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<\/a>Electric train ride<\/p><\/div>\n
As we arrive at our first stop, we break into the two groups and begin to explore Houston based upon some scavenger hunt information cards.\u00a0 The first stop will be to explore the tunnels of several of the high-rise buildings.\u00a0 These are all connected together and there are meeting rooms, bathrooms, restaurants, barbers, cleaners and many other stores\/shops to see.\u00a0 On the walls there are advertisements and even some history facts about the city.\u00a0 I hear that there are Segway tours offered.\u00a0 This might be compared to Chicago\u2019s tunnels but on a smaller scale.\u00a0 It is time to emerge from the tunnels for the rest of the plunge and scavenger hunt.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Houston history on the walls of the tunnels in downtown Houston<\/p><\/div>\n
We stroll to a park where the first City Hall stood. There is a dog park, a smoothie vendor and a memorial park for victims of 911, who were from Houston.\u00a0 We check out the pillars in the park for information about Houston.\u00a0 As part of our scavenger hunt, we are required to speak with various age people and find out what they like the most and least about Houston as well as the biggest issues they saw for the city.<\/p>\n
I stop a city worker to ask a few questions.\u00a0 He seems a little annoyed and tells me that he is busy and cannot take the time to answer.\u00a0 We move along and then say a prayer to the people of Houston.<\/p>\n
As we stroll past the dog park, we meet a 50-year-old white male that we will call \u201cBill\u201d.\u00a0 Bill is in the park with two black poodles.\u00a0 One of the dogs name is Dave.\u00a0 We cannot wait to tell David that we saw his namesake on all fours, looking pretty in the dog park!\u00a0 Bill has been in Houston for a year now.\u00a0 Public transportation is a real issue in the city he says.\u00a0 He is impressed with how much is done for those in need.\u00a0\u00a0 We receive permission to take his picture with the students and then move along to the tallest building in Houston.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Students interview to learn more about houston.<\/p><\/div>\n
We locate the tallest building at 600 Travis and ascend to the 60th<\/sup> floor for the observation plaza.\u00a0 There are so many things to see from a whole new perspective.\u00a0 While here, I see a young Asian man trying to take a \u201cselfie\u201d picture with the city as the background.\u00a0 I offer to take the picture of him.\u00a0 While we talk, he tells me that his friend is at work, so he thought he would look around.\u00a0 He is in Houston from San Francisco.\u00a0 More conversation reveals that he is a first year seminary student at a Baptist seminary.\u00a0 He has been in the United States for 5 months after coming from Brazil, where he lived.\u00a0 He is originally from Korea and plans on going back to Brazil as a missionary.\u00a0 While in seminary, of all things, he has started up a campus ministry for Korean students.\u00a0 Hummm, can you imagine all that?\u00a0 God planned? \u00a0You bet it is God planned.\u00a0 We talk some more and say our goodbyes.<\/p>\n Vicar Doug and a Korean seminary student from San Francisco.<\/p><\/div>\n While in the observation plaza, two women offer to give us information about Houston.\u00a0 They are self-training to be tour guides.\u00a0 Both speak with a British accent.\u00a0 They are a wealth of information.\u00a0 While the students are listing to all this information, I encounter a group of Spanish speaking woman attempting to take pictures of them with the city in the background.\u00a0 You never guess what I am about to do.\u00a0 They speak some English, and I speak no Spanish, but they turn the camera over to me, I have to now try to get a flash turned on, otherwise you will never see them with the background.\u00a0 While looking at the camera, I noticed that it is all in Spanish!\u00a0 The long short of it is, we get it to work and the pictures are taken!!\u00a0 It is now time to move on to the rest of the hunt.<\/p>\n From the 60th floor of 600 Travis<\/p><\/div>\n We hop a train into the museum district to go have lunch in the park.\u00a0 I hope you remembered your lunch\u2026\u2026and the second lunch too.\u00a0 Let\u2019s all split up and find someone to share a lunch with.\u00a0 I see a homeless person on the bench eating, so I move along.\u00a0 Then I see another homeless person.\u00a0 He appears to not have any food.\u00a0 I introduce myself and he says that his name is Jerry.\u00a0 I tell Jerry I have an extra lunch and ask if he preferred Ham & Cheese or Peanut Butter and Jelly.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Much of the time we sit in silence, eating our lunches, just being present to one another.\u00a0 There are moments of conversation, such as the several thanks that I knew how to make a great sandwich.\u00a0 The warmth of the sun, the sounds of children playing in the park and the animals running around, make a great background to just sitting on a park bench, enjoying company, eating lunch and occasionally some conversation.\u00a0 There is still more today, so we need to push on.<\/p>\n![\"IMG_4881\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IMG_4881.jpg?resize=531%2C398\")
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