I was extremely excited to leave Friday morning! We piled our suitcases, sleeping bags, blankets, and everything else into a Nissan Armada and a Chrysler Town & Country and hit the road. The drive was certainly a long one, but the four of us in the Armada found several ways to pass the time. First, we talked about everything under the sun. Our conversations ranged from boys, to iPhone troubleshooting, to our favorite types of dogs. Though our talks started as very trivial subjects, the awkwardness soon subsided. Secondly, we learned that following another vehicle can make it very easy to get lost. When the minivan exited suddenly while we were passing another car in the left lane, we ended up with a nice tour of downtown St. Louis. Luckily, we had not crossed the river into East St. Louis yet. We were separated or lost twice more the first day. Thankfully, that night we found our housing in Nashville with relatively little trouble. Though our group was exhausted, we still found time to bond over a movie. Thanks to Scott for putting up with our chick flicks!
We woke up very early this morning as we had a 12 hour drive between us and the camp where we will be staying all week. As the day wore on, our conversations continued. At first they had the same trivial feel as they did yesterday. However, as our car began talking more about our reasons to volunteer, I learned about Sarah J. Sarah is from Minnesota and has had a unique upbringing as she is a survivor of multiple debilitating illnesses. She shared with us about how her junior year of high school was spent in and out of doctor’s offices. Though she knows she cannot really share her experiences with the children, she wanted a chance to bring them joy during the remainder of their lives. She is incredibly selfless and inspirational. I hope I can continue to learn about her on the trip.
I am sorry that I do not have much to say in regards to volunteering. I am really anxious and excited to go to our site tomorrow and begin working with the kids. I am also thankful for the last two days. Though I have spent now spent nearly a full 24 hours in the car, this time has been great for our group. We have been forced to interact, make decisions, and problem solve together. Not that any of these things have been a chore. They have helped us learn more about each other than I thought was possible in this short amount of time. Being spread out between two cars has given us ample opportunities to collaborate. We had to coordinate stops for gas and food, navigate when lost, and find music to listen to that would satisfy everyone.
This evening, around nine o’clock, we arrived at our housing. We are staying at a church camp called Full Gospel Bible Camp. From what I can tell, this is less of typical church camp and more of a Christi an-based camp ground that includes dormitory buildings. After dumping off our stuff in rooms, we all piled into Shandi and Erin’s room to make a grocery list. 
We had been told that Wal- Mart is incredibly busy during the day so shopping at night is the best way to get things. Long story short, our shopping experience was incredibly hectic. We were all tired, hungry, and scared about the budget. I think it will work out alright though, we got plenty of easy to make feels and junk food, so I think everyone will be happy. Tomorrow we start volunteering!!!!
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