With President Carter and Rosalynn Carter, Maranatha Baptist Church, Plains, GA. June 10, 2018
Though I wasn’t alive when Jimmy Carter was serving as President, I’ve long been an admirer of his life’s work – particularly once he was out of office. He and his wife Rosalynn are true humanitarians and have worked tirelessly to help their fellow citizens of the world at a time when most people are fully retired. He’s been courageous is shedding light on situations our mainstream media doesn’t cover and hasn’t shied away from speaking out on topics where his perspective or experience isn’t popular – but is right. I was inspired by his bravery to share the plight and oppression of the Palestinian people despite the anger and backlash he received for it.
When I found out earlier this year that he still teaches Sunday School about twice a month at his Baptist church in Plains, GA and that it is open to the public, I knew I had to make the time to attend. He’s 93, after all – and the only living President I truly wanted to meet.
We headed down to Plains on Saturday, June 9 and went straight to the Jimmy Carter Historic sites, beginning with Plains High School which had memorabilia from his campaigns, his Nobel Peace Prize, features of Rosalynn and a self-guided mini-museum of his time as State Senator, Governor, and President, and then of the work of The Carter Center. What an amazing life they’ve had.
Then we stopped at his campaign depot/headquarters during his run for President.
His boyhood farm was just outside of town and is beautifully preserved, with parts of farm and gardens still being harvested.
Back in Plains, we checked out the general store where we had some peanut butter ice cream, purchased locally made peanut butter, and an ornament for our travel Christmas tree.
The Inn we stayed in was actually renovated by the Carters, complete with an antique mall on the first floor. The rooms are decorated by decade and we got the 1950s room – perfect for us! The 2nd floor porch was lovely.
We drove to Americus for dinner (about 10 minutes) at Rosemary & Thyme restaurant in the absolutely stunning Windsor Hotel. What a treat to see such a historic building so beautiful preserved/renovated. 
Walking around Americus after dinner with bumpie. 25 weeks pregnant! 🙂
Sean interned at Habitat for Humanity’s headquarters in Americus in college and we were able to find the house he stayed in during that time. 
After a relaxing sit on the porch of the Inn in the lovely rocking chairs and talking to some other couples traveling to see the Carters, we turned in for the night. As guests of “Jan” (former innkeeper and member of the church) staying at the Inn, we had reserved seats for the service and didn’t have to be there until 8.30am (rather than the 5-6am they advise most people to arrive to get their numbers). It’s not advertised, so this is definitely an INSIDER tip if you decide to do this. 😉
That is about 1/4 of the line. The main room sat maybe 200 in the pews and there was an overflow room with folding chairs that sat another 150 and showed the service on a projector.
At 10am, after an hour or so of being entertained by the staff and having many rules explained, Rosalynn Carter came in and sat 2 pews in front of me. We were told not to applaud at all – he was here to teach Sunday School. I liked that. The church itself was simple and modest – 100% what I expected from such a giving couple.
He came out and did not go up to the podium – he walked back and forth in front of the pews, asking each section where folks were from. This was the only time during the service we were permitted to take photos/video. I have a video clip of him responding to one of The Carter Center’s interns being from Chad – that being the only remaining country in the world with known cases of the horrible and deadly Guniea Worm, which The Carter Center worked to pretty much eradicate. 
President Carter took time to comment on some current events before he began his Sunday School lesson. As usual, he was refreshingly honest and willing to share perspective that our media is not. He encouraged us all to pray for President Trump’s success in North Korea, that peace is bipartisan. He reminded us that we have technically been at war with North Korea for over 60 years. We signed a ceasefire with them at the end of the active conflict but the North Koreans had wanted a treaty – and asked for that many times over the years. The United States refused and President Carter commented that this unwillingness on our part and inability to move forward had contributed to their building of their nuclear program. Ouch. Like I said, refreshingly honest. No bullshit. No propaganda. Willing to say we aren’t perfect.
His Sunday School lesson talked about God’s forgiveness and ultimately came around to our ability to reform ourselves and our lives. He told us that we do have the power to be happy in our lives, to make changes for the better, to cease going down an undesirable path and to become the person we want to be.
Coming from someone who must’ve felt some level of embarrassment, disappointment, sadness at not being re-elected President and turning it into an incredible body of work with The Carter Center and Habitat for Humanity was a treasure. We should all be so privileged to be able to do even a fraction of what he has done for others.
At 93, he was still sharp, well-spoken, clear in his diction, funny, witty and captivating. A treasure. I am beyond humbled to have had this experience and I know he and his work will inspire me for the rest of my life. And if I’m very lucky, I’ll be able to do something that benefits others.
Sean and I have both said that this was a fantastic experience that we would recommend to anyone. If you’ve been considering it, don’t wait. If this sounded interesting to you, don’t wait. Let me know if I can provide you any additional information. As sad as it is, the truth is that time is running out to see this living treasure of a human while he exists on earth.
