Tuesday, March 18, 2014
The End? Not quite!
But it doesn't stop here.
As many of us anticipated that we were going to change a child's life, the opposite was true. We talked with the head coordinator of Wesley Rankin, Shellie, before we left, and we will be writing letters to Wesley Rankin, and hopefully receiving some in return. Our group will be having an upcoming "reunion" of playing games from the trip and creating a scrapbook we can send to the community center and keep for ourselves. And, what I found even more extraordinary is how some of us are planning to go back this summer. The community center always needs volunteers, and C2K houses the summer volunteers. And being able to stay at C2K where they have the best home-cooked food that will give your mom's cooking a run for it's money, provide an overly comfy mattress, and give you the keys to the city (well not really, but it's still a really beautiful campus) - you can't really get better than that. Not even Panama City Beach could beat this trip. It's not just our group that wants to go back either. I know from people I've talked to, or who've seen pictures, or heard about some of the activities we did with the kids, they are interested in coming down with us. This was a most definite bigger experience than the one I had last year, and I relished every moment of the trip to Dallas last year where we worked with a different organization.
So now for the participants? Blogs may not always call attention to the specific contributions of people, but they really should, and maybe by doing so show how amazing of a group we had while in Dallas.
Amanda: Oh man, we wouldn't have had any pictures or adventures if it wasn't for her. To driving The Black Stallion minivan all over Dallas, to keeping the most positive and go-with-flow attitude, she really was the glue that held our trip together and helped us bond. She also did an amazing job at making us think outside of the box during reflection and challenged us while doing activities with the kids.
Mandy Squires: She was the one who found the amazing location of C2K, she also drove (not quite as cool as The Black Stallion) but another minivan all around Dallas, and created amazing reflection activities for all of us so we could really tie into why we were there and why it mattered.
Mandy Spurlock: (yeah, we had three Amanda's on the trip). She had some truly amazing ideas for activities. One of the days activities was to create a chia pet and pot for it, and the way the older kids lit up and took on a science aspect of plants, was incredible. It was a side of them we didn't see until this activity, and it was because of her planning that we were able to get a glimpse of it.
Shawna: She was the go-lucky and smiling one. I don't think I ever saw her without a smile on the entire trip. Additionally, she was great at improvising and making up games for the kids like 'Pass the Can' where she improvised with using an empty box.
Abi: Without Abi, our trip may have been boring in the evenings. From explaining how different temperatures have different smells to finding the "moon" (which was actually a building), she was the comic-relief we all needed after a hard day. She went out of her way to help the entire trip always asking if she could pitch in some way.
Kristen: I have never seen so many kids want someone to be their best friend like they did with her. She has a genuine caring personality that all the kiddos sense, and she connected to all the kids in her own way. Whether it was teaching about dental health, finger painting, or playing one-on-one basketball with a really talented 5th grader, she engaged with the children so easily and readily.
Adam: This guy, he should be a teacher. Two of his activities were giant hits. He created a class-sized obstacle course that the kids adored, and then on another day created exploding chalk and the mentos and coke experiment which wowed all the kids. He was great at answering any questions, and it was evident he really challenged the way some of the kids thought.
Dalton: I have never seen so many piggyback rides given in one hour. Dalton was amazing at interacting with the children on a personal level and making them feel welcomed and important. He also had several nifty experiments such as self-inflating balloons and making goop -- and what kid doesn't like goop?
Ellis: Oh Ellis, he was a comedian all right. He was the realistic part of the group that challenged the way we thought about certain things, and he was a great team player. Additionally, if you ever play the game Headbands, make sure to include him on your team.
So while we may not be in Dallas right now, our trip hasn't seen its conclusion quite yet.
Thank you for reading,
Katie Jones - Trip Leader
Monday, March 17, 2014
I can’t believe our time in Dallas is over. It really feels like this trip flew by! I am so proud of our group and everything that we were able to accomplish in just a few days. We may not have been able to change the lives of these children, but I think we certainly made an impact. I know they definitely made an impact on all of us. Hopefully we will be able to keep in touch with them, either through writing letters or through social media. It was so difficult to say goodbye to these kids on the last day, so I really hope that we will be able to talk to them again soon.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Adam Sparks
Kristen Meyer
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Day 2-Mandy Spurlock
Day 2-Shawna Elsey
Monday, March 10, 2014
Day one-advisor post :)
Day 1-Abi Zupon
I'm not going to lie, I was unsure of how this trip would go and what would really happen on my immersion trip to Dallas. I've gone on mission trips all through out high school so I had experience in social diversity but this is definitely a new but positive experience. This is called an immersion trip and the goal is to immerse in the culture that we are put into, we have only been here for a little over 24 hours but I feel myself doing just that.
Dallas Texas has a lot of Hispanics and there are a lot of Latinos in the area we are in. On almost every street corner there is a different taco restaurant, and Spanish is the dominant language that I have heard spoken here.
We are running a camp with elementary school kids and 100% of the kids are Latinos which was a little intimidating because I wasn't quiet sure of how they would respond to us coming in.
What I've experienced on this first day running the spring break camp is that the kids, as well as this community has a close knit family feeling. Even in the kids, they want to tell everyone who their cousin or brother or sister is. If my brother and I at the elementary school age would had been at the same camp he would have ignored me, so it's cool to see the love of family going on in little kids.
This community has a low rate of high school graduates, there are low income families and some are financially unstable, that being said today I was suprised at how many kids wanted to pick up a book and read. It was encouraging to see that because not too far down the road in Missouri I see kids playing on iPads or owning their own cell phone and not wanting to physically run around outside.
I'm going to be honest and say that I was unsure of the culture down here and really had no expectations. I am planning on minoring in Spanish and taking some Spanish credits right now at school and it is exciting to be able to use just the little that I know. Coming here and being able to interact with the culture has insured me that this is infact a major part of my life. I have loved learning about evey culture and seeing the diversity that has gone on. One of these days I want to go overseas and use my Spanish somehow but it is encouraging to know that I can do just that here in my own country.
I am beyond excited to learn more about the city this week. I am so glad to be here and I love my school and so thankful for a wonderful opportunity to do this. Thank you Missouri State for allowing me to follow my passion