Car + Greyhound + Plane + Bus + Subway = Home

I got back to New York yesterday after quite a journey. I was in Poplar Bluff, Missouri with the teenagers at camp. I had a great time and the boys were loving it! We left Friday, but I was on a different flight. There flight would be getting in a little before mine, but only by 20 minutes or so. I decided that I wasn't checking my bag to speed things up. I got on my plane and we had to wait in a long line to take off. We finally get to the front and we turn the opposite way that everyone else was going. We are headed back to the terminal and I knew that wasn't right. They came on and announced that they found a mechanical problem with the plane, so we would have to go back to the terminal to get it checked out. We get back to the terminal and they decide that we have to get off the plane. Luckily, they had a "spare" that we could get on. That made me feel real good that there was a spare. It sounded like it was some beat up junk plane they had in the back. The plane is out away from the terminal, so we have to get on a shuttle bus to get there. We finally get on the spare plane and we have to wait for paperwork to be filled out and picked up. We finally took off, only 2 hours late. So at this point, I call Andrew and leave him a message telling them how I'd be late, so they didn't have to wait for me. The spare plane made it safely to Memphis and I had a message saying that they were waiting for me when I got off. They ended up going to eat and killed a little time while waiting on me. After all that mess, we drove about 3 hours to get to Andrew's parents house. The boys immediately started with a big game. Friday night was spent getting settled in, eating dinner, fishing, and playing more games.
Saturday morning the boys spent time shooting BB guns, riding horses, and playing this variation of horseshoes. After lunch we went to swim in the river. It was pretty chilly Saturday, so I decided I did not want to get in the water. We stayed out there for a couple hours, then came back for dinner and more games.
Sunday we went to church in Poplar Bluff and went to a water park afterwards. It was a small water park, but they had putt-putt and go karts. The boys loved the go karts and rode them most of the time. Sunday night they did a night fish.
Monday they rode 4 wheelers, and did canoeing and archery. Monday afternoon we went to a pool to swim. After swimming there, we went to Ci Ci's for dinner. After dinner, we came back and the boys had some free time.
I had to leave Monday night to get back to Memphis for my early flight on Tuesday. Andrew's brother drove me to Sikeston, about an hour away where I was going to get on a Greyhound to Memphis. We had a hard time finding the station and when we got there it was closed. Right after we got there, someone pulled up who worked there so it wasn't a big deal. I bought my ticket and waited for the bus to arrive. It was 45 minutes late. Once it got there, everyone got off for a short break. Then almost everyone got back on. There weren't many seats open, so I sat in the front next to someone. I finally got to Memphis at 1 AM where Brian (the other summer missionary from last summer) was waiting for me. He had a room for me to stay in for all of about 4 hours. I took a short nap and then we left at 5 to go to the airport. I get to my gate and sleep in a chair until my plane starts boarding. I was completely out. I woke up to get on my plane and then fell right back to sleep once I got on. I slept the whole way to New York. Then I got on the city bus to get back to Manhattan. I get to my stop close to the subway I take to get home, hop on the red line, and finally got home around 12. It was quite the trip. I don't really want to travel that much for a long time.

Yesterday I was in charge of leading Chapel. We started 40 Days of Purpose and it went pretty well. It will be interesting to see how this works out and who will stick with it.

This weekend Brittany is coming to visit! She is going to DC to visit Michelle and they are driving up here for the weekend. I am excited about them coming and I am really excited about taking them to Magnolia, as well as other places I don't usually go unless visitors are here!

Sunday we have a group of 4th and 5th grade boys leaving for North Carolina for Camp Caraway. Then Monday morning there is a group of 4th and 5th grade girls going to Virginia for Camp Little Crossroads. Aaron and I will be here next week, getting everything ready for summer programs to start the following week. Things are starting to get busy around here. Sunday is another preview service for Graffiti 2 Church.

Prayer requests:
Safety for the teenagers getting back on Thursday
Safety for the 4th and 5th graders getting to and from camp, and for spiritual transformation while at camp
Church on Sunday, as well as a place for future church services beginning in the Fall
I still am looking for an apartment. The sub let for July was already taken.
Summer programs starting July 15.