It was June 1981 and the Youth Group from Jersey Village Baptist was going to Glorieta for the week. Tammy was old enough, but Jennifer needed to be one year older to make the trip. The kids had taken various jobs to earn money to help pay their way, and the Senior Group had held a “slave” auction for the kids for a day of chores to be decided on that “work” day. The Youth Group held “car wash” days and the church held a “yard sale” day with some donations. The entire church got involved with helping in some way or another.
There were enough kids to fill two large vans with kids and sponsors. Bo. Bill and Jo Morgan were going and they asked Eva and me to go for some sessions that were going on that same week. We were not officially part of the Youth Trip but would travel with them in my car. Jennifer was not happy about not being able to go with us, but she spent the week with Grannie Allen and she loved her.
When we left the church early on Saturday morning, the parents were there to see them off. Before loading the vans, everyone got in a circle for prayer for safe travel. In 1981, there were no cell phones so we had CB radios in each vehicle so we could talk about where we would need to stop for restrooms and meals. When you have two van loads of youth you have to pick more than one place to stop or it will take long periods. Bill and Jo had made the trip enough over the years so they had pretty good ideas for places to stop. Our first day was to get to Lubbock. The kids sang a lot of songs on that first day but were tired when we got to the La Quinta Motel where we stayed the night. We all went to dinner that night at a restaurant that was close to the University that could handle larger groups.
We left the motel early Sunday morning because the roads from Lubbock to Glorieta would be narrow and could take a longer time to travel. We had gone about 15-20 miles when the Youth Director radioed that he had forgotten the money bag back at the motel and wanted to turn around and go back. Bo. Morgan told the vans to keep going and we would go back in the car to get the money. We stopped at the first place that had a phone and called La Quinta to tell them what had happened. They had the bag in the office when we got there and then we started back to catch up with the vans. It took a while before we were close enough to reach them on the CB radio, but we were going faster than them. When we reached Glorieta, everyone was very tired but excited as well.
I think it was Tuesday night when Tammy and her friend came to our room to tell us that her friend had broken out in a rash and could not stop coughing. She had asthma and was reacting to the trees by the dorm they were staying in. We called her parents and they were concerned about her health. Her Dad caught a flight to Albuquerque and we drove her to the hospital there. Tanna was given a shot and IV and was feeling much better when her Dad got there. They flew home later the next day.
The Youth Group had a great time with all of the sessions and activities, making new friends with kids from various places in several states. Eva and I became much closer to Bill and Jo over the years to follow. The trip back to Jersey Village went without any major issues, but you could tell how much closer the kids were after spending a week together and some really good bonding sessions. There were so many testimonies from the kids, they were shared over two Sundays.
About two weeks later, we took our family vacation. Jennifer had heard Tammy and others talk about Glorieta and she was disappointed, so I changed our vacation plans. We went to the Grand Canyon and areas on both the South and North Rim. The North Rim is special because it is only open for just a few months each year and they celebrate all holidays during that period. The town was decorated for Christmas when we were there. That trip allowed us to go by Glorieta on the way back home so Jennifer could see the facilities even though there were no sessions going on that week.
A few years later, Jennifer was able to go to Glorieta with a church youth group and Tammy went as one of the sponsors.
Discover more from RICHRAY BLOG
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
