Last week I was in Memphis for a mission trip. A group of about 24 of us packed up our own little Jerusalem marketplace and took it to the children of the Raleigh community in Memphis. We were working with a group called Memphis Urban Ministry. They put on a summer camp for kids in the Raleigh community every summer. Different groups like us come each week during the summer and help out with the camp.
Getting ready for last week, I didn't really wanna go. I was in a sour mood. The ride down to Memphis was good. Once I saw what the dynamic of the group was, I started to get excited. I knew we had a good group.
The week was extremely eye opening. I learned so much. Some of the kids that we dealt with and played with had both parents and not so terrible home lives, but others came from extreme circumstances.
One of the little boys named Jonah was at church when we went on Sunday. He was so friendly and drew a bunch of pictures of storms and tornados. He gave me one of the pictures. He was so sweet and super obsessed with tornados. Throughout the course of the week, he would ask all of us helpers if he could see a video of a tornado on our phone. He was precious!
So like I said, that trip was so eye opening to the effects of families and poverty. We had one little boy who came on Thursday. He was a bit of a troublemaker. He told Jerica, the leader of the camp, that he was going to be in a gang when he grew up. When she told him he'd go to jail for that he just simply told her that he'd stab himself with a pencil so they'd send him to a psych ward. It's just heartbreaking to me that a kid at the age of 7 can say those kinds of things and fully believe and know what it means. Apparently his dad is in a gang and his house got shot up the week before.
So many of those kids had a wall up that they have just developed from anger and hatred. It breaks my heart that some of those kids were so hard to reach. It was really good when some of them finally did open up to us. I tried to take an interest in some of the girls that were just so hard and hateful all the time. There were 2 girls that were especially angry all the time. Their expressions were so mean. I tried to show them love and kindness. On a side note, it was kind of funny how much I started talking like the kids at camp as far as slang and just my accent even after only a few days.
So anyways, after a week of being with those kids, I really learned that there is a story behind every kid. I am SO ready to teach after that. However, I also know that I could never teach the younger ones. God gave me the gift to connect with and teach high school students. I completely respect those that have the patience to deal with the little ones.
I loved being with the group that went. We all had a blast and learned a lot. I am glad to be back, but it was hard to leave those kids. It was an experience that I am changed by and am glad I got to take part in.
Changed,
Katelyn
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