I found my way to Armitage Baptist Church because they were hosting an event called The Compassion Experience. It was set up in the parking lot (trailers underneath a tent), so note that my review isn't reflective of the actual building itself nor an experience with a church service.
They had two line queues set up: one for walk-ins, and one for people who had registered. There was one other group who walked in when I did, so no wait like I had anticipated!
There were two real-life "experiences" of individuals in developing ("Third World") countries. This experience included Jey (Kenya) and Yannely (Dominican Republic). The workers set participants up with headphones and phone/device that walked you through each room of the trailer. There were 4-5 rooms, each set up with props and artifacts, per Experience.
If you ever participate in the Experience, know that each "room" is VERY small, so if you have a group larger than 2-3 people, you might want to divide up your group. While I think it's great for kids, it might not be the best activity for kids under 8-10, as it's a lot of standing in one place and listening to the narration.
Each Experience was about 20 minutes long and walked you through an individual's story of their family life, poverty, and success story. The stories were very inspiring! Spoiler alert: Jey became a DJ, and Yannely became a doctor.
It was an eye-opening experience to say the least! At the end, you could choose to sponsor a child in a developing country. They didn't give a hard sell; actually, no one talked with me about sponsorship! I was sort of appreciative of that, since I always want to do some research before committing to donation or sponsorship.
It was great to see the work that The Compassion Experience - with support from sponsors - can do to help an individual overcome adversity. Thank you to the Armitage Baptist Church for hosting an event that I might not have otherwise had the opportunity to participate in! And, given the great reviews from others about the church, I'd actually love to attend a service here in the future. read more