The Day of Firsts

The day started out unlike any other we have experienced before on an enrichment trip. To start, everyone was allowed to sleep in an extra hour. When we woke, there was the sound of raindrops falling on the rooftop, along with the aroma of fresh pancakes. The four of us walked down to see Roxanne covered in flapjack artwork. Then to our surprise, we were told we could go back to sleep, because the rain was impairing our ability to build houses for the day. THIS WAS A FIRST. Once everyone was fully rested, we loaded up the bus and were off to Wal Mart. This is yet again another first. While we were there the kids bought miscellaneous things such as movies, magazines, and junk food. After our stop at Wal Mart, everyone had a “go with the flow” attitude. We made our way to the Joplin Warehouse, which consisted of different volunteer groups that brought together a variety of skills to help rebuild the city. Inside the warehouse was an assortment of tools; hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of supplies. As we were walking through the warehouse, we were introduced to an extraordinary woman, Sandy. We were fortunate enough that she told us her survivor story. From her story, it helped us to focus on the aftermath of the tornado. Sandy suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, along with many other survivors of the disaster. This was really brought into perspective when she mentioned before the tornado she read an average of three books of week; now she can’t focus long enough to do this. Instead Sandy volunteers at the Joplin Warehouse, which she seems to be very beneficial in helping her recover from the tragedy. Once we were finished at the warehouse the group was starving, possibly because it was an hour and a half past normal lunch time. With this in mind, our group took a break at Cunningham Park, where we devoured our packed lunch. The park was approximately a block away from the once functional St. Johns hospital, which is now a reminder of the devastation from May 22. With the help of a few friendly strangers, we heard of a memorial museum that told the different stories of the tornado survivors. We arrived to the museum and instantly were shocked by the sights. The different images, stories, and 911 voice recordings silenced us. The rooms were filled with photographs of many survivors with different words of hope and encouragement painted on their arms, back, or face. Underneath these photos were their stories, some more upsetting than others. While reading the stories, the only words that were spoken seemed to be “oh my gosh”, “wow”, “that’s terrible”, etc; they really hit close to home. The day ended on a lighter note once we met up with some fellow Joplin students at one of the local swimming pools. We enjoyed pizza and other refreshments before hopping in the pool, which seemed more like a water park to be honest. There were waterslides, giant lily pads, and tons of room to swim. After two hours of this excitement it was time to pack up for the day and head back to our humble abode. We said goodbye to the Joplin students and pawned off as much extra pizza as possible. Once we arrived home, we met for our FINAL fireside chat. We discussed the activities for the day ahead of us, which consisted of preparing for the journey home tomorrow. Now we’re winding down for the day and it’s time to sign off. Maybe we’ll go to bed; maybe not? Let’s just say we are. Goodnight all. By: Talisa, Jessica, Natalie, and Kelsey