On the Road to Valdosta--Chapter Two--The Tryout

So we took a road trip. We loaded up Benjamin, Kaitlyn, and Shelby into the backseat of the old Lumina and headed south. (On the first side note of this chapter, we had a 13" TV/VCR combo that rested between the center console and Shelby's carseat. Didn't fit very well, but it did the job. A lot of Blues Clues on that trip. Also, if I remember correctly, the old Lumina had developed a vacuum leak and the air conditioning would only blow out the defrost vents. It was a long, long way across I-10.) We came into Valdosta on Madison Highway. The date, if I have it right, was Friday, July 27, 2001. We drove to the Winn Dixie on Madison Highway and called our contact. A few minutes later, here came Jim Lee in his brown Chevy pickup. He led us to Dasher, where he helped get us settled into their guest house. Later that evening, he (somehow) got into the old Lumina with us and gave us a tour of town. He makes a pretty good tour guide, not to mention the fact that Shelby and Kaitlyn just fell in love with him. They talked about "Mr. Jim" for the next three months. We love you, Mr. Jim!

Some initial impressions of the area. Please, no one take any offense to any of this. Impression #1: The drive up from Madison was just beautiful. The rolling hills, while not exactly home, were quite pleasant. At the time, we didn't even really notice that the hills ended about halfway from Clyattville. Impression #2: Clyattville. The entire family was of the opinion that if Valdosta smelled like Clyattville, I was to just keep driving. Impression #3: The church building just looked sort of run down. A dirt parking lot (since paved), mildew on all of the exterior walls facing north (since removed), and overgrown shrubs (since pruned...and pruned, and pruned, and pruned...). While there are still things that could use improvement, things are much better now. Impression #4: I think it was on Saturday evening, we decided to head toward town, just to look around some more. The problem was, we didn't know where we were going. Jim had shown us Ashley and Patterson Streets and told us there was more shopping, a mall, restaurants, etc., but we didn't know where. So we drove up Madison Hwy. to the vicinity of the McDonalds. We knew that wasn't it. There was a police officer sitting at the Enmark station, and I whipped in there to ask directions of him. He gave us the directions we needed, and also told us that we would be well advised to remove ourselves to that neighborhood quickly. That was sort of unnerving, knowing that things were so seedy only about 3 miles from the church building (and the house). But we weren't too worried--we had spent two years in Memphis! And Impression #5: Southern Hospitality does not extend to vehicular operations. People down here drive exactly the way they want to drive with little regard for safety and no regard for courtesy. I'm still working on the philosophical reason for that.

On Sunday, July 29, we got to meet more people. It was a fifth Sunday, so there was, of course, a fellowship meal. I remember that Sunday morning that I preached on Joseph's Coats. After lunch, I don't remember much except that I had eaten way too much and was completely miserable. I also remember that the auditorium was quite dark (still is, but you get used to it) and that it rained very, very hard while I was preaching that afternoon. But from that first Sunday we felt at home with the Airport church.

This is pretty much the end of chapter two. Chapters three and four will deal primarily with what transpired in other places with us in August and September. Chapter five will pick up the actual journey here.

[NOTE: Stacy pointed out to me that the impressions I mentioned were pretty negative. So now I will give a defense of those impressions:

First, we like hills. That is all we had ever known, and the flat lands of what I have come to learn are the Coastal Plains took a little getting used to. I was kind of scared when we first moved down here. I was completely lost. For me, it is much easier to navigate with hills and curves. And you have to admit, one pine tree looks pretty much like every other pine tree.

Second, the paper mill stinks. End of apology.

Third, I have come to understand that down here, every north-facing surface will soon have mildew on it. And like I said, things are greatly improved, and I really had nothing to do with that.

Fourth, that's a seedy neighborhood up there. Soon after we moved here, we conducted a door-knocking campaign in that area, and my impression did not change.

Fifth, I'm still amazed at the lack of courtesy displayed by South Georgia drivers. Where I come from (hey, sounds like that ought to be a song), drivers will wave to one another, move over for stopped cars, change lanes to enable another motorist to pull onto the highway, and drive in the correct lane. Except, of course, in Arkansas, when the only time a driver will drive in the right hand lane is when they are passing someone or preparing to turn left.

But I will also add that we were amazed at the people. Everyone was so kind to us, and still is. I intend to speak more of that later, which is, of course, why I didn't speak more of it now.]

THE END OF CHAPTER TWO