Week 7 - A Texas Thanksgiving
We are in Texas and it is the best! For the reader’s who don’t know me well, I spent close to half of my life living in Texas…so this was not my first time spending Thanksgiving in Texas and hopefully not my last. Thanksgiving is a time intended to spend with family and friends, people you are thankful for. Cain, Davis and I knew we would have each other to spend Thanksgiving together, but I am happy to say we spent this Thanksgiving week with new friends, old friends, and family, all of which I am extremely thankful for.
At the beginning of the week, we were unsure of what was to come - we had no commitments for where we were volunteering or parking the bus. This spontaneous travel has been a theme throughout our trip, and that is on purpose! The freedom opens opportunities to serve in unexpected situations. We spent the beginning of the week in Sugar Land, TX with the Lubojaskys. They are an incredible family who has hosted three other LOST Bus groups (there have been 5 groups who have done the same thing on a bus built in 2011, we are the second bus), and we were encouraged by previous groups to stop by the Lubojaskys because they are THAT amazing. Cain described Ray (husband) as the most laid-back person he has ever met and Gaynor (wife) called me when I was following her in the car and got mad at me for going too slow (apparently I was going 25 in a 45). We had an incredible time with their family - hearing stories about the other LOST Bus crews, enjoying lunches together where Kaiya (4 year old granddaughter) would beat up Davis, Cain getting his fingernail’s painted pink by the grandchildren, weighing ourselves to see how much weight we have gained thus far, and more. During our time with the Lubojaskys, we realized how much they care about their community and neighborhood. After hearing we did not have set plans for work, Gaynor was excited to connect us with a single mom she knew who would appreciate our time and help.
Davis deserved it!
So silly!
We had the opportunity to work at Gaynor’s friend, Jessica’s house. During summer 2020, Jessica’s son John-Bryan (JB), at the age of 24, was discovered unresponsive with no vital signs. He had suffered a hypoxic brain injury and severe damage to his liver and kidneys. JB now has constant stress on his muscles restricting movement and is non-verbal. JB’s facebook page and GoFundMe explain more about his story. We spent our time completing tasks Jessica has not been able to complete as she has had a busy past two years: fix doors, hang pictures around the house and in JB’s room, and more. Despite the hardships of the past two years, Jessica and JB have continued to show hope, a hope that is contagious to the people around them. We are grateful we did not have any work planned during our time in Sugar Land, so we were able to meet and serve Jessica and JB.
Jessica and her two nieces (Lola and Kirby)
Putting up some of JB’s favorite art in his room
Other volunteer work during the week consisted of helping with Nori’s school (Gaynor’s one-day-a-week school for her grandchildren) and Mother Teresa Shelter. Mother Teresa Shelter is located in Corpus Christi and provides services to homeless individuals and families to help break the cycle of homelessness. We loved our time on Friday working with Sister Rancy and Sister Ceebee feeding their client’s and spending time hearing their stories. We also had the opportunity to make stops with friends and family around the Houston area and take time to celebrate Thanksgiving. After weeks with new people, it has been refreshing to reunite with people I love and am comfortable with. We visited Friendswood (my hometown) and spent time with best friends and people who took care of me when I was a baby. Davis mentioned how he thinks it is funny how many people I address as Aunt who I am not actually related to (Aunt Desiree, Aunt Dorie, Aunt Rhonda, etc.). There truly are so many friends in Texas who feel like family. After Friendswood, we made a stop in Columbus, TX with the James’ family - some of my great family friends.They blessed us with an early Thanksgiving meal, hog hunting, and all sorts of other fun activities. Finally, we spent Thanksgiving in Corpus Christi with my Nana and five of my dad’s brothers and sisters, where Cain and Davis were quickly welcomed into the family traditions. Making these quick stops is special for me. I love showing Davis and Cain some of the places that have made me who I am today. One of my favorite memories in Corpus Christi was walking into the living room after eating Aunt Vickie’s chili, and seeing Nana (96 years old) and Cain sit on the couch with Cain’s arm around her (not sure who initiated this but I realized he had now taken my role of favorite grandson).
Drove the bus on the Corpus Christi beach and showed off our GNARLY skills
We will continue to make our way through Texas next week and eat more Whataburger, Shipley’s, and other awesome Texan food.
They are so happy!
