Christian Fellowship Junior Class

We made it to DC and our lodging site. Everyone helped to unpack and get things situated. We had orientation and then some pulled pork sandwiches to end off the night. Off to sleep for an early morning tomorrow! 

Get ready to put on some good walking shoes, we are headed to Arlington National Cemetery! Today we are walking around DC seeing monuments, historical sites, and museums. To prepare for this early start, we had eggs and bacon, along with some muffins. We can’t wait for the memories we will create and the things we will learn!

Today was a beautiful and exhausting day. We went to the tomb of the unknown soldier, walked around the National Mall, explored the museum of the Bible, and many more historical locations and monuments around Washington DC. Ask us about how many steps we walked, you will be shocked by the highest step count! It’s a day our class will never forget. 

For debrief this evening we were asked the question, “what surprised you about today?” The day was full of surprises. Here are some of the responses we shared:

“The Bible Museum and the Hebrew exhibit and how it was immersive and interactive,

there are more food trucks than expected, how big the monuments were, the amount of sirens (28), everyone here is a tourist, the reflection pool was so shallow, how compact dc is, how structured the soldiers at the tomb of the unknown soldier were, you can get close to the animals in the city, how reverent people are and respectful, how positive everybody stayed all day long and cared for one another,

that there even is a Bible Museum in DC and it is in the center of the mall.”

We had a great breakfast and relational training this morning. Then it was off to the White House! There was tons of secret service around. Though it was just the Eastern wing that we saw, it was cool to see such a fancy and historical house!

Serving this morning at the Gate Post (lodging) while the other half of us went to Martha’s Table to serve. So far, this morning we have cleaned and organized through a closet where they hold their karate gear! Another small group is working down stairs on “story boards” (more to come with this). The Gate Post is used as a center for different types of youth outreach/ministry from helping teenagers write resumes to teaching karate to the youth. 

Today our team split into two groups. The Martha’s Table team is serving today at the daily market where locals can come and get fresh produce at no cost. This area in DC is considered a “food desert”, there are only 3 grocery stores for 150,000 people. This is a great opportunity to meet new friends and serve the local people! We are so excited and ready for the market to begin!

Today went a little different than expected. At the Gatepost, a dumpster was going to arrive for clean up. But, things didn’t work out so we organized another area in the building. We even found an American flag and folded it properly!

During the second half of the day, 8 of us left The Gate Post and served at Martha’s table. Here is Wyatt at the onion station!

Today we’re preparing for Sidewalk Sunday School with Kids Konnection! There will be fun, games, songs, and lessons!

We finally managed to get a group photo with the whole team and Ms. Sherrita! 

Chick-fil-A for dinner was a blessing. We ate many nuggets and chicken sandwiches. We also had mac n cheese. It was prime!

Today we are serving with Seabury Resources for Aging. They are an agency that assist the elderly of the community with a variety of services. An elderly woman was in need of yardwork, and we were ready to jump in and help!

Our team served with joy and smiles and finished quickly with 2 yards! Part of our team traveled to another location to bless another individual with yard work. We really wanted more work to do, but Charles says we did all of the yards he had! Praise God for willing hearts that love serving!

After hard work, we headed into DC and visited the capital and the library of congress. The architecture was beautiful!

The reason why we are serving and extending love to others is because God first loved us. We have all seen each other grow closer together this week and have pointed each other to Christ. “We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

After a long day of many different activities, we ended the night with an ice cream sundae! It’s well deserved after all of the hard work that took place today!

Early morning garage cleaning is the best. We worked hard for half an hour to clean out everything and even found some furry friends along the way! 

We had an amazing day together! As we split up into groups and explored different sites, there was much we learned and experienced! We are so grateful for the fruitful mission trip we had in DC this week. 

During our last meeting as a group, we each thought of one word to describe our trip. We prayed for the mission to continue once we get home. Join us in prayer over the lessons we learned and the love we gained for serving others. We are now traveling home today and will see you soon!