizza Place. With a bit of encouragement from my friends, I consumed a full 10 ounce cheeseburger. And that was a feat in and of itself.
We also played a couple games at the church when the day was through. Friday night, we broke out Balderdash, a game where you have someone read a name, person, initials, or place, and then the other players have to guess who he/she is or what it means. The object is to make the most compelling case for a term, and get the others to vote for it. It doesn't matter whether it's the right one; it only needs to be a convincing bluff. Naturally, I found a way to embarrass myself when I neglected to read the definition of my person when my turn came. That resulted in gales of laughter all around. Oh well. That's what happens when I play a game without hearing all of the rules.
Funny/scary experience: Jen took a shower on Friday morning. While she was there, she accidently hit her head against the ceramic tile that holds the hand soap. The tile actually broke off and cut into her scalp! We all heard some kind of thump in there and wondered what in the world was going on. Anyway, she attempted to brush her hair on the side where she bumped the tile, and a big clump of hair fell out! Oh man, she was horrified! Needless to say, it was Saturday night before she felt brave enough to go near the shower again. But thankfully, she wasn't seriously hurt, and the loss of hair wasn't noticable at all. Oh yeah. She's officially nicknamed me 'D-spizzle' now.
Sunday was kind of sad because we all wanted to stay longer in Pittsburgh (or at least didn't want to go back to Furman so soon), but it was time to go home. I got to talk with Pastor Warren while we packed up the van, and he shared his testimony with me. It was amazing to listen to him and see lots of things that he had in common with Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle. He was basically placed by God into a position of ministerial leadership without much, if any, formal training or ordaining. But God took good care of him and He touched the hearts of those he taught and preached to. I got his e-mail address before leaving, and I hope to stay in contact. The drive home was unbelievably long (we left at 8:00 in the morning and got back to Furman at 9:15 that night), but I wouldn't shortchange it for anything. Lots of fun times were had in our packed little van. Hearing The Lion King soundtrack on Jon's laptop along with some other cool songs was a definite highlight. I also chatted a lot with Lauren, especially after our dinner pitstop in Asheville (Bojangles for dinner and McDonalds for ice cream dessert). We talked about stuff like favorite Disney movies, concerns and fears about our first days and weeks at Furman, and hopes for the future. She is an amazing girl. If you haven't gotten to know her yet, you really should.
So that was how I spent my Fall Break. I feel very glad to have used it for something that benefitted other people instead of myself, and to do God's work in the process. I'm going to go to bed now. Good night and God bless!
Song of the Day: Switchfoot - "This is Your Life"
Verse of the Day: "In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." - Philippians 1:4-6
The rides to and from our destination in the van driven by Rodney were zany times that I'll never forget. We had so much fun chatting, sharing things about our childhoods, including the quirky stuff that provoked laughter from seat mates. I learned that Lauren had quite the "rough" home-life growing up in Royston. I guess hitting chickens with sticks, encounters with a three-legged dog, and touching tongues with your twin sister will do that for you. Lauren is amazing, by the way. I made friends with Brandy Scott on the ride from the mission house where we stayed the first night. She's a perky, funny girl who randomly elbow-tapped me for no reason other than she was being crazy. Hey, no rhyme or reason to insanity, is there? Of course, Rodney did his usual terrific job of getting us to our stops without too many close calls along the way. Major kudos to Jon for his uncanny road directions.
The first night and day (Wednesday-Thursday) at the mission house was lots of fun. The couple who owned the house, Mr. and Mrs. Gary Melton, were extremely kind and went out of their way to make us feel right at home. Of course, if you've ever been to a mission house in your life, you're well-aware that sleeping conditions are not exactly luxurious. We slept either on pews or on the hardwood floor with an air mattress (but I decided to forgo the mattress). But I had no complaints. It's actually good for your back to sleep on a hard surface. It made me glad that my nosebleeds from sleeping on floors as a child quit happening long ago. I never did figure out why.
Thursday morning, we worked the mission house, pulling boxes of clothes out of the attic and setting them out on tables, as well as running the store. I got "stock boy" duty, which means I had to keep the shelves supplied with food and drinks for the customers to select. Matt was a big help on that; the two of us worked together running back and forth between the back room and the front counter with potato chips, V-8, chicken beef broth, Debbie Cakes, Spaghetti-Os, and all sorts of canned and boxed goodies. It was rushed and crazy at times, but wow, it was fun! The ladies who also worked at the home were kind enough to make us lunch, too. It was the first time I tasted ramen noodles; not bad at all. We finished up around 1:00 just in time for Gary to send us off with a great song: "If I Had a Dollar." He is an incredible singer; he kept us and the customers entertained with songs he sang on the balcony during the morning, mostly folk songs. That was awesome; it became the official song of our trip.
Later that day, we arrived in Pittsburgh and met Jerome, the University BCM director. We also got to meet his wife and three kids Calli, Caitlin, and Caleb the following night (they were just adorable, by the way). He helped us get oriented with downtown Pittsburgh and took us to a few sites, including dinner at Lulu's. I ordered honey chicken tenders, and oh gosh, they were some of the best samplings of chicken I have ever tasted. Chick-Fil-A finally has some competition :) After that, we headed to Carnegie Melon University where we participated in the CrossSeekers' large group worship. It's similar to our TNT, but in a different location. The students were quite friendly and made us feel right at home with them. That evening, we set up temporary home base at Cranberry Baptist Church about 15 miles outside of Pittsburgh. I slept in the nursery room, curled up inside a kiddie tent. Believe me, it was pretty cozy even if I couldn't really stretch my legs out.
Friday, we spent the day at the University of Pittsburgh campus. Jerome helped us set up an outside table with a basket of candy and information about CrossSeekers. I went around the campus University Center with Brandy and Rodney to do surveys for students and get the word out about Fusion, the CrossSeekers group fellowship. Brandy makes for a great spokesperson. She has no fear at all about walking right up to people and speaking in a clear but friendly voice. I told her that she could pass for Vannah White from "Wheel of Fortune." We received several interesting responses to our survey, "If you could ask God one question, what would it be?" Most took the general route of what is our purpose or why is there so much evil in the world. Some of them were extremely personal, like "Why did He take my grandmother away?" or "What do I need to do to be saved?" I wish that we could've stayed longer and dealt with their inquiries, but at least this time, we were only there to plant the seed.
That afternoon, we went back to the church to unwind a bit and relax, so I took that opportunity to finish some English homework. The outdoors are excellent for that sort of thing especially when the air is cool and crisp and the sun is shining from a crystal blue sky. In the evening, Rodney cooked us spaghetti and we ate at the church. Then we met Jerome and his family and took a walk through downtown, stopping at a coffee house to discuss ideas for our next trip up there and an ice cream parlor. That was tasty fun. A word of advice: order the waffle cone and you'll find an M&M at the very end of it. I'll have to remember that the next time I come to Pittsburgh.
Saturday was supposed to be set aside for construction and city service projects, but that kind of fell through. No problem, though; we had a backup plan. We spent the day traveling around to different college campuses to do prayer-walks, lifting up the praises and needs of the universities along the way. It was very cool to just walk down an unfamiliar path, gaze at an old residential building, pick up an acorn or crimson red leaf from the grass, and realize again how wonderful and majestic God is. He really does move through His people, using them for seed-planting and spiritual growth in others' lives. I feel like we need to spend more time immersing ourselves in His creation and listen for the signs and wonders He lays out there for us, and remind ourselves of the wonderful and loving Lord that we serve. We owe Him every breath we take, every move we make, and our total worship.
Lunch and dinner were also big highlights. We ate sack lunches on the grounds of Robert Morris University, and I got to do some cartwheels down a long hill while a few of the others rolled down sideways. I haven't done that since my days at Windy Gap, so that felt good to experience. Dinner was spent at Uno's Pizza Place. With a bit of encouragement from my friends, I consumed a full 10 ounce cheeseburger. And that was a feat in and of itself.
We also played a couple games at the church when the day was through. Friday night, we broke out Balderdash, a game where you have someone read a name, person, initials, or place, and then the other players have to guess who he/she is or what it means. The object is to make the most compelling case for a term, and get the others to vote for it. It doesn't matter whether it's the right one; it only needs to be a convincing bluff. Naturally, I found a way to embarrass myself when I neglected to read the definition of my person when my turn came. That resulted in gales of laughter all around. Oh well. That's what happens when I play a game without hearing all of the rules.
Funny/scary experience: Jen took a shower on Friday morning. While she was there, she accidently hit her head against the ceramic tile that holds the hand soap. The tile actually broke off and cut into her scalp! We all heard some kind of thump in there and wondered what in the world was going on. Anyway, she attempted to brush her hair on the side where she bumped the tile, and a big clump of hair fell out! Oh man, she was horrified! Needless to say, it was Saturday night before she felt brave enough to go near the shower again. But thankfully, she wasn't seriously hurt, and the loss of hair wasn't noticable at all. Oh yeah. She's officially nicknamed me 'D-spizzle' now.
Sunday was kind of sad because we all wanted to stay longer in Pittsburgh (or at least didn't want to go back to Furman so soon), but it was time to go home. I got to talk with Pastor Warren while we packed up the van, and he shared his testimony with me. It was amazing to listen to him and see lots of things that he had in common with Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle. He was basically placed by God into a position of ministerial leadership without much, if any, formal training or ordaining. But God took good care of him and He touched the hearts of those he taught and preached to. I got his e-mail address before leaving, and I hope to stay in contact. The drive home was unbelievably long (we left at 8:00 in the morning and got back to Furman at 9:15 that night), but I wouldn't shortchange it for anything. Lots of fun times were had in our packed little van. Hearing The Lion King soundtrack on Jon's laptop along with some other cool songs was a definite highlight. I also chatted a lot with Lauren, especially after our dinner pitstop in Asheville (Bojangles for dinner and McDonalds for ice cream dessert). We talked about stuff like favorite Disney movies, concerns and fears about our first days and weeks at Furman, and hopes for the future. She is an amazing girl. If you haven't gotten to know her yet, you really should.
So that was how I spent my Fall Break. I feel very glad to have used it for something that benefitted other people instead of myself, and to do God's work in the process. I'm going to go to bed now. Good night and God bless!
Song of the Day: Switchfoot - "This is Your Life"
Verse of the Day: "In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." - Philippians 1:4-6
posted by david @ 5:20 AM
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