An update from Nicholas Bushard, a youth participant, on day four of the accompaniment trip:
“Today we took a tour of the First African Baptist Church in Savannah. It is the oldest African Baptist church in North America, first organized in 1773. Astonishingly, only 17 pastor have served this church. Famous figures, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Michael Jordan, have spoken at this church, as well as other well-known politicians. As well as being a very important place of worship, it also served as a safe house along the Underground Railroad. The walls and stairwells were built specifically to act as secret passages to get around the church without getting caught. The church includes a pipe organ that is over 130 years old as well as 150 year old stained glass windows. It was a very interesting tour and it taught me a lot about American African history. It was really fun and I hope to come back again soon.”
The other group served at the Salvation Army – helping in their store and their kitchen. The kids unloaded a ton of produce and then the chef asked them to husk the corn! They were happy to provide their Nebraska “husker” skills to the people of Savannah. They also sorted shoes and clothes for the Salvation Army store.
In addition, the group decorated cards for Ronald McDonald House families, did building cleanup and had dinner prep.
