The start of our trip to Kissimmee has been exciting, nerve-racking and exhausting. We started with 18 hours of driving. This may seem like a horrible obstacle to the trip, but the drive is a great opportunity to start really getting to know your group. We had ten people and switched people throughout so everyone got to know each other. The first day of driving mainly basic facts were shared. However, as the first day ended, more and more personal facts were shared and the trip felt truly underway.
We stayed in Nashville for the night and with little sleep we headed out again for a long day of driving. The 10 hours go by really by quickly when you have scenic geography, fun car games and are going through amazing cities. The drive through Atlanta was especially magnificent. One member who shall remain nameless had only been to four states and every new state we crossed it seemed she was screaming for joy. When we first saw palm trees, it was an exciting moment. Long story short, we made it.
Not to be cliché, but it seemed all our stresses from traveling disappeared when we got to Give Kids the World. We served food to the kids who were all insanely polite. For kids who have so many problems in their life, it is amazing how grateful and well behaved they are. After the shift we toured the place and it was magical. Thousands of stars from kids that had been there prior looked amazing. A church inside the Kingdom had notes from kids that hit home. One example: a kid with cancer who was likely going to die said he wanted to offer the few healthy parts of his body to help out the other ill kids. What unselfishness.
After finding our new housing we were back at night for Candyland: a live version of the very popular game. Kids got to run around the game board while playing many fun games. The joy on the kids faces after doing something as simple as running around a life size game board. One parent said her child hadn't walked in a year and a half, but when she got the invite from Give Kids the World, she desperately wanted to walk. She walked around the entire game board. These stories aren't made up, hope really has amazing power. The final point of the night was that many of us couldn't even tell who the "wish child" was and the fact that when you're in a non judging environment of fun, these are just normal kids who feel so grateful when you just treat them like so.
After another short night of sleep we did different shifts throughout the morning. It was mostly a morning of games, carousel rides, taking pictures and just having more fun. One of the cool tidbits from the morning was one of the moms asking if she could bring her stroller on the put-put golf course to play with her son. When we told her that of course, Give Kids the World accommodates all, she nearly broke down to tears. You don't think about the simplest things that these kids can't do. It's amazing their gratitude when they can just play a little game of golf. An added point we discussed was the amazing job GKTW does to give fun for the whole family. They let the whole immediate family come along and for good reason. A child with a life threatening illness takes its toll on the whole family. Parents have to give so much time and make so many financial sacrifices to give their child a normal life. After all that effort, most of these children may not even be able to show the happiness. The chance for them to relax for a week and enjoy themselves can be just as important.
The 2nd night consisted of another event: Halloween! We all dressed up in costumes and kids found so much joy seeing their favorite heroes and villains. At the end of the night as we were walking out a few kids and their parents ran up and said they were form Columbia, Mo. They were so excited to see a group from Mizzou. The kids moved up and down in their wheel chair. Our presence brought so much joy. This encounter came after running into a dance marathon family that many in Columbia had helped a few weeks ago. The gratitude from them made us feel like celebrities when really we're just having a splendid time in Florida. It is a small world, and you're small actions here and there, whether in Columbia or Kissimmee, can go a long way.
That's all for now, got to get our 5-6 hours of sleep, looking forward to another day tomorrow!
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