Words betray me as I try to envision a way to describe the past 6 days. I suppose the only way best to accurately ‘blog’ about the big Mississippi Delta ‘tour’ is to give the highlights, and even then some are so personal it is a shame I can’t share them with you all…yet. 😉
From the moment my ‘agent’ (no, I don’t have an agent but I do have a good friend that is a go-getter and doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer so she is the next best thing!) and I stepped foot off the plane in Jackson, MS we were met with southern hospitality. My ‘agent’ is from MS which is how we got so much accomplished in a rather brief amount of time. Her mother picked us up from the airport, filled up the car for us and sent us on our way to Greenville.
In Greenville we ate at Doe’s Eat Place where the night patrolman guided us onto the curb to park our car literally at the front door of this seemingly dilapidated home built in 1903. We walked into an area that used to be a Honky Tonk strictly for blacks (during the 40’s) and in the back was a grocery store/ restaurant strictly for whites. Eventually in the 70’s they closed the Honky Tonk and kept the restaurant going open to ALL races. We were then guided through the kitchen (yes, we were led around the area in which they were mixing the salad and fixing the hot tamales) to our table just off the corner of the kitchen. It felt as if I was sitting in my Sweetgraw’s kitchen (my grandmother) watching her prepare a meal for the family. Best steak I’ve ever had too!! 🙂
The next morning we woke up early to make it to the WABG TV station b 5:30am for my Good Morning Mississippi interview. When I got there Rachel Elvis (the anchor/interviewer) asked for a copy of the book and then we sat down in the studio in the back. This was the best place for me to get my first ‘on air’ interview because it was essentially a one woman show, with her and a camera man. 😉 Oh, and the weather man too! Rachel was on the ball, moving from one part of the station to the next, reporting the news, doing blurbs for upcoming events, etc etc. It was fascinating to see how that is done. Then it was finally my turn to be ‘seated’ in the hot seat. They gave me my mic, she turned and looked at me and said “We have two minutes.” And then I was going to ask if I look at her the whole time or do I look at the camera? But as I was about to ask she turned to the camera and said, “Welcome back! Now we have a special guest…” We were ON AIR. Thank GOD I had an idea of what I wanted to say and I do believe it went well. I mean 2 minutes…HA. 😉 But I am very critical about my appearance on TV. I looked like I was slouching…UGH. I want to tell myself SIT UP! 😉 We will have this posted for you soon…I’ll do a reblog I’m sure so that you all can see it. When Rachel and I finished and it was commercial, she turned to me and said she wished she could stay after the segment but she had to get to work. I was confused, “Work?” I said. “I work as an ER nurse during the day,” she replied rather matter-of-factly. Anchorwoman and ER Nurse! Go figure. I asked the weatherman if he was the doctor. 😉 “Nah, I’m just a weather geek,” he answered.
That evening in Greenwood we went to dinner at Lusco’s, a family owned restaurant complete with more ‘scandalous’ history. It began in 1921 as a grocery store and with privately partitioned booths in the back for dining where they served bootlegged beer and wine and often soldiers would stop in as they traveled across the country. It was a different dining experience to be seated in our own private quarters feasting on Mississippi’s finest ‘shrimp in Lusco’s sauce’ (aka BUTTER). 😉
All of this was a sweet prelude to the grace of the weekend. I don’t want to go into a litany of what my itinerary was because I think it only serves to nullify the true experience of how the Holy Spirit was present. This is where so much happened that I’m still trying to process and soak in the grace that overflowed. From meeting the vivacious woman who orchestrated the weekend, to meeting her parents and spending an afternoon sharing with them in an experience of faith that left us all shaking internally because the Holy Spirit had broken through walls to get in, to speaking at the booksigning in a book store that John Grisham and various other ‘southern’ authors once graced the same spot to sign their works and having people come that were all ages, male and female, all denominations interested in EXPOSED and anxious to spread the word. We were treated like family and soaked in southern hospitality. Every opportunity I came upon lent to another opportunity in the future. TV led to radio (funny you’d think it’d be the opposite 😉 ) and one speaking engagement led to the hopes of another in the future.
On the day of the retreat we held no expectations as to how many kids would be there. Most of the kids in the entire Mississippi Delta had ever been on a retreat. I heard they were grumbling over the time (10-6…if they only knew we do WEEKEND retreats here!). The Spirit already showed us He was alive in the days leading up to this event, without doubt I put it in God’s hands. We had just about 70 people at this retreat from all over the Delta, some drove in from hours away. What transpired that day was way beyond my comprehension. God showed himself to them. I would begin a talk and find myself led to share an intimate story not usually shared but pertaining to the subject and then I would have two or three participants come up to me in shock because they were able to recognize God’s voice speaking to them directly in that specific story. A priest that brought a few kids from his parish began to read my book during the day and offered an opportunity that I pray pans out so that I can share it with you later…but I’ll just say his excitement and idea about taking EXPOSED to other places took my breath away. And then there was the surprise ‘retreatant’ that was not a teen but early 20’s and came in on his own, asking to do magic tricks. (this is a much longer story but I’ll summarize) After making sure he didn’t dabble in ‘black magic’ I was intrigued by him and he was absolutely fascinating. He ended up staying the entire retreat and in the end said he was interested in our faith. He felt at home for the first time in our church. 🙂
The list goes on and on…I’m still processing so I suppose this will go in the next book. 😉 I’m honored to have been brought to the Mississippi Delta to experience true southern grace. I’ve made life long friends and I’m certain this was just a taste of what is to come.
Blessings
Shannon