missionatlanta-blog

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"What do you think has been the most resounding moment of Mission: Atlanta X for you?"

"I know it sounds kind of funny- especially because the kids we were serving didn’t really understand how to play it- but I think it was hand ball, at least for me. Everyone from all of the different groups were able to play with us- I guess it was a bonding thing."

Josh, Grace Chapel Family Group Leader

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MISSION: ATLANTA- BLOG 7

       Friday morning has come with a bittersweet taste. The groggy energy that rouses with the teens has been replaced with a quiet and reminiscent one. Half-awake adolescents shuffle to the counter for their grandiose meal of a cream cheese mini-bagel. It’s in the early hours of the final morning of Mission: Atlanta that the work that has been done dawns on these teens. Over 1,000 under-resourced children have been hugged and piggy-backed and jump-roped and hop-scotched by all of the teens that have given up the first week of their summer to serve. Around a coffee table tucked in a corner of the Northeast Cobb YMCA, a group circles together, each clutching a Styrofoam cup half-full of orange juice. In the mumbling conversation, you can hear wishes of staying longer and doing more. Not only have they endured the harshness of the concrete floors they slept on. Not only have they showered among each other every morning and evening. Not only have they been worn to exhaustion, conking out on buses and couches around Y’s- they want more. They’ve learned to make the best of locker room showers by singing together while they shower. Bus rides have become a haven for open-mouthed sleepers- as long as they don’t mind having their pictures taken. In the tough moments that they have shared together, the teens have bonded and held each others hands. Even when they are serving kids, they are serving each other

        As the family groups each load onto the buses on this closing morning, it’s hard to imagine what life is going to be like when it isn’t Mission: Atlanta.

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"Which one of these kids would you say has made the biggest impact on you?"

"He’s actually not at the site right now. His name’s Michael. He dropped out of high school in eleventh grade- he told me school was a waste of time and that he’d rather work.

I talked to him about it and he said that he did eventually want to get out of this place- the neighborhood, I mean. He wanted to go to Oregon College and play football there. You know what? I really think I convinced him to finish school. Even if it’s just online.”

Myles, Northeast Cobb YMCA Family Group Leader

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MISSION: ATLANTA- BLOG 6

           Of all the days of Mission: Atlanta, Thursday is truly the toughest. Although the numbers and statistics show the service, there are never really numbers to show the overwhelming emotion that M:AX challenges students with. Mission: Atlanta teens pour their hearts into the children that they are serving. Everything from giving lunches away to braiding hair to playing hours and hours of ‘Little Sally Walker’ is given to these children who truly need what they have to offer.  These teens give and give until there is no energy left for themselves, which is what brings us to Thursday.

            Around this time of the week, a saying goes around: “No one remembers the nights that they got enough sleep.” On Thursday, when their bodies begin to give in to the slowly built exhaustion, it becomes very difficult for everyone to truly keep their eyes on what matters. It’s hard to give piggy-back rides to ten different kids if your back aches from sleeping on a concrete floor. It’s definitely hard to sing jump rope cheers with a skip in your step (pun intended) if you can’t remember what breakfast was like before cold mini-bagels. Through the sleep-deprivation and culture shock of a week of service, teens open themselves up to who they really are. When you’re broken down to your very last bits, it’s hard to hide under what you’re not. Teenagers find themselves in the droop-eyed evenings of Thursdays.

     This is never a bad thing, though. In order to build yourself up, you have to break yourself down first. Teens find that fixing their foundation makes it a lot easier to build. When things fall apart, Mission: Atlanta teens balance and support each other. The fill the cracks with love and support, they build their co-servants back up to where they need to be- or even above and beyond. Even though Thursday is the hardest, it’s the most life-changing.

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"What moment of this year’s Mission: Atlanta has most stood out to you?"

"Hmm. I would say tonight- when we were singing "Singing In The Rain" in the rain at Stone Mountain. That one moment when all the lights went off… it was an uber scary moment, but we didn’t even miss a beat. We just went on singing. It was clear to me then that nothing could ever really stop Mission Atlanta."

Wes Bender, Director of Metro-Atlanta Teen Initiatives and International Excursions

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MISSION: ATLANTA- BLOG 5

           Wednesday drew to a close with a roar so powerful that it will resonate for many Mission: Atlanta’s to come. The sectors joined together to baptize the Custer Outdoor YMCA into the Metro-Atlanta community. The two hundred teens circled into a carpeted gym with surprisingly good acoustics. The group divided into sectors, which then divided into family group. The electricity of anticipation hummed in the air, and with a fair warning from the big man in charge, The teams were off to defend their homes for the week.

     Custer stampeded to defend their home territory, starting off with a step that had rhythm to envy. Alpharetta brought the volume, arms swinging and vocal chords quaking from the volume they could barely handle. Grace Chapel began timid but pushed their way into the middle with the chants of their Ticos, uniquely resounding as the most linguistically diverse sector. Northeast Cobb began by rivaling with volume and dance, but soon found that their niche was coming to one sector at a time until they slowly fell one by one. Forsyth rang true in their pride, defending their top-of-the-line showers and home-cooked breakfasts until bittersweet elimination. 

     The rivalry was enthused and a whole new level of competitive, all of the sectors came together as the Metro-Y at the end of the battle. Though we may have our differences, Mission: Atlanta X knows that- at the heart of things- we are here to serve kids and learn about ourselves. Together.

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"What do you think has been the most significant moment for you during this year’s Mission Atlanta?"

"That’s hard to say, I guess when we arrived at our site yesterday and our kids are already waiting for us- they were practically running alongside of the bus. It’s actually really hard-hitting because you realize that these kids actually like you and like playing with you.”

Melisa, Forsyth Family YMCA Family Group Leader

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MISSION: ATLANTA- BLOG 4

           Time flies by when you’re having fun, and Hump Day arrived sooner than we had expected. Wednesday morning was partially cloudy and a little humid (but what else do we expect from an Atlanta summer?), nonetheless an amazing day for service. Everyone was a little sluggish and sleepy-eyed, but ice breaker games and a couple of bad jokes had the crowd awake and moving. At Custer’s Garden Terrace site, a group of teenagers waited eagerly for the ten o’clock time they had told the children, beyond excited for their time with the kids. Children peek out from the brick edges of the apartment complexes, buzzing with excitement. Early bird kids shyly pad down the steps to the playground, giving in to temptation and showing up on the dawn of the set time. All the kids were greeted with open arms and invited to draw with the chalk or join in on learning how to spin basketballs on their fingertips, the teenagers’ days officially beginning.

            At Woodland Falls Apartments,  two teens swing a rope that a group of girls skip, jumping at the rhythm of the playground poetry “Ice cream, Ice cream, cherries on top!” The two teens chant as the younger girls jump, expressions of glee spread across their faces. “How many ice creams have you got?” The elementary schoolers eventually give their turn to two of the teen boys, who manage to keep their beat as they skip the rope, all while playing patty cake in perfect time.

           Last but certainly not least,  the Orchard Falls Apartment team. We find the group tucked between two brick complexes, Danny Thomas facing a wall with eyes closed, children lined up facing his back 50 feet behind him. “Mr. Fox, what time is it?!” They scream at Danny’s back. He bellows in return, “Three o’clock!” The children take three abnormally large steps and ask the question again; “Mr. Fox, what time is it?”  Danny replies, “Midnight!” The kids scream and rush back to the line they started from, Danny trailing behind, his smile just as wide as the kids he’s serving. He tags someone and pulls them back to the wall with him, the game beginning again only being more difficult with the addition of one extra Mr. Fox by Danny’s side.

           As Wednesday’s services drew to a close, the Custer YMCA teams join back together to rehearse a chant that they are sure can’t be beat, warming up the bodies, minds, and spirits for the Y Pride battle that is to come at the close of the day.

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"What do you think is the most important part of Mission: Atlanta X?"

"Definitely the relationships we have with the children. We give them another role model outside of their parents."

Q, Alpharetta YMCA Family Group Leader

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"What do you think is the most important part of Mission: Atlanta X?"

"I personally think that when you build relationships with people- I mean, when you’re nice and you’re sweet… I dunno. For me, it’s about making that relationship with these kids. There’s not enough kindness in the world. When we are just hanging out and smiling together- It’s that. That makes the really big difference."

Melissa, Alpharetta YMCA Family Group Leader

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MISSION: ATLANTA- BLOG 3

            As of Tuesday June 3RD, Mission: Atlanta X had officially gone international. After a two hour drive to the airport, a 4 hour flight to Miami, a hour and a half long flight to Atlanta, and 10 minutes of trying to find the US team within the labyrinth that is the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the Costa Rican teens were finally united with the Mission: Atlanta X team. After embraces and many joyful greetings, the combined groups piled into the rental bus like sardines and sang their way through Atlanta rush-hour traffic to Turner Field – home of the braves. The Ticos scaled their way into the penthouse seats of the section 420, where the 203 teens greeted their new friends with open arms. Finally reaching their destination, all the servant leaders settled in to enjoy America’s favorite pastime. The Costa Ricans ‘chopped’ for the Braves like no one has chopped before, and by the time they had trekked back to the Forsyth YMCA for the night, they were all beat and ready to hit the sack. Eventually, the rest of the teens retreated back to their home YMCA’s and Tuesday was brought to a brilliant close.

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"What do you think is the most important part of Mission: Atlanta X?"

"I gotta contemplate that. Hmm. I think it's making sure we make a difference in the kids' lives that we are helping."

Elijah, Alpharetta YMCA Teen Leader

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Off to the Races

After a successful launch of Day 1 of Mission: Atlanta X, we find ourselves in a dimly-lit exercise room, filled with dozens of teenage girls and their family group leaders, the slow rise and fall of their torsos indicating a deep sleep. Slowly but surely, alarms begin to buzz and shriek and shrill out loud pop songs purposed, at least in this case, to irritate someone to the point of shrugging out of their sleeping bag and begin an incredibly taxing first day. In small bunches, girls begin to rouse and shuffle into the bathrooms, groggily brushing their teeth and wincing at the strong scent of chlorination in the restrooms. After a glass of orange juice for strength and a cream cheese bagel for determination, the girls are fed and ready to give the day their all.

A Forsyth YMCA family group finds themselves in a dewy field, sparse grass covering the rusty Georgia clay. From door to door, family group leaders knock on the doors of cookie cutter mobile homes, shuddering the walls of the trailers. Little sleepy faces and arms peer out of the windows and from behind fences; curious to see what these new people in their neighborhoods are up to. Shyly, a 7-year-old boy musters up enough moxie to approach the teens, who happen to have a drawstring bag full of sports equipment. He finds a group of teens to kick around a soccer ball. From around the neighborhood, more children poke their heads out from behind their screened doors.  By making a connection with one child, these teens have sparked the interests of an entire community of children. Suddenly, the other children aren’t so shy. A small mob of children - along with a scruffy dog named Napoleon - make their way out to the field, joining in the festivities.

Further down the way, at the Grace Chapel Branch, kids joined together to attend Camp Connect, created by the tutoring program Next Generation Focus. Children are divided into different age groups and are rotated into different activities of all sorts, from science activities to robotics to water works. Kindergarteners avidly bend over scales, measuring and weighing different objects. Children from previous sessions find the volunteers who they were particularly attached to and hug them until they’re blue. For a first day, the site is particularly energetic and everyone is beyond excited for the week to come.

In Clarkston, an outgoing call is sent, saying there are more children than expected and they need more lunches for the children - 40 more lunches than originally projected. Around 130 children speed around the neighborhood playground of The Lakes of Indian Creek. A rampant soccer game of 20 per team plows down the side of a hill, the ball being dribbled on knees before being launched back into the air. Mothers on the sidelines watch with gratitude and definite amusement at the teens who weren’t the least bit afraid to get covered in dirt or have their hair done by 6-year-olds. Little girls use servant leaders as human jungle gyms, scrambling onto their shoulders and locking their limbs around an unsuspecting teen’s calves.  Upon my arrival to the site, a little girl about half my height came up to me and promptly announced my new name was Coco. I agreed quickly, and soon surrendered my cell phone to a ‘photographer’ game in which the kids took my phone and snapped hundreds of pictures from a much shorter angle than I’m used to. Immediately after, I found myself being hugged by a gaggle of kindergarten girls, the entire group wanting to braid my hair. Did I mention all of this happened within a whirlwind of only half an hour? Talk about a welcome.

This is only some of the stuff that happened in less than five hours of Mission: Atlanta X’s first full day. The connections these teens made within the first few hours of our project are mind-blowing. I felt guilty watching these kids have to pry little kids off their limbs to head home for the rest of the day, but on the other hand, I know tomorrow’s service is going to be even better than what has already been given.

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Mission: Atlanta Opening Night

The first evening is always nerve-wracking, especially for first timers. When the teens drop their bags off at the registration desk on Sunday evening and trod down the stairs to the opening activities, it’s like the first day of school all over again. There’s a cable cord in their gut that pulls them back into their comfort zone, afraid of what’s new, of what they have just gotten themselves into. Some people have already formed friend groups, or have friends from past Mission: Atlanta years. For the newcomer, though, it’s difficult to put yourself out there. It’s easy for someone to look down at their shoes and sit in the corner, to let the cord pulling them back drag them to where they feel safe. But with a week ahead that will push all the boundaries that they’ve ever had, comfort is definitely not the concern.

Awkward chatting around coffee tables is the first thing that a rookie will notice. Teenagers are lounged across the seats, getting to know each other and forming bonds as a group.  Icebreakers begin, and the first bouts of inside jokes and peals of laughter are shared.  In the very beginning moments of Mission: Atlanta, we discover what is one of the biggest highlights of the entire trip. Making connections with not only one another and forming a YMCA family is at the very root of what counts in these starting hours.

Unlike the years before it, Mission: Atlanta X began with an ear-rattling rally. In the cornered gym of the Northeast Cobb YMCA, 200 teenagers swarmed together in a rush of excitement. A hum of energy buzzed through the air as there were repeated screams of camp songs being hurtled across the room. “You can’t ride in my little red wagon!” Gerald Fadayomi bellowed from the center of the crowd. In rhythm, the teens echoed the call back, arms swinging with grins gleaming across their faces. The first day of school feeling was gone by now. With screams of delight and hilarity, the group had formed into one team of teenagers, banded together by their newfound energy and passion.

In the high-wired hype of the moment, Gerald introduced the training for the teenagers. In order to be fully prepared for the mind, body, and soul draining experience that is Mission: Atlanta, they must be fully prepared to be ninjas. Gerald knotted a belt around his waist and summoned two volunteers from the crowd, having them tie belts around their hips as well.  Once everyone was prepared and in their proper mindset, bats were distributed and the produce was released. Soon, there were fruits flying through the air, softball bats slamming into their peels and sending the citrus exploding across the air. Watermelons gushed across the gymnasium floor and oranges spurted across the students. After the pulpy demolition, students were left with sides aching from laughter and a delicious smelling basketball court.

In a room across from the gym, a huddle of family group leaders leaned in to prep for the rest of this week. Although caffeine-deprived and droopy-eyed, these leaders roughing the late night meeting were inspired by the energy of their teens. Towards the end of their get-together, the MAX (Mission: Atlanta X) dolls were distributed - team mascots for each of the family groups. Clutching their new team member, the support team behind our teens left the meeting room with a revival of the passion they had began their day with. The stuffed mascots were introduced, named, and star in the ‘selfie’ wars of 2014 Mission: Atlanta.

As the decibels settled from the roars of the evening rally, teens settled on the floors of Ys across Atlanta, chitters of excitement holding them awake. With their newfound friends and families, this closing on a beginning proves that this year of Mission: Atlanta is bound to be their best.