You may think that on a mission trip we are focused on serving and learning, and you would be right. But that doesn't mean that hilarious things don't happen.
Know the address
911, what is your emergency?
Hi, we are stuck in an elevator.
What is your address?
Ummm. It's First Baptist Church at 16th and O NW.
And what is that address?
(Does anyone remember the address?) 16th St NW, we can't remember the number.
It would help us dispatching someone to you if you could provide the address.
We just arrived in town here, so we don't really know...
Is there an information card in the elevator with the address on it?
(Why didn't we think of that?) No, we're pretty familiar with the interior of the elevator by now.
Well we can try to look up the address for you if you like, but it will take a couple of minutes.
That's OK, we're not going anywhere.
Check the valve
Setting up our ground beds in the church basement I realized that my brand new air mattress was missing the valve insert and could not be inflated. Fail! But Tim had purchased or borrowed a king's ransom in equipment (portable cot, self-inflating mattress, high-tech collapsible ground pad) and so had an extra air mattress for me to borrow. Golden! I slept like a baby...that is until 5:00am when the air mattress deflated enough that I was awakened by the Fellowship Hall floor, ouch. Strangely, this condition healed itself. Wednesday morning was the last time I hit bottom, As for Tim, he reported daily that his sleeping arrangement was the equivalent of a bed of nails.
The running of the bulls
First Baptist DC was a terrific host, but their facility is not really designed for large groups of overnight guests. One shower for men and one for women was available. The Passport staff assigned shower times to each church, and within those constraints each person was entitled to a daily shower of about seven minutes. The girls came up with assigned times for themselves, but the boys arrived at a different solution. Around 8:58 each night, you could see them eyeing the clock, tensing up. And at the stroke of 9:00...They're off! A blur of teenage boys with towels fluttering behind, and the less vigilant dashing to catch up with the pack. It sort of reminded me of the running of the bulls through the streets of Pamplona. I wonder where they're going? Oh, look at the time. My solution? I was awakened by my air mattress each day at 5:00am, so I had the shower all to myself.
Volunteers exhibiting insect-like behavior
Working at the Capital Area Food Bank was gratifying. They need the volunteer help, and it was eye-opening to see the amount of food donated and the infrastructure in place to process it. But there is no lack for humor. With two dozen volunteers in the warehouse getting to the bottom of the last donation boxes, you end up with diminishing returns. Is this can too dented to be accepted? Is this partially open cereal acceptable? Can we use these individual toilet paper rolls? In the midst of these questions the forklift arrives with a fresh donation box. Hey! The response of the volunteers is immediate and reminds me of the reaction of nearby ants when ice cream is dropped on the sidewalk.
Noise Pollution
The prayer walk on Day 1 with Fritz of Jubilee Housing was terrific, but it was not without challenges. We visited half-a-dozen sites in the Adams Morgan neighborhood that provide housing, health care, job training, business loans, and a host of other services to the most vulnerable. Fritz provided a scripture reading, then told us the function of this site and how it started. But my goodness Washington DC is loud! Garbage trucks, construction vehicles, and heavy equipment seem to constantly be in use or in transit.
So this is the location of... (ENGINE ROAR) which is signific...(ROAR) when you consider all that... (RATTLE RATTLE) and of course... (BANG BANG BANG).
This is The Potter's House, one of our missions. They are known for... (YADAYADAYADAYADA) and if the customer can't afford to pay they will... (YADA) and it has been very success...(YADAYADA)
