Memphis -- Children and Health

HEYYYOOOO

Greetings from Memphis! We have been here volunteering at Le Bonheur Children's hospital.

Let us just give you quick play by play of our trip:

Day One:

We began our awesome adventure by going to Lambert's, home of the throwed rolls! ASB Nashville met up with us there, so it was double the fun. We were caught unawares by the sheer amount of food, and most of us ended up not even eating the food we ordered, which made for great leftovers for dinner.

Around 4:30, we finally arrived at the place where we'll be staying until Thursday. It's a huge cabin with a great backyard… complete with a tiny cemetery. After we got over the fact that there was a cemetery in our backyard, we went 'splorin in the woods surrounding our cabin. Then, we went to Walmart and bought over $330 worth of groceries. We also picked up a new mascot, Steve the Dinosaur!

When we came back, we took five mattresses from our beds and spread the out on the main living room floor and had a cuddle puddle. We watched Super 8, which was super great. Most of us ended up having a slumber party in the living room.

Day Two:

We don't start volunteering at the hospital until tomorrow, and we were supposed to volunteer at another place today. However, the people didn't call us, so we got a free day! We went to the National Civil Rights Museum in downtown Memphis, which was PHENOMENAL. We had a great time learning about this critical time in American history. Afterwards, we walked around Beale Street. There was great live music and a cool outdoor market where we hung out for a while. For dinner, Carl and Andrea made barbecue chicken, grilled pineapple, macaroni and cheese, and corn on the cob. It was so delicious!

Day Three - Five:

We have been volunteering at the hospital doing a bunch of super-d-duper activities. First we had orientation and a hospital tour. Then we started volunteering, doing various activities. Some of us have been unit buddies, where we get to go room to room and keep the adorable patients comfortable.

We also get to do the craft cart, the hospitality cart, and the art cart. The craft card goes from room to room bringing the children new activities. The art cart goes from room to room and allows children to choose a new picture to hangup in their room (Le Bonheur is really great because each of the rooms is nicely decorated and extremely colorful). Lastly, the hospitality cart delivers things such as soap and toothbrushes to families who do not have their own.

Some of us have also been working as baby huggers, which is exactly like what it sounds. We get to hang out with the youngest patients and just spread some love. Today, a few of us got to spend time in the Room of Magic, where we got to watch Tangled with some of the patients families.

When we get home each night, we have been cooking up a STORM. We have had everything from breakfast for dinner to fajitas to stir fry. We have had a bonfire complete with Nutella s'mores and we finished off tonight with some Oreo balls and brownies.

We have had a great time at St. Columba and we are excited to move to our hostel tomorrow in the heart of Memphis. More adventures from the city to come.

Over and out.