Wednesday: Trip to Memphis

Hey Families and Friends!

Today was the day we got to visit Memphis and more importantly the Civil Rights Museum and Underground Railroad site.  Aside from the car rides, the whole thing was a very moving and learning experience which really made me aware firsthand of the brutality and injustice African Americans went through during the 19th and 20th centuries in the US.  We first stopped off at the Civil Rights Museum.  The thing that hit me first was the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot.  I felt weird being in the same spot where one of the greatest advocates for African Americans, equality, and liberty was shot, and it made me question myself as to if I was living the kind of life that represents one standing up for equality, freedom, and Christ.  In the museum, we took a tour through time as we started with the introduction of slavery into the US, ended with MLK Jr.'s assassination, and included all the affects of it in between.  We also watched a short documentary on MLK Jr. and his last moments, and it really impacted and challenged me because it had a simple but sensational saying: "You can kill the dreamer, but you cannot kill the dream."  I found it very powerful, especially when I related it to Christ and Easter.  They may have killed Christ, but they definitely did not kill Christianity or the Word or the Church.  These live on just as Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy and all that he stood for lives on today.  It takes more than a bullet or a cross to stop something like that.

Tyler