More Fun Than I Thought Possible: Fall SPOTS (Part 2)
Time to resurrect Fall Break.
It’s entirely appropriate. I started this post over (Thanksgiving) Break, but I’m thinking back to (Fall) Break because we are currently on (Christmas) Break. Break on Break on Break. There was some major awesome that happened on the missions trip to St. Louis. Ashlin covered Part 1, so here’s to Part 2!
I’ll talk about the last day of SPOTS, since that’s freshest in my mind. All forty of us ventured over to the YMCA, where we worked with an organization called the Dream Center. Basically, our whole day involved wheelbarrows. Wheelbarrows, if you didn’t know, are not limited to just toting around mulch. They can carry people, and if you’re walking with others and the wheelbarrow falls on its side, it’s kind of like cow-tipping. We did a lot of landscaping, moving a mountain of mulch onto plots of land, pitching it around trees, and raking it over patches of plants. It was satisfying, entirely too fun labor.
Because we college students have an infinite source of energy, we were pumped for our free day. While some students chose to go to a Garden of Eden-like Botanical Garden, most of us opted to spend all of our free day at the free St. Louis Zoo! Llamas, seals, and puffins, oh my! We paid a visit to all of our favorites, including the elephants, monkeys, and the giraffes, who seemed to acknowledge our presences as they wagged a hello with their long tongues.
By the early evening, we were famished, so we made a pilgrimage to D.’s house. Now D.’s mom is an incredible cook, and she made the most delicious mac-n-cheese I’ve ever eaten and five different types of pie. D. gave us a tour of the house he grew up in and we especially enjoyed the adorable photo of him and his sisters as toddlers wearing colorful homemade smocks. After the meal, we gathered around the fire and listened in rapture to the experienced story-teller C. tell the story of Natte the Snake.
There are endless possibilities for service work at Vandy too! Many of my friends are currently on Alternative Winter Break all over the United States, and there are chances to lend a hand at Room in the Inn, Best Buddies, and all sorts of other cool community events!