Well I have made it to Perry County! I have always considered myself a city girl but also a country girl at heart. After coming to Perry County I have redefined my idea of what country really is and that is for sure. Perry County is in the Black Belt of Alabama about 90 miles from Birmingham. The closest Wal-Mart is 30 minutes away and the closets Movie Theater is in Tuscaloosa which is about an hour away. Perry County is in the top 20 poorest counties in the United States and the poorest county in Alabama.

The county has 11, 000 people which is the same size as Mahomet (my town). The biggest difference for me is that in Perry County the schools are segregated by choices. Segregation is a topic that has always been discussed in school but for me to see it in the schools and around town it still very surreal.

I am currently a Student.Go Summer intern but I am help with the organization Sewing Seeds of Hope. My job entails helping to coordinate the children’s ministry opportunities and helping the mission teams in anyway while they are here. So basically being their personal assistants so it is awesome.

I have two wonderful supervisors which I will call (M and M) and they have two full of energy boys. They have been so good to us and even made us dinner. They have shown us all over Perry County and have even given us a few directional tests which I passed with flying colors. In Perry County I have two other teammates Amber and Josh. Our team has been getting along very well which I hope continues because we are around each other most of the time.

This week while we are being orientated to the land I have been helping Mrs. M be in charge of arts and crafts at the Elementary School for Summer School. Every session is a little bit different because one session we will have pre-schoolers who put stickers all over their faces but listen very well to sixth graders who finish the craft quickly to fourth graders who if you mention Hannah Montana they will start dancing and singing. I have enjoyed working with them and will continue for this next week. This has helped me establish some relationship with children that I have seen around the community. Also the children love that I am from Chicago because Obama is from there.

I am currently staying at Judson College. This is weird to me because I go to school at Judson University in the Chicagoland area but these colleges are so very different. Judson College is an all girls Baptist school that has been established since the early 1880’s. 

 Today we had a day off so my team and I adventure to Selma, AL to see some historical sites (our parents should be proud). We learned a lot about Bloody Sunday and even crossed the bridge. Tomorrow our first “real” groups of mission teams come in (three to be exact).

So I am excited to see what this week brings…..