Youth Community Mission Trips: Trains, Planes and Automobiles!

Atlanta, we have arrived! Trains, planes and automobiles, not nessasarally in that order was the phrase of the day. Our day started at O'hare airport. The check in process went as smooth as could be expected. Moving a crowd of 30 is never an easy process. The rain of this morning put a slight delay on our flight but we landed in Atlanta only a few minutes behind schedule. Hartsfield airport in Atlanta is big, really big. We wandered the maze of hallways to find our luggage at the baggage carousel.
Amazingly, no lost luggage! We took the sky tram to the Alamo Car Rental desk. 3, 15 passenger vans if you please, just the way we ordered it. Paperwork complete, we headed to the car park to pick up our vans. It was then we found they had only one van for us. Long story short and a bit of a delay and a found second van, the folks at Alamo figured out a plan and we were on our way with temporary transportation. The promise that they would deliver our last remaining van. That they did! We made our destination, Central Presbyterian Church in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Just across the street from the statehouse. Here we met with our representatives from DOOR, (Discovering Opportunities for Outreach and Reflection), our community partner. We learned what we would be doing in the way of service and community. DOOR partners with over 30 local agencies that serve the needs of many of the homeless population and those that need a hand up. This evening we walked the sidewalks that surround the church, a nightly home for the homeless in a city that does not welcome the homeless. We handed out cold waters and sandwiches with the guidance of our leaders from DOOR. We offered a cool drink, some food and conversation. Respect to people that sometimes don't get to much. In the coming week we will be working in soup kitchens and a children's daycare, urban farms and food banks. Tomorrow afternoon we visit the Dr. Martin Luther King Center and home. Today was a long day filled with patience in our travels and kindness with Gods grace on the streets. Agape in action for sure!