Atlanta

We just completed a working vacation to Atlanta. The following is a summary of our trip.

Day 1:
We got up before the sun to get to ATL mid morning. We had no agenda the first day, so we go to the three star hotel that makes me wonder what 2 or 1 stars look like. Hey, at least it had cable TV and a microwave (two amenities you wont find at our home in Texas). Saturday night we showed up late to Perimeter Church in north Atlanta. The pastor preached the Gospel and they ended with my new favorite hymn Before the Throne of God Above. I cried.

Day 2:
Our busiest day. We started by going to a hipster church called Trinity Vineyard. The worship was fantastic. The demographic was mostly short haired white kids just like us..looking for a little more diversity, but overall we enjoyed the service. Next we went to the Atlanta Aquarium. My main mission here was to find the very rare and exotic "scribbins fish"


Mission Accomplished!

From the Aquarium headed to Southeast Atlanta. We attended a worship service in an old methodist church abandoned during a period of "white flight" to the suburbs. The congregation was a combination of locals, intentional neighbors, and at what appeared to be several homeless people. It was warm and inviting and followed up by a family style dinner. Afterwards we drove one of the members home and he showed us around his neighborhood. I really cant put to words all the thoughts I had that night. I got almost no sleep counting the cost of moving to a neighborhood like that.

Day 3:
After a sleepless night, I sat through 8 hours of ground school. I managed to get through it before meeting up with Mandy's friends from Florida in Atlantic station. This was pretty much the complete opposite of where we ate the night before.

Day 4:
The most uneventful day of the trip, managed to catch up on some sleep.

Day 5:
After work we met up with a handful of couples who are living and working in the city. We hear about the mortgage crisis in the news but until this trip I had not actually seen what it has done "to the least of these." I would guess that on the street we ate that night about half of the houses were abandoned. It was a good evening of food and fellowship. We got to ask a lot of questions and meet some wonderful people. I didn't want to leave.

Day 6:
The Chizzlewicks go home... at long last.

Overall we had a great trip. It was exhausting both mentally and physically. We certainty don't have anything sorted out, but intend to keep asking, seeking and knocking.