Henlee Luce - Today, to begin our time in Memphis, we explored a couple parts of downtown including the St. Patrick's catholic church, the four-way restaurant, and other buildings we got to see along the way. To begin with, the four-way restaurant had great food and hospitality. Then, we went to church where the hospitality was also great. We were thanked for coming at both spots and felt very welcomed. Along the way we also saw several other buildings, including the arena where the Memphis grizzlies play. So far, Memphis has been great. 

Owen Casey - We met up at the airport early this morning. When we were flying over, I didn’t see any buildings, just small houses. When we landed in Memphis, I was surprised at how nice the airport was. But when we started driving to the church, I noticed how many potholes and cracks were in the highway road. Also, there was trash littered all over the side of the road. I was not used to this, and I’ve never seen anything like that in Denver. When we arrived at the Four Way Restaurant it was awkward because we were definitely the outsiders, and everyone was looking at us. It will be interesting to see if this awkwardness stays or if we can become more normal in the environments we approach.   

Lukas Zikas - I woke up bright and early, excited for the days ahead. The travel went very well surprisingly. Once we arrived at the Memphis International Airport, we simply gathered our bags and headed to this beautiful church called Mosaic. This is where we will be staying the next five days. Right after we got to the church and settled in, we headed to the Four Way Restaurant where we were kindly greeted by the owner and our service organizer Jeff. They shared their stories and were very very nice. Then, after our great meal we headed to St. Patrics Catholic Church and enjoyed an amazing Mass. Overall the first day went great, everyone we encountered was very hospitable and kind.   

Ian Liu – An early 6:00 A.M. flight coupled with a lack of sleep meant that our first flight to Dallas was filled with lots of snores and sleep. As we departed for Memphis, anxiety and excitement filled our sleepy minds. We landed and headed straight for the Bunkhouse to settle down and drop off our bags. As phones were collected, the necessity for talking to one another grew apparent, as well as hungry bellies. We headed to the oldest Soul Food restaurant in Memphis, the Four Way Restaurant. After a deep dive into the history of the restaurant – which included the fact that this was the last place where Dr. King had dinner before being sadly assassinated. It felt surreal to eat at such a famous restaurant and to immerse ourselves into history, not just read about it. After great food, we had a peaceful and somewhat funny mass, where the priest’s sermon talked about the importance of waiting: because it strengthens our faith in God and because it means that we still hold hope in our lives, enough to wait to see what we have in store for us in the future. Everyone is greatly pleased with the trip so far, and after some bonding, we look forward to our day of service tomorrow. Everyone misses their parents but are excited to miss some school in the process!