Hey Guys,
I know that it has been a minute since the last update. Thanks to God and your prayers, the Access Granted Youth Ministry traveled to Tampa, FL for a weekend getaway June 26-28. Needless to say, it was an EVENTFUL trip. There were so many obstacles and little things that tried to get in the way (oh the Devil!..lol), but we made it! Instead of highlighting all of those small issues, I would prefer to talk about all the good times and memorable events that happened as I reflect on the weekend.
On Thursday, we toured the University of South Florida. This was great exposure for our youth as many had not been to this campus before. (Sidenote: This is a great motivation to inspire pursuits for higher education for youth) Thanks to Ryan, a fellow AME, we had an entertaining tour of college life at USF.
When we arrived at our hotel and got settled in we heard the saddening news of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett's passing. That was big blow, but we were determined to have a good time. We chilled at the hotel for a few hours and did some swimming before heading out for dinner.
Later that evening, we went to the Spaghetti Warehouse at Ybor City for a nice sit-down meal. The food was the bomb! It was a really nice meal and everyone was stuffed! Thank God for the refrigerators and microwaves in the room. LOL. After dinner, we went to see
Transformers 2: Return of the Fallen on IMAX. Yes! The youth definitely enjoyed that one!
Friday, was a brand new day, but filled with so much rain! We postponed the trip to Busch Gardens to go Friday morning instead because of the weather. So we spent the day relaxing and hitting up the malls in Tampa.
One of the best surprises happened when our very own pastor, Rev. Karl Smith, showed up at the hotel! Originally, he couldn't go on the trip because of a conflicting engagement at work. However, he and his wife made the drive from Jacksonville through the rain and traffic. His dedication means so much to us! YAY for Pastor and Lady Diane!
We spent the evening at Gameworks that night. It was an inclusive arcade and restaurant where the kids could eat and play for one price. This was located again in Ybor City. I believe the youth enjoyed this place as well because of the really cool and interactive games. I saw a few sweating it out on DDR (Dance Dance Revolution)..lol.. It is so funny watching people on that game!
After a good night's rest, it was time for the highlight of the trip.
*drum rolls*
Busch Gardens!!!!!
We were so pumped and eager to go to Busch Gardens: Tampa Bay. They have so many thrilling rides and attractions that would've been a good ending to a wonderful weekend. Well, we had one slight problem which I will share.
The rain.
It rained... it was lightning... it stopped.. it rained again.. it poured.. :-(
After waiting it out for almost 2hrs, we decided we should just pack it up and head back to Gainesville.
BUT, here is the blessing.
Busch Gardens was offering this weekend option to upgrade your ticket for $10 to unlimited passes to return as many times as you would like until December 31! This was so awesome! We definitely jumped on that opportunity!
Busch Gardens, we coming back!!! Look forward to a part 2 on Acess Granted: Tampa 09!
To God be the Glory!! This was a great experience that was extremely eventful, but God still provided and blessed us tremendously!
Continue to pray for us! Peace for now.
