It’s the last night of our Dallas Bear Breaks trip. We have been through lots of highs, many lows, lots of crying, and many laughs. Before I start, this is what needs to be said the most: this trip was the best decision I ever made. I had a lot of expectations going in this trip: I was going to get to work with kids, I was going to go on a trip to a place I’ve never been before, and I was going to come out of it learning something about myself that I hadn’t been before, but I think the phrase from one of our trip leaders, Lauren, summarizes it well: “This trip shattered our expectations.” In just a few short (but VERY LONG) days I have been able to make friends that have become a family, I have been able to bring joyous memories to children while giving cherished experiences to myself, and I have made a new story in my life.
I know that our trip was arranged for the service to children within the Dallas area, but I could not have picked a better group of people. These people have gone from strangers to friends within just a few days and we have learned so much about each other. We even plan on trying to continue our experiences back to Springfield and are planning on looking into volunteering together with children as well as have dinner meet ups at Tom and Sue’s (adviser and his wife) house. There’s no way to explain what happened with these people without getting super sappy and cheesy, so I’ll leave it to a few words instead. Never under estimate how close you can grow to others through serving together. You will grow, rely on each other, become friends, and never forget your time
Our experiences with the kids at Wesley-Rankin varied for every one on the trip. Everyone had kids that they became attached to through working with homework, playing games, and hanging out. The Wesley-Rankin staff more than appreciated our time with the kiddos and I know that we appreciated it as well. Everyone spent their time with different age groups from the little ones of first and second grade all the way up to the middle schoolers. My heart was found in the middle schoolers and somehow something just clicked with them. The most difficult part was that it was the last day that I grew the closest to them. From one girl telling me that I was cool and asking if once I finish college I could get an internship there to having my own squad of kids that followed me around and kept saying “Same” to everything. I was a friend to them and that’s what they wanted the most. I hope to write to them and have Wesley-Rankin help facilitate the communication. Hopefully some of them will want to keep in touch because I know that I would love to write letters to them.
I am so glad I decided to apply for this trip back in early Spring. Every single milestone of the trip was amazing. Despite this it’s so hard to try and describe everything that this trip has done and meant for me. You can’t fully describe it without having experienced it yourself. I am looking forward to becoming involved for the next year and can’t wait for the opportunities that will come. I am hoping to become a trip leader next year and maybe even come back to Dallas to work with the kiddos. By doing this hopefully I can help them create a similar experience that I had and help them be changed forever.
Until next year,
Aidan Williams