March 29, 2012
Birmingham
Today was our day off of service and we took full advantage of it! We started the morning off with a delicious breakfast with Father Paul. We made pancakes, bacon, and eggs. Father Paul joined us and complemented Jong-In on his wonderful spirit. He even gave us some awesome crosses that he blessed.
After our special breakfast and an hour of unstoppable dishes, we departed our Retreat Center. We made our way to Oak Mountain, arriving after an hour of trying to find it. However, an unfortunate encounter occurred with an woman at the gate. She didn't quite understand what we were trying to tell her and she wasn't the most patient of individuals. After we finally made our plans clear with her, we drove on and found that the road was submerged under two feet of water. Although it took some convincing, Jong-In did not drive through it but rather turned around. We drove out of the park and around to another entrance where we found the beach. We dropped off Laney, Zack, Gage, Michael, Jong-In, Allea, Lexie, Dane and Peter. They lied out in the sun, played wiffle ball, and swam in the lake. Zack and Michael even made it across the lake. They found a special friend that they named Speedo Man with a bulge. He was a senior at Samford and talked to our group. He suggested that we try a Mexican restaurant called "Two Pesos." Dane actually proposed to Laney on the beach, after requesting her color preferences for a ring. Jong-In helped him pick out a purple ring. Unfortunately, there was some drama because Laney was already dating Michael, so now our ASB group is divided into teams: Team Loida (Michael) and Team Dane. Hopefully this love triangle before we return home. They had a fantastic time just playing in the sun. They finished their World Series of Wiffle Ball, which Dane and Peter won.
On the other hand, Shea, Amanda and Colbey traveled to Montgomery where they had a day full of Civil Rights and social justice touring. They started the day at the Rosa Parks Museum, which was a very innovative experience. There was a bus reenactment of the Rosa Parks arrest, which was a completely revolutionary way to present her story. After we visited the museum, we walked from the corner at which she was arrested to the corner at which she boarded the bus: it was only a block away! There was also a large fountain that had pink water in honor of the an upcoming breast cancer awareness event. We headed to the Dexter Street King Memorial Church, where they let us in even though the tour had already started. There was a mural on the wall depicting several aspects of Dr. King's life as well as images of countless other Civil Rights activists. We also saw his office, and just out the window one can see the Alabama State Capital building. We then headed upstairs of the church and sat in the original pews to which Dr. King had preached to during his stint as the senior pastor of the church. In fact, his original pulpit was there as well. After that, we headed to the Civil Rights Memorial, where they again let us in even though they were going to close in 20 minutes. They restarted the video for us and let us explore even though it ran past when they were to close. There was a spectacular room where one can type in their name to pledge their commitment to follow Dr. King's footsteps and civil rights activism. Of course, we all typed in our names as well as "Mizzou ASB." Outside of the memorial, there was a large circular fountain with over a decade of dates in events of Civil Rights History. One can run their fingers through the fountain, which was really fantastic because we had just seen a video of Rosa Parks doing the same thing over her name, meaning we experienced the same interaction with the memorial as Rosa Parks.
After that, we headed to the home of Martin Luther King, Jr. This was his house during the time he lived in Montgomery. We stood on his porch saw the indent from where the bomb had exploded during an attack. Two doors down, there was the Harris House, which was described as a modern Underground Railroad for the Freedom Riders. We then finalized our trip with a stop at the White House of the Confederacy. It was astonishingly close to the Alabama State Capital and the King house. On the drive home, there was a sign with the devil on it that said, "Go to church or the Devil will get you!" It was very odd. We then stopped in Clanton which had a giant water tower that was sculpted and painted into a peach. We stopped and photographed this and then stopped by a gas station to purchase 7 bottles of Gatorade and 5 bottles of water for our thirsty friends back at Oak Mountain.
We drove back to Oak Mountain to find all of our kiddos in the middle of the street waiting for us. They all hopped in the van and devoured our water and Gatorade. We decided to try out the 2 Pesos, the suggestion from Speedo Man. The food was magnificent with MUCHO GRANDE proportions. As Colbey got up to use the restroom, the group decided to inform the restaurant that it was his birthday. They brought out a sombrero and sang "Happy Birthday" to him. Just as they had been calling him all week, and for the name of the song, they called him "Mom." The sombrero remained on his head even though it was under false pretense.
Worn out from the day, we headed home yawning. It's such a strange feeling: we feel like we've simultaneously been here forever yet feel like we haven't been here long at all. We have an exciting day of outside labor tomorrow, and we're pumped to begin our last day of service!
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