Medical Teams International/REAL LIFE exhibit field trip

Yesterday I chaperoned a middle school Leadership field trip for Leavi.
I was not allowed to take pictures in the exhibit but I must elaborate on what we saw...
This was an exhibit designed to help everyone realize the desperate situation that many people in our world face...whether it is because of where they live in poverty or because of a disaster. There were several rooms and a ton of pictures and signs with stories and info. There were 2 cork boards throughout the exhibit that had a table with 3x5 cards for the visitors to write to children around the world that are suffering(I read what the kids wrote and I am amazed at how many of them said they would pray for them and that God loves them...so awesome!) There were scenes from Kosovo,Mexico(The families that literally live in dumps...complete with the smell of a dump for effect), Africa, Darfour, Thailand(Tsunami victims) and so many more that I can't remember. There was even a special room dedicated to those who are afflicted with HIV/AIDS...truly sad room which affected some of the kids pretty hard...(Me too). At the end of the "tour" we sat in a room with the volunteers and heard some frightening statistics and then got to come up with ideas of how to help. There was this display on the wall that had 61 pop cans stacked up with a sign that read "Why 61 cans?" Underneath it read " Americans spend 61 BILIION dollars per year on soda pop! Then another display with coffee cups.." Americans spend over 18 BILLION $ per year on coffee! Astonishing that we WASTE that much money on drinks we don't need ( I should be one to talk...). Overall, the mood was very SOMBER and the kids were HUMBLED...I too, was HUMBLED. It is such a testament to the work that my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) does for humanitarian efforts...many other churches as well, in fact, Medical teams International is a church based group ( used to be called Northwest Medical Teams) I have never chaperoned a field trip that I really felt was worth while and NOW I HAVE! This was such a special trip and I am so very GRATEFUL that I was able to be a part of it!