It's 3 o'clock in the morning and I feel like a 5 year old waiting for Santa. I've never been to Disney World or Universal, but that's going to change in about five hours!! Me and nine other people on my trip will be heading to Universal Studios bright and early tomorrow and I could not be more excited. To be honest, the only place that could really top the magic of Disney World or Universal is the Give Kids the World resort that I've been working at for the past three days.
DAY 1:
(Monday May 16, 2011)
We arrived at GKTW for the first time at 7:15am. I knew that my assigned position was going to be in the "Gingerbread House" which is the venue for all the families' meals. Come to find out, I was serving food to the incredible kids and their families. This was the most kid interactive day for me and I'm so glad that I got to know so many of the children. They ranged from all ages and all types of sicknesses. Sometimes I could tell if they were sick and sometimes I couldn't. This was the day that I met Gwyn; the (almost) three year old that stole my heart. As you all may know, I am a HUGE fan of Toms Shoes, well as soon as I saw this adorable little girl wearing children's Toms, I was in love.
After my shift at the Gingerbread House, I learned how to play Mafia which became a staple of our free time. I'm not going to explain how to play but I encourage all of you to find friends and play because it is a lot of fun. We had a tour of the GKTW property (pictures will be on Facebook after I return home).
For the night shift, I worked in the Castle of Miracles. This place is a hard concept to understand without seeing it. Basically, all of the "Make a Wish" children get to decorate a star and it goes on the roof of the castle. I can just sum it up by saying that it was an incredibly special place.
DAY 2:
(Tuesday May 17, 2011)
Again, I was up, showered, hair-straightened, and ready by 7:15. My shift was in the Welcome Hut. The Welcome Hut is really just that, the place that welcomes people into GKTW. It was one of the more lonely jobs, but I actually enjoyed the time to reflect on everything that was going on. We are doing our own blog for the trip and I was able to start it while on this shift.
After lots and lots of Mafia, we came home, napped and prepared for the evening shift. This was one of my favorite shifts. I got to work the Cookie Cart with one of the people I got the closest to on the trip (who was actually my orientation leader). We had lots of fun driving around the complex, giving out cookies, and coming up with ridiculous things to entertain ourselves with.
I should also mention that after each day of service we did reflections about our days. I really enjoyed my small group and especially my small group leader. The effort that he put into making it special for us definitely did not go unnoticed :)
DAY 3:
(Wednesday May 18, 2011)
I started off my day in the Castle of Dreams again, but I was excited to get to work with three new people that I had not gotten to work with before. It was so much fun to see their strengths and watch them interact with the kids as well as my own personal interaction with the kids.
I think this is the point in the trip where I truly realized how much I was enjoying myself. This type of service was different than any type I've done before, but I learned so much about myself. I also realized the connections that I've made with so many of the people on this trip and I can only pray that I get the opportunity to see them through the rest of their college careers.
My night shift was in the concessions stand during the "Village Idol." One of the most special moments of the week happened then. One of the sisters of a "Make a Wish" child found out that Hallelujah is one of my favorite songs. She found me in the concessions stand and she and I sang a duet of the song with a lot of people around. I was blown away by her confidence and poise at such a young age. It was definitely a tear jerker.
This is also where I encountered Gwyn again (wearing the same shoes). Some of us started talking with her mother and she decided to share with us that Gwyn is in remission and she is on her way to being considered a survivor. When those words came out of her mouth, I couldn't have been more happy. I was able to get some contact information to keep up with her status and I only hope she knows how much she touched me.
To all my trip members:
I love you from the bottom of my heart and I want all of you to know that you have all made a difference in my life in some way. Thank you for being so wonderful and thank you for becoming family.
I hope that wasn't too boring to read. It was certainly nice to relive such an awesome few days! I'll be sure to update about my Universal Studios experience soon. For GKTW pictures please refer to Facebook within the next week or so.
Southern Love.
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