After hours of grueling packing, repacking and sitting on suitcases to zip them up, 28 high school students congregated in the lower parking lot of Floris UMC. With many students bustling around, leaders checking people in and parents trying to hold it together before their baby’s left them for a week, the pre-road trip experience was hectic, but perfect in its own way. Before loading the vans to the brim with luggage and power tools, Dan called everyone to form a circle so that we could pray and discuss logistics of the trip. As we stood there in a slightly askew circle that resembled more of a thumb, I felt God’s presence wash over each one of us as we hoped for the best week possible. Dan’s prayers of safety and cooperation are instilled into each student, and I hope this week shows that such prayers can be upheld.
Once prayers were said and last minute bathroom breaks were taken, the four white vans were off, speeding out of the Floris UMC driveway (obviously at respectable speeds in relation to the speed limit).
The car trips were uneventful, except when they were not, but I was mainly asleep so therefore an unreliable narrator. I did awake for food though, and as we rolled to a stop at Five Guys, the aroma of excessive peanut oil already clogging my arteries, I began to stir from my stupor. Inside we met another group from Dan’s van, and talked with them as we ordered and ate our burgers. They left before us, and we followed soon after, driving the last leg to the church.
Once all the vans were in Lumberton on Chesnut street, we worked to unpack and get situated into our rooms after a brief discussion about the area we were staying in. After unpacking we had some free time to hang out and play around in the rec room before we all piled back into the vans and headed out to Golden Corral for dinner.
At the fated Golden Corral we ate piles of food and excessive amounts of dessert. Content and full, we headed back to the church and de-stressed by hanging out playing cards, watching America’s Got Talent, and going to bed early.
My favorite quote of the day-
Traffic on 95, if you haven’t experienced it yet, it’s a thing of beauty. -Eric (van driver)