What's on my mind..

I was browsing through our local newspaper website and stumbled across a photo gallery for Weekend of the CROSS, here in Shreveport. I immediately began to think about all the Weekend of the CROSSes I participated as a teenager in my hometown. One of my most memorable and best experiences was being involved with my church youth group, especially the mission trips. Weekend of the CROSS was my first experience. It is a local mission weekend in which youth and adults are divided into groups and go to residences that need painting, yard work, light construction, etc. I was about 12 when I participated in my first W.O.C. and went every summer until I graduated high school. Another fun mission trip I enjoyed was Mountain T.O.P. This was a week-long mission trip, a longer version of W.O.C., that took place in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee. I went to Mountain T.O.P. for four years and enjoyed it so much. That was when I fell in love with the state. Being involved with these mission trips and weekends, and being involved with youth group has made me the person I am today. I sometimes lose focus of what's really important in life and when I think about these powerful experiences, I remember and regroup. The feeling you get when helping others is beyond words. I hope to get more involved with things like this. I also wish I had a picture from 1993 so I can show you how much fun it was, and to show how short and ridiculous I looked. Maybe not...Hehehe...