Southern Girl Missions:Nashville, Tennessee

 Guys! It's Monday Funday, and I have a treat for y'all! I know it's long, but bare with me and try to read it all! It's a great story!

Mission: Nashville

I just recently had the opportunity to be apart of an amazing experience. An awesome group of people and I went to Nashville, Tennessee. We left around 7:30 Monday morning, and got to Nashville around 2 o'clock. We went to volunteer at a place called "The Bridge". It's a homeless shelter held under an actual bridge. Our first stop was at a place called "The Resting Place", which is a warehouse where all the food, clothes, personal hygiene items, ect, for the Bridge, are stored.

We got there and the first thing they had us do was wash trailers and delivery trucks. Trust me, that was a difficult task, being 5 ft. tall. (: Even though I couldn't a do a WHOLE bunch, I enjoyed being out there. I kid you not, it was probably 90 degrees out there, and that water felt gooooood! Ha!

After we finished up with that we went inside the warehouse to do some work, and that is when it got tough. It might have been 90 degrees outside, but it had to have been at least 100 in the building. We had to sort through inventory basically. We sorted SOOO many different clothing items: shirts, pants, gloves, hats, scarves, overalls, and coveralls. We were there a couple of hours, and by the time we left we were all physically miserable. (We were emotionally happy as ever!) 

When we got home-did I mention that our house was actually a Korean Church, which was once Hank Williams Sr.'s house- we got all settled in, started racing for the showers! The boys were all in one room, while us girls had to have 2 different rooms to fit all of us and our stuff! You wanna hear the funniest thing (so not funny) that happened right when we got there? Our shower handle broke. Talk about the devil, huh. There were 2 other showers to share with almost 30 people, so my girls group had ice baths ALL week. 

Tuesday was a huge adventure. First off, I had to wake up at about 5:45 so I could get a quick warmish shower. Well after my 5 minute shower, I went into the kitchen to get breakfast, and I hear wailing. Like actual screaming. It was members of the church in there praying. They get completely into their worship and prayer. They literally scream at the top of their lungs in prayer. Even though it was like super weird, at first, it was really moving and inspirational. I mean, how many of us are really willing to get up at 5 every morning, come all the way to church just to pray? I know I wouldn't. It's crazy how something so small can change the way we think... After we left the house, we went back to the warehouse for a few hours and did a bit more inventory. After that we went and ate lunch at the amazing Jack's Bar-B-Q. Ever in Nashville and want Bar-B-Q, I highly recommend Jack's! It's fabulous! After lunch we headed to the really big part of our adventure. No one knew what they were in for. We headed to the Bridge.

So, let me tell y'all a little about the Bridge and how it got started. This lady, Candy Christmas, (HOW GREAT IS THAT NAME??) was a gospel singer. She said she was struggling and dealing with serious depression, and she needed to do something. Well, she started by making a big pot  of Jambalaya and serving it to about 7 or 8 homeless people under the Jackson Street bridge. It's grown into something that serves about 400 people on a slow night. They all meet under the bridge every Tuesday night and have a big worship service, serve food/drinks, and give out groceries/clothes/personal hygiene items.

They had different jobs you could sign up to do. For every job you got a different colored wristband. All you do is go and tell them and they give you a wristband. You could pick between hospitality (taking food and drinks to peoples seats), prayer (you meet up at the front and pray for people), kids (play and have fun with the children), ect. I got to do a little bit of everything that night. I started handing out water and little wet wipes. Seeing the look on those people when you smiled at them was just heartbreaking. It's like all they needed was someone to smile and notice them for something other than someone that lives on the street. They were some of the nicest people I've ever had the privilege of meeting. It was a very humbling experience for me. I know, personally, that I tend to take things for granted. My house, my food, my family, my ice baths this week. These people are lucky if they even get a bite of something every now and then.  I used to think of homeless people as people that were dirty and gross. Like, you shouldn't mess with them because they're probably disgusting. Well this week taught me that we're all the same. They are no less than I am. They are still God's children and they deserved to be treated like they matter, because they do! So what they made a few mistakes in life, who hasn't? We've just had the great fortune to be able to recover from those mistakes. 

I had the amazing chance to meet and talk to a few great people! One boy on the trip told me about a guy he talked to, Kenneth. He said that he'd only been homeless for a year or two now, and that he'd made a few mistakes that cost him his job, his family, and everything he loved and everyone that loved him. Well the boy told him that he hadn't lost everyone that loved him, because Jesus Christ would always love him, and that's all he needs. He said that through it all, he's lost everything, but his faith. He still attended church every Sunday and he knows that God still has a plan for his life. He also said that no one would normally just walk right up to him and talk. He thanked the boy for praying with him and said he wished there were more people in the world like us. 

 When Wednesday came around we were all pumped and ready for that days work! We didn't go back to the Bridge or the warehouse. We were in for another treat. We went to the Highland Apartments to set up a children's camp. The people were all Burmese and Kurdish refugees, and maybe 4 of them actually spoke a bit of English. We gathered them all up, and played games, played with chalk, colored, blew bubbles, and just loved on all of these kids.

 This day was a bit easier for me because personally, I'm better with kids than adults. These children didn't know who we were or why we decided to come, they just knew they wanted someone to love on them. They wanted people to show them some attention and just play with them. They were all full of energy and ready to go! We played match after match of soccer and duck duck goose. We set up Independence Day decorations. We ate pizza and cookies, and made the most adorable little friends. By the time we had to leave, we were all worn out! We wanted showers and sleep, but we also didn't want to leave those kids. We told them (Well, we TRIED to tell them) that we'd be back Friday, and they seemed to kind of understand.

We packed up and went home to an even more touching surprise. A guy named Ridley Barron came to speak to us about his life changing tragedy. Basically his story was that he was a pastor that felt a calling to be a church planner. He lived in Nashville with his wife and three children.

They packed up and moved to Georgia to plan a church for about five years. When they were returning to Nashville, some guys ran a stop sign at about 50 mph, and hit their car. It killed his wife instantly and threw his 17 month old son from the car. The hospital told him that his son's injuries were not fatal, and that we would recover. One day while he was out he got a call from the hospital telling him to hurry. When he got there they told him that there had been a mistake in the dosage of his son's medicine. He was given an adult dosage and when it reached his heart, it stopped it. He immediately told the doctor to make sure the pharmacist knew that he forgave her. He also told them that he wasn't going to sue. It wouldn't change what happened. He now had two kids to raise while dealing with the loss of his wife and his baby. He never gave up on God even through everything. He struggled, but he never gave up. He remarried years later, has 4 children, and had gotten to go around to different hospitals sharing his story.

Thursday came and we got to celebrate 4th of July with a bit of free time! We hit up the Opry Mills Mall for a couple of hours, and man how it's changed! The last time I was there was before it flooded, and I was so shocked when I walked in! After we left the mall, it was raining it canceled our plans for the fireworks on the River, but luckily we met a member from a church close by that was having a neighborhood wide block party! We went to that church and got the chance to eat, play corn hole (they actually had a tournament!), fellowship with other people, and finally watch a big firework show! It think it was the perfect ending to a great 4th of July!
Friday (our last day! :/) was filled with emotion! We went back to the apartments and when we pulled up the kids were standing there waiting on us! They were so happy when we all climbed out of that van! We instantly went to playing and having fun! We started up a big thing duck duck goose and actually had more kids than Wednesday. We played Red Rover and learned a bunch of name (after asking multiple times and struggling a whole lot lol)

These kids are some of the most precious things. They got attached to us really quickly and didn't want to let go. Truthfully, I think a few of us got equally attached and didn't want to let go either. We handed out bags of candy and cookies and snacks for them and started saying our goodbyes. Several of us had a hard time getting back on the bus because we were watching those kids cry and asking us not to leave. I thought about how they'll probably never have someone come like this. They probably won't have people just come and want to play with them. Who knows, they might never have another person try to tell them who Jesus is. It breaks my heart to know that that is all some of them will ever hear of Jesus. They may never know the love of God. 

That night we went out to eat, and we ate at this amazing burger place called "The Pharmacy". Let me tell you something...that place is fantastic. They don't just have typical burgers; they're special! I got something called the farm burger. It was TN beef with ham, bacon, a fried egg, and maple mustard. Sounds awesome, doesn't it? Well you're right, it was. VERY. 

When we got home Friday we had worship and did this exercise. We split up into two groups and one group stood on the stage with their hands by their side and their eyes closed. The other group had to go around and hug a person on the stage. The people on the stage couldn't look or hug back. For a moment they were shown free love. They were shown attention and that they were loved and needed. After we had all switched and hugged everybody, we were all in tears. (Yes, even the big manly guys!) I don't know why it's so hard to do that all the time. Why is it so hard for us to just accept love, and why is it so hard for us to show that kind of love? Nothing in return, just free love. 

 I think this trip did amazing things for everyone. I think it brought our group closer together. I think it humbled every single person in the group. I think it opened all of our eyes to the things we take for granted, but not only that. I think it taught us all how to serve others. That's why we went, wasn't it? To serve others. I think a lot of us, didn't really understand how to do that. We thought that you had to go far away or have a lot of money to do good things for people. We learned that you can do great things and serve others from your own home. The Lord calls us all to serve, and I think this trip really changed our hearts so that we could do that.

I hope everyone has an opportunity to go out at serve and witness the things I have! Have a blessed day! -Lexie(: