Serving Atlanta 2019: Friday; Travel Day

Today was a long day, but a good day. Our team left Oostburg about 3:00 am, and after stopping off in Port Washington to pick up Adriana, we began our long trek down to Atlanta. There seemed to be an ongoing cycle of chattiness followed by quietness and sleep that lasted through much of the morning. We stopped around 6:00 am at a McDonalds just over the Indiana border for breakfast and then made our way down through Indianapolis and eventually crossed over the border into Kentucky. In some ways it was a boring journey, but for those who had never driven south before it was a new experience:). We were also super excited about getting to Atlanta.

We decided to hit a Steak 'n Shake for lunch somewhere north of Nashville. We were all hungry and looking forward to a burger and a shake. We talked to a couple different people that sat near our group and enjoyed some good conversation. We all enjoyed our food, and as we were finishing up, one of the ladies we talked to came over and placed a receipt on the table by Kim and I and told us all we had to worry about was the tip and that she covered the rest. She told us she used to do this kind of thing back in the day and she wanted to help us out. What an unexpected blessing!!

We got back in the van and continued to head south. It's not necessarily pleasant to drive, eat, drive some more and then eat some more, but we did:). We had a good day and enjoyed some good fellowship along the way. As we approached Atlanta we pulled off for a quick Walmart stop and then got back in the van and ordered some Papa John's for pick up when we got to Atlanta.

We finally got to The Garden (7 Bridges) about 8:20 pm, ate our pizza, had a quick orientation and then unpacked all our gear. After going over a few details, we settled in and had a short Bible study based on Romans 12:1-13. We are focusing on Service while we are down here and tonight we discussed the importance of being authentic in our faith as believers. We are all excited for tomorrow and open to see what God will do in us. But for now... we sleep.

Thank you for your prayers. We have had so many answered prayers already! Keep checking back. You'll hear from members of our team over the next few days as we serve together at the Garden and on the streets of Atlanta.

~ Mr. Chris Hendrikse