Today, was our team's first opportunity to split up into our different serving groups to spread out around Nashville. It is inspiring to think about how the seventy people in our group are able to accomplish so many different things in one day. Every group went on a prayer tour around Nashville in which our CSM hosts gave us a guided trip around the city of Nashville to learn about its history, needs, and main industries. It gave everyone an amazing overview of the city, a glimpse into the rich/poor dynamics of the city, and the different ways that the city is trying to engage with issues of homelessness, job opportunities, and economic inequality. Along the prayer tour each group would stop at different spots in the city to pray for the specific needs and opportunities of each part of the city. In addition to the prayer tour every group served at a local ministry site in Nashville.
Serving Group 1 served at a local ministry called N.I.C.E. that has built a community for immigrants rthat have made it to Nashville. This organization holds a summer camp every year to help children of immigrants catch up in school or simply have some extra tutoring. Group 1 helped children in the subjects of math, science, and reading to encourage their growth and excitement for learning. It was great to watch our team develop relationships with these kids and do whatever they could to help them gain an education so that they can have bright futures.
Serving Group 2 went to a local Boys and Girls Club that holds summer programming for lower income kids. Group 2 played games with the kids and helped them do arts and crafts. Our group started a little tentative because they didn't know any of the kids, but quickly warmed up to the kids and jumped right in. It has been impressive to see how willing they are to move out of their comfort zones in order to meet the needs of others
Serving Group 3 went to the Andrew Jackson Boys and Girls Club which is a different club from the one that serving group 2 went to, but had a real similar feel in serving the kids. Group 3 played games with the kids and helped with the activities that the staff had planned for the kids. The group was excited to hear that they will get to return to this site throughout the week and continue to develop relationships with the kids.
Serving Group 4 went to a location called Project Transformation that helps little kids with literacy. Some of group 4 sat and read books with the kids to encourage them about the importance of being able to read and develop their reading skills. The rest of the group played games with the other kids who had finished reading or were on a break from practicing to read. Group 4 was impacted by the difference between their own school experience growing up compared to the experiences of these kids.
Serving Group 5 served at a local soup kitchen called loaves & fishes that serves a hot breakfast and lunch to homeless men and women every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Group 5 helped get the room setup for lunch, served lunch, spent time meeting the guests while everyone ate lunch together, and then cleaned up everything after lunch. It was inspiring to watch the group be so eager to hand out drinks, mop floors, and hold conversations with homeless men and women. The staff were extremely grateful for our help and everyone had the opportunity to make a new friend with someone that was there to eat lunch.
After serving, every group went to eat at some sort of ethnic restaurant ranging from Indian to Turkish food. Following dinner the whole team gathered in the Chapel for our evening porch time. Porch time is our nightly time to process what we have been seeing and hearing each day on the trip. After sharing memories from the day and singing songs, Luke gave a talk entitled "Leave it all behind" where he looked at Luke 10 as a model for how to get the most out of our week. Jesus challenged his 72 followers and us to leave behind insecurities, fears, and distractions that might cause us to miss the whispers of God in our lives. He challenged the team to be present here in Nashville and jump right into whatever God asks us to do each day. In Luke 10:17 the 72 followers returned with joy and Luke encouraged the team to look for the God-given joy that comes when we are willing to make life about serving God and others. Finally, we finished our evening with our first small group time to discuss the things that Luke introduced in his talk and the things that everyone experienced during our first service day in Nashville.
It has been a great day and we look forward to sharing with you what day 2 brings tomorrow.
