Hello Everyone!!
Sorry for the lack of blog posts this week, we've been crazy busy with so many things here in Memphis! Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday have been jam packed with service, exploring Memphis, and really getting a chance to bond as a trip.
On Wednesday, we were lucky enough to get tickets (way up in the nosebleeds of course) to a Memphis Grizzlies game! Sadly, they were beaten pretty soundly by LeBron and the Cavaliers, but it was an awesome experience and quite a few of our participants very first NBA game! For dinner that night we stopped by Huey's downtown (just off Beale St.) after being told by just about everyone in Tennessee that it was the best place to grab a burger. Overall, spending time in bustling downtown Memphis on a warm and breezy spring evening was incredible, and something that we are so fortunate to have experienced!
Thursday was yet another busy day filled with service at LeBonheur - and we didn't even have to GPS our way there this time! All of our participants got to spend time truly 'communicating love', whether it was in the Creative Arts Room, serving on the Hospitality Cart or Beverages Cart, or as a Unit Buddy, we each were blessed with the opportunity to really get to know the little patients. Now that it's further on in the week, it's really cool to start to recognize faces and families, and have them know us by name as well. Again, maybe it's just the Southern hospitality, but I am blown away by the honest to goodness, kindhearted nature of EVERYONE here. LeBonheur and its families have welcomed us with open arms, and we have done our best to return the favor.
LeBonheur on Friday was a bittersweet day; none of us is ready to leave just yet. We decided to surprise our volunteer coordinator Timorie with flowers, cookies, a thank you card, and even one of our MAB "LeBesties" shirts! She was thrilled and thanked us for being such an easygoing and dedicated group all week. The rest of Friday was spent volunteering one on one with patients in Dialysis, floating as Unit Buddies, and distributing items from the Beverage, Hospitality, and Craft carts. After doing these volunteer rotations all week, we've formed some really meaningful connections with the very special people of LeBonheur. Some days, it might not have felt like we were doing any earth shattering, life changing service, but even just sitting with a child while the parent finally has a chance to shower, eat, or take a nap is HUGE. Friday, I offered to sit with a little girl with epilepsy so her mom could run and get breakfast, and her mom literally threw her arms up in the arm and said "Hallelujah! Thank you so much, you have no idea how much I need this". Offering a simple coffee or hot chocolate from the Beverage Cart (with Timorie's awesome dad, Gordo) also made a sincere difference for the exhausted families we met. As one father put it after accepting his coffee, "Thank you" and after a slight pause, "I mean that."
For our final night in Memphis we tried Jerry's Sno Cones for the first time, which specializes in an ice cream/sno cone 'Supreme'. It sounds kind of like a weird combo, but it was amazing!! After a delicious spaghetti final supper at Germantown Pres, we headed to Overton Square in Midtown Memphis. Overton Square is a newly redeveloped area filled with cool shops, restaurants, and artwork. They even had built in cornhole boards and bags for us to use! It was a fun last night together, capped off by a trip to Muddy's Bakery for some AMAZING cupcakes (can you tell our trip loves food?).
As we prepare to leave this morning from our fabulous home for the week, Germantown Presbyterian, I am saddened to end this Week of Hope that has taught us so much. When a group of 11 strangers travel 6 hours together to a foreign city and spend a week in service together, it takes a really extraordinary group to gel like our trip did. When I say we have genuinely became a family this week, I am not exaggerating for the sake of this blog in the slightest. I know in my heart that when we return to Columbia, 'Memphis 2' will not fade away and disappear. If anyone can 'Bring it Home', it's this group of awesome Mizzou students. (I mean, look at that jump pic!)
y'all come back now, ya hear?
xo- Memphis 2
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