Sunday/Monday Recap by Patrick Alland

Sunday night we arrived in Memphis around 6, had dinner, and attended a worship service at Mississippi Blvd. Christian Church. At the worship service there were youth from different states and different denominations. There were youth from Minnesota, Tennessee, and Texas; and there were Lutherans, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Disciples. The worship's theme was "tearing down walls." It was nice to be able to worship with other youth from different backgrounds and places.

On Monday morning we began our mission work. We got a tour at the Hope House and some of us got to spend the morning there. The Hope House is a non-profit organization that helps children who have AIDS/HIV or whose parents have AIDS/HIV. The Hope House provides a safe environment for the children while their parents are at work. They not only provide daycare, they also have a school, therapy, social workers, parenting classes, and much more. It was great to be able to interact with the kids and we had a good time. The youth who left after the tour either went to the Mid-South Food Bank or went to fix houses in the Memphis area. They worked alongside the youth that we worshiped with Sunday night.

After completing our mission work we went to the National Civil Rights Museum. This was my favorite part of the day. At the beginning of the tour we watched at 30 minute documentary on the Civil Rights movement. After the documentary the Museum took us from the 1860's until present day. We got to pass by the room that Dr. King was in before he was shot, sat on a city bus, and heard clips of newscasts and speeches. My favorite part of the museum was that throughout all the exhibits there were quotes along all the walls. My favorite quote was from Frederic Douglas who said, "If there is no struggle, there is no progress."