In old Savannah, I said Savannah, the weather there is nice and warm!

Pardon me for using a throwback from Ray Charles, but the title couldn't be more appropriate for ISM's trip down to the 912. The weather was wonderful, our hosts were welcoming, and our students were enthusiastic - the trifecta of a successful trip!

Now the play-by-play: we left Athens around 3pm on Friday in the Uncle Bob and Aunt Lynn's bus, which they usually utilize for InterFACE Ministries cross-country trips departing from the southeast. The bus features bench seats that run along the sides of the bus, coupled with a few tables and a long row of beds that are stationed above the heads of the passengers. Needless to say, it is a very sociable bus, much more so than the usual row seat coach buses.

Some of our students on the bus

We arrived in Savannah around 8pm that evening, and after unloading at Skidaway Island UMC (our host church for this event), we left for the homes of our host families. The American volunteers stayed with my friend and former discipler, Mary, and her family. We had about 15 Americans on the trip, so they were very generous in feeding and housing all of us for the weekend!

The next day, we went on a trolley tour around Savannah. I always enjoy excursions like that, i.e. seated and historical fact-based activities, but I was glad to see that the international students enjoyed it as well, even if our tour guide talked a little more quickly than was probably advisable. Either way, they liked taking pictures:

My roommate Courtney and I on the trolley tour

Later that afternoon, we went to Tybee Island beach. During the course of the two hours we spent there, one student found a intact dead jellyfish and brought it out of the water for others to poke, some of our students got a little creative with some sand art, and we took lots and lots of pictures.

A part of our group on Tybee Beach

Aforementioned sand art

Jellyfish (ack.)

We spent another night with our host families and the next morning we attended Skidaway Island UMC's church service. The church was so welcoming to our students, and I am so grateful for the ways that they partner with us in Athens every year!

After we said our goodbyes, we parked on River Street and had a few hours to walk around and visit shops. Again, many pictures were taken:

One of the many large ships that came to dock in Savannah

A few American students and I standing in front of a veteran memorial off River Street

We left Savannah from River Street and reentered the Athens area around 8:30 that night. Reflecting back, I couldn't have asked for a better trip. Our leaders were very helpful and friendly to our international students, our stay was fun and restful, and most importantly, no one got hurt. Here's to more successful trips to Savannah!