A day of service, sun, and teacher appreciation! Read about the Third Church IMPACT Team’s time picking up trash, seeing a track meet, and the joy of hosting local teachers for a special dinner and their first ever s’mores!
Bella: Today I woke up later, trying to wake Gracie up a few times. After we were all ready, we went over to have breakfast. We had pancakes, eggs, and sausage, and then we came back to the rooms to finish getting ready. We left and went to drop off some of the people to finish building the playground. Then we left to pick up trash. We were picking up the trash by the track, and when we were waiting for our ride, we watched some of the kids race. Then we went to have lunch, taco bowls, and an option of sandwiches, and some people got some homemade ice cream, before we went to finish picking up some more trash.
Gracie: After we picked up trash, we went back to camp, except for the people working on the playground. At camp, we went to the beach, but the water was cold, so we tanned most of the time and ended up getting more burnt. After that, we got some goldfish and a drink and got ready for the ladies from the school (the teachers) to come and eat supper and get prayed for. We also went to get s’mores with them here at camp. It was a pretty good day, and I was glad we had some time to relax.
Aniah: Today, I woke up decently early to a beautiful sunrise. With blues and yellow beams glistening in the sky. I walked over to breakfast, and we had pancakes, eggs, and sausages. I got a few sausages with ketchup, which my dad and Hudson made fun of me for because apparently, sausage with ketchup is a crime.
After this, I headed to pick up trash. I picked up trash in multiple areas in the morning. A few of the items were quite disgusting, which as a germaphobe, I was appalled slightly if I’m being honest, but I honestly had more fun than I thought I would. We then headed to church for lunch. Luckily, we got to have nachos. The nacho meat was really good. It was super sweet and tasted like my mom’s BBQ meat.
After lunch, I went to pick up trash once again, and I carried some pretty heavy wood, which I felt pretty manly for. I was getting hot at this point, so when Leah said we got to go swimming, I was ecstatic. Once we got back, my father and I went for a walk on these small islands. We probably walked a mile farther than we needed to, but that’s what happens when my dad makes the decisions. So, we turned around and walked back to where I thought the islands were.
We were having a whirlwind of conversation when I spotted a black circle zoom past my leg. My scaredy cat dad and I leapt back. We later found out they were cute turtles, probably about eight of them. We then slowly crept forward to the turtles in awe. After this, I ran ahead to get ready to serve some salad. I got ready and arrived at the main area, waiting for the teachers to come. I got to serve the food, trying not to spill anything because I am extremely clumsy. We ended the night with s’mores, and my burn is still thriving, but that was the end of Saturday.
Sarah: I cannot believe how fast this week has been going. We have one day left, and then back home. This week has been such a blessing in so many ways, and there have been some really neat relationships formed. Those of us who are not so construction-inclined had trash duty in a few locations today! It was very rewarding to see how the areas looked after we had finished collecting trash there.
The first stop was at the high school, and there was a large track meet there today. It was really neat to see and hear the races, and the crowd cheering them on. It was heartbreaking to see kids who were running in socks because they did not have tennis shoes to wear. I am told that sometimes they run barefoot as well, if that is the only option they have. I can’t imagine doing that, and I wish it were possible to provide each of those children with a pair of tennis shoes.
I found an American dollar on the ground, and I gave it to the first child I saw there. She was a beautiful little 5-year-old Bahamian girl there to watch her siblings. She was in awe as I gave her not only the dollar, but also 2 shells we had found. She was so grateful and sweet. Shortly thereafter, she was walking with my daughter and soon had a pair of work gloves on (that were a good 3 times too big for her), and she was excitedly joining our efforts to pick up trash! She was so excited every time she found something! Her excitement was contagious.
After a while, she said to me, “If we keep picking up trash, how much more ‘monies’ are we going to get?” 😂 Thankfully, she didn’t seem too disappointed when I told her we wouldn’t be getting any more “monies”. She gave us hugs before we left.
The evening was one of my favorites, as we were able to host about 12 women teachers for dinner, a tour, and a bonfire with their FIRST EVER S’MORES!! It was a wonderful “fancy” 3-course meal with linens and wine glasses (for tea or lemonade) and even a gift bag for each teacher to let them know how much they are appreciated! It was such a blessing to mingle with them and hear about their lives. One gal even had to google what s’mores were last night because she had never heard of them before! It was a beautiful night that I will never forget. God is good.
– Gracie, Bella, Aniah, & Sarah
