AIM News 10/2003 - Road Trip 2003

AIM Road Tour 2003!

Nixa, Paducah, and Kokomo

A terrific experience was had by the AIM students and staff who recently took a ten-day bus excursion north to visit with some congregations and their youth. The trip started on October 10th when the group traveled all day and stayed the night at a camp with the Union Hill church of Christ in Nixa, Missouri.

Upon arrival the next day at the Lone Oak congregation in Paducah, Kentucky, the AIMers were greeted with smiles and handshakes as joy filled the air, the kind of joy that God provides when he brings his children together. The AIMers were soon made to feel right at home as host families were eager to welcome us into their homes. The four days spent in Paducah gave the AIM students a chance to spend time with the Christian youth and to serve in the community by working at such places as a soup kitchen, a retirement home, and outdoors doing landscaping.

Soon we found ourselves stepping off of the bus in Kokomo, Indiana at the Alto Road Church of Christ. While our stay with this congregation was much shorter, we shared a lot of time throughout the afternoon and evening as we praised God through singing and a devotional with the youth. I am sure that all the AIMers, like myself, will have fond memories of our brothers and sisters in Christ in Paducah and in Kokomo. --Gina Wykoff ('03)

Nashville and Tulsa

After spending that quick but encouraging night in Indiana, the AIMers left for the World Mission Workshop at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. Although the time there was short, the AIM booth was a great success, and the class got a chance to help recruit several students wandering through the exhibits. The worship was amazing, and it gave the AIMers just a small taste of what heaven must be like. Speakers there, such as Jim McGuiggan, were an extreme encouragement and set examples of how we should all be focused on God.

After a long day of driving, the group reached the Memorial Drive church of Christ in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Following a delicious dinner and an uplifting devotional, the AIMers were off to their last host homes of the trip. Memorial Drive was incredibly hospitable and supportive of us. Previous AIM staff coordinator, Jason Thornton, and his family were familiar faces in Tulsa and made the time there even more blessed. A potluck and eleven hours later, the trusty bus finally pulled back into Lubbock, bringing home tired bodies, but excited hearts. --Jaime Rucker ('03)

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