I spent the next couple hours, crying because I knew that Ms. L was crying about what she had said and was feeling really bad, and I was feeling bad because she was feeling bad. I wanted to do something to offer her some comfort, but there was nothing I could do. I prayed continually that Ms L would be able to get some sleep and not feel bad all night. I prayed that God would comfort her and that maybe the few sentences that I got out before we got rudely sent to our rooms might sink in and she would understand. I really wanted her to not be feeling so bad about what she had said.
I managed to get to sleep a little after 1:00am, sooner than I should have, because of God�s plan. God knew that this was going to happen just this way and he gave me a way to cope enough that I managed to calm down and get some sleep. Earlier that day, I was given a copy of Express� CD by one of the members. They had performed Sunday night, and I asked if there was any way I could get a CD and one member gave me a copy. Listening to that CD that night was the only way that I was finally able to calm down and get some sleep. None of my other CDs would have been able to have that effect on me, but the Express CD was able to calm me down enough to get to sleep. Thanks to that CD, it wasn�t too unbearable of a night and I did get some sleep that night (more than I deserved.)
The next day, Ms. L gave me a letter apologizing for what she had said and the way she had said it. I will not go into any detail on what she had said since it is very personal and Ms. L asked that I not share what she had wrote with anyone. After I had read it, I explained that there was no need for me to forgive her for she had not wronged me. I explained that what she had said had helped me and that I wouldn�t want her to have handled it any differently than she did. I explained to her that what she did was a good thing because it made me realize how rude and mean I had been and that I needed to change. That night changed me quite a bit and I am thankful that Ms. L said what she did and said it the way she said it� it woke me up.
That was a very emotional night, and looking back on it, I might not change a thing. On the one hand, I wouldn�t wish for Ms. L to go through all that she went through, nor the sleepless night that I went through, but on the other, it made a very big impact on my life by happening just the way it happened. God planned for this to happen just in that way because I needed this to happen. It made a huge change in the way I act and the things that I say� I am grateful that this happened.
I tried to be less abrasive and to have a less "rude" attitude the rest of that week. I began to feel like more of a part of the Youth Group after that. The rest of the week went quite well. Nothing really inspirational happened to me for the rest of the trip.
Here is a synopsis of the rest of the week. On Wednesday, there were 4 baptisms, one of which was a girl named Holly from Central Church of Christ (they came as part of our group,) and the Youth Group threw me a surprise Birthday party. On Thursday, we finished up our houses and then went rope swinging, where I nearly died on my fourth time around. My arm had been getting sore and I went one time to many and I slipped off the rope and came close to hitting the rocks. Then Thursday night, we had a banquet followed by a worship service. We left Friday morning really early. The trip home wasn't too good. We had 2 flat tires and the AC fan belt broke before we even left West Virginia, so the bus got very hot.
All in all it was a great trip and it changed my life. Thank-you Ms. L for setting me straight and getting me to make some attitude adjustments.
