Palmer Home: Monday

I'm going to attempt to post an update every day while we're on our spring break service trip. (Key word: "attempt.") I didn't realize we were going to have wifi here, so this is a spontaneous decision. Feel free to share the link!

This week, thirteen of us from Kennesaw RUF are serving at Palmer Children's Home Columbus, Mississippi. Florida's RUF is also here with us (they just slightly outnumber us ... they've got 40!), so it's been fun to get to know them. (They're currently playing the blow dart game ... if you're familiar with that, you can imagine how "fun" it's been to randomly hear your name called out, look up, and then have to keel over wherever you are. They all seem to know my name, and we've barely been here 24 hours. But I digress.)

We arrived yesterday and were greeted and briefed by the Andersons. They used to be house parents here at Palmer Home, and now they oversee groups (like us) who travel here. You can find out everything about Palmer Home here, but here's their mission statement (straight from their website):

"The mission of Palmer Home for Children is to reflect the hope and love of Christ by providing a stable, long-term Christ-centered home for children who lack an adequate family structure. To that end Palmer Home, as it has since 1895, remains committed to privately-funded, non-government child care which keeps siblings together, models evangelical Christian values, mends emotional scars, restores self-esteem, and provides for each child the full opportunity to reach his or her God-given potential."

Palmer Home is taking great care of us. When we unpacked last night, we found that our on campus apartment had snacks (Pop Tarts, Capri Suns, candy, popcorn, coffee ... major college essentials), and we all have beds! (Having been on a bunch of mission trips with lots of different accommodations, this was a welcome surprise. We've all agreed that this is definitely a "nice" missions trip.) We made a quick Walmart run last night (hey Mom and Jen, I bought us healthy stuff!) ... and the photo below is just a typical "welcome to Mississippi" thing. Go Duck Dynasty.

Aubri, Anna, and Hannah modeling

This morning, we got up before 8 (woohoo for college kids who are willing to give up most of the break and get up "early") and ate a hearty breakfast. We were then split up into work groups. I'm not 100 percent sure everything that Florida did (painting shutters, digging a massive ditch, and lots of other things), but here's what our crew did:

Brett, Matt, and Phillip: Our fearless guys were in heaven today. They got to drive an old Chevy truck (every guy's dream, right!?), used machetes and other sharp instruments, and were outside all day. They cleared a large area of brush and ivy behind the baseball field. I don't have photos of them in action, but they worked super hard (and they'll be back there tomorrow to do it again!).

Old truck. What more could you want?

Hannah and Kayla: These two sweet ladies eagerly volunteered to strip wallpaper from a bathroom in the administration building. (Not sure they knew what they were getting into, but they did it!) They came back sticky from wall glue and with pieces of wallpaper all over them - and they're headed back tomorrow to keep working.

Cheerfully scraping wallpaper

Lexi, Rebekah, and Sarah: These cool ladies moved supplies (all kinds - school supplies, crafts, toiletries, etc.) from one room into a large closet/room area. They did some major organizing and cleaning, and they kept up with people who brought in more supplies. I think they're continuing tomorrow with more school supplies in the tutoring center.

Rebekah's crew found a pogo stick!

Anna, Ansley,  Aubri, Nicole, and me: I had a blast with these fun ladies all afternoon. We got to sort and move toys, games, clothes, supplies, etc. from one room in the administration building. We decided which toys were going to the toy room at Palmer Home (it's where the house parents can pick out gifts for their kids, as well as gifts for when their kids get invited to birthday parties) and which items needed to be sent to the Palmer Home thrift store. The thrift store's proceeds help keep Palmer Home running. (Side note: We had one in Starkville when I was in undergrad. Hands down, it's one of my favorite thrift stores.)

Don't worry - these were already used, so they went to the thrift store 

Loaded up the bus with thrift store toys!

Later this afternoon, we played with the sweet and energetic kiddos. I made rock piles, knotted clover necklaces, and chased twin 3-year olds. We got to eat dinner with the families, which was really neat. (We can't post photos of the kids, but trust me - they're cute.)

After dinner, the group humored me and we drove to Starkville ... home of my wonderful alma mater, Mississippi State University! I broke my 40-day fast (just once!) and ate Bop's ice cream. Totally worth it. Loved being able to share one of my favorite college places with our crew. After ice cream, we headed to State's campus and I told them all about it ... way more than they ever wanted to know. (Side note: There's still SO MUCH construction on campus!) They were awesome and I think enjoyed seeing all the green space. We definitely walked off our ice cream and wore ourselves out - we're all going to sleep GREAT tonight.

The guys enjoying concretes from Bop's.

As I finish writing this post, our crew is currently bonding with the Florida crew. They're playing Hearts, and I'm about to get to bed. (My tired body is still on Eastern time ... or I'm just old. Probably a combination of both.) Thanks for your prayers, encouraging texts, and Facebook likes on our photos ... keep it up!

The Kennesaw/Florida crew bonding in our kitchen