I thought that today/tonight was a good time to have people contribute to the blog. Here are some of them. In their own words...describing what they have seen and done.
day 2 and The Lord has opened my eyes so much - Scott
It started off super early. Everyone was tired but the level of excitement and unknown for the rest of the day was Breakfast was cereal and milk. We did devotions and prayed. Group 1 left for their activities, and our group headed out shortly after. We went over to the SF Marin Food Bank. We were brought into a room with ten huge crates of oranges. Our job: put the oranges into smaller boxes and separate the good from the bad. After about 2 hours of separating oranges, and finishing all ten crates, we got a 15 minutes break in the staff room. Once 15 minutes was up we went into a different room with stations set up. In one station there was a bucket of rice with scoops in it, 2 scales, and a hot pressy thingy. Each person had a job and we had to bag rice, make sure it was 1 lb., and then seal the bag with the hot pressy thingy.
When we finished at the food bank, it was time for lunch. We drove a couple minutes away and arrived at the beach. We all took our bag lunches and went and sat and ate together watching the waves roll in. There was a trail near by, so we all went hiking together. It was a good time to talk and get to know each other better. Once 2:00 rolled around it was time to head over to Project Open Hand. Project Open Hand is an organization that gives daily meals to people living with HIV/AIDS, Cancer, or any other disease that limits them from making their own food or makes it hard for them to get out of the house. So, our job was to take the meals to specific hotel rooms and deliver them to the person. We walked all around the Tenderloin area, and delivered meals. Handing the meals to the people wasn't quite what I expected. I expected really happy and grateful people expecting the meals, but most of them hid behind the door and stuck their arms out to recieve the meal. So it was just different than what I was used to. After we finished our route, we went to Kevin's Noodles, which is a Pho place. There we met up with the rest of the group.
That's Group 2's story for Monday.
-Krisi Rose
Moo.moo milk milk
-A naughty moose
Early in the morning on Monday, we had all woken up and got ready for the day. I am in group 1 so we left first. We went to the Salvation Army and first helped to organize clothes so that when homeless people walk in and need clothes, it makes them feel like they are walking into a store. Afterwards, we then started to open boxes full of clothes and had to cut the tags off so that people couldn't return them. We opened up 18 boxes and went through about 900 pairs of clothes! All of these clothes were donated from different stores.
After we had finished working at the Salvation Army, we were then taken to the City Hall and given $2 each and a whole lot of time to buy lunch for ourselves and someone else. We had 4 hours to do this. My group stayed together and combined our money to buy bread, bologna salami, mustard, mayo, a water jug, and cups. We all had a sandwich and walked around in front of the City Hall all day and gave sandwiches to the homeless people, who were actually very nice. We met a lot of people and got their viewpoints of the city and about being homeless. We learned that all homeless people want is company and comfort from others. We had a lot of really interesting talks with a lot of them. We have only been asked for food or money ONCE out of everyone we talked to and saw.
That night we ate at a Vietnamese restaurant call Kevin's Noodle and I had some steak pho that I really enjoyed.
Today on Tuesday, so far from the point of which I am typing this, we are at Saint Vincent Day Home and we are helping teachers to take care of children ages 2-5. I got a class with an age group of 4 (not that it matters though) and they are REALLY energetic. However no less fun to be around. I so far have enjoyed the trip and have enjoyed the activities and the food. The experiences are amazing and I can't wait to experience more throughout the week.
-Dylan Johnstone
Today I had much high fashion. I modeled for Salvation Army and tried many different clothes.
-Austin Jungers
For part of the day we went to this after school day care sort of thing to help out. The first hour was filled with playing around with the kids, age 5-18. Then after that we helped the kids out with their homework. And we finished off with doing a bible lesson with the kids. I feel like I was able to get a lot out of today solely due to this program. It was a lot of fun and also nice to help out children.
-Austin Gee
Today was a fun day, we worked at the Salvation Army and volunteered at an after school program working with kids of a variety of ages. The two activities were very different but rewarding in different ways. The work we did at the SA was very repetitive and mundane but it was cool knowing that we were helping fulfill a need in such a simple way. We sorted brand new, donated clothing and removed or crossed out any labels. This was to ensure that the donated clothes weren't just sold for profit but instead go to people and families that actually needed them.
At the Rescue Mission we hung out with kids, played basketball with them, helped with homework, and shared the Gospel with the teenagers. It was cool getting to know them but also very awkward and it took most of the day to feel comfortable with them. A lot of the kids come from very different situations than how I was raised so it can be hard to relate and it was very sad to hear the types of things they have to go through at such a young age. I enjoyed getting to know the kids a little bit but it's hard to only volunteer for a day and actually build relationships with the kids. I saw God in the interactions we had with kids even though it was only for a few hours, we still helped that Rescue Mission function well for that day.
Our challenge for the day was to do a random act of kindness for someone without expecting anything in return. I saw members from our group donate money to a homeless man who was selling newspapers, they also gave away some food to people we interacted with while walking to our ministry sites. It has been awesome seeing our group slowly get more comfortable serving in some awkward situations and I am excited to see what he has left in store for our group!
-Seth
Today was a really fun today helping the kids. I got put with the pre-schoolers. They were all so adorable and all wanted me to play with them at the same time. They all kept asking my name and telling me their names over and over. When I left during their nap time they all shouted "BYE SARAH!" It made me feel really special inside knowing that they love me. -Sarah Fair
Dear blog today is april 22nd 2014. Today we went to Saint Vincent day something. we went in and met this lady named Jennifer. she was so funny. shes one of those people who likes to joke around. anyways i got assigned to the 4 year olds aka the dolphins. I walk in and I sit down and the teacher is teaching them the months and the days of the week like Monday Tuesday etc. When she would have them answer most of the kids would go umm. The teacher (no kids it's not umm). Then a kid wouldn't sit down so she said sit down bruh. I was laughing in my head. Then they were doing crafts and play time. Right away a kid came up to me and put his hand on my arm and said will you play with me? I said of course I will. He took to me to the play dough area. As we got the stuff out more kids came over to play with it to. All of them were guys so you know what guys do? They talk about guy stuff. Well the word poop is so funny to 4 year olds. So there was this thing with a hole and then you push the play doe through it and it makes a snake shape. Well to them it was poop. The little boy said look Lucas I made orange and green poop. I saying really fast very nice. But really I was cracking up in my head. After that it was recess. The kids were so excited. We played hide and seek and dodge ball. (Don't worry it wasn't normal dodge ball) it was roll the ball. It was a flat ball so it wouldn't hurt them. One kid from another classroom came to me on the play ground and thought Matt was my brother. I said no we aren't. But then I said hey Matt we are bros for life now.
After the kids we went to Berkeley and went to the peoples park. At that park there was huge groups of homeless people. Our task for the day was to found out a need. Like we had $20 bucks as a group and we had to go talk to homeless people and see what they need. It's like giving them a present because they don't know what we are giving them. So my group (Matt Dylan Jacob and I) walked around and around. The hard thing for all of us was going up to a homeless person and asking them like questions or starting a convo. So we walked more and more then every single time we would go up to a single person like a herd of them would come. Those herds didn't look scary they were frightening. So we met up with the rest of our group. Then we walked some more. Burn those calories!!! Anyways we found a guy with a dog and 2 other guys next to him. It was the most awkward moment. We said hi and then stood there for a min. Then we left awkwardly and found a guy on a rug with his dog. His name was Ian. He was a down to earth dude. He was wherever the spirits are. But he was really cool cause he had these rocks like Amber. His rock he wants to find is the tigers eye. I don't know what that is but it sounds good. So we talked and talked then a dude came up to us and wanted food. Then he said I'm Christian and he was yelling at Mrs. Garrett because she said the Holy Spirit. It was interesting so Matt took him to get burritos. After that Ian said he could use a backpack to put his rock stuff in so we went to a store and the store owner gave us a discount. Then we gave it to him and he said he was really thankful. It put a smile on his face. Oh I forgot a part. Back it up. When we walked and walked looking for a person Matt said and I quote I'm giving you an hour to find someone and see what they need. If you do I'll go hiking mission peak with you. Really I thought nah he won't cause he's been saying that to me for years. But now he says he promises and he says I never break a promise. I hope he doesn't I been waiting a year for this!!!
That was my day today
by: Lucas Evans
Look for more insight and observations from people tomorrow.
We are all well. We are all safe. We are all having a good time and glad we came.
Any guesses, parents, on who wrote the "milk and cow" comment?
day 2 and The Lord has opened my eyes so much - Scott
It started off super early. Everyone was tired but the level of excitement and unknown for the rest of the day was Breakfast was cereal and milk. We did devotions and prayed. Group 1 left for their activities, and our group headed out shortly after. We went over to the SF Marin Food Bank. We were brought into a room with ten huge crates of oranges. Our job: put the oranges into smaller boxes and separate the good from the bad. After about 2 hours of separating oranges, and finishing all ten crates, we got a 15 minutes break in the staff room. Once 15 minutes was up we went into a different room with stations set up. In one station there was a bucket of rice with scoops in it, 2 scales, and a hot pressy thingy. Each person had a job and we had to bag rice, make sure it was 1 lb., and then seal the bag with the hot pressy thingy.
When we finished at the food bank, it was time for lunch. We drove a couple minutes away and arrived at the beach. We all took our bag lunches and went and sat and ate together watching the waves roll in. There was a trail near by, so we all went hiking together. It was a good time to talk and get to know each other better. Once 2:00 rolled around it was time to head over to Project Open Hand. Project Open Hand is an organization that gives daily meals to people living with HIV/AIDS, Cancer, or any other disease that limits them from making their own food or makes it hard for them to get out of the house. So, our job was to take the meals to specific hotel rooms and deliver them to the person. We walked all around the Tenderloin area, and delivered meals. Handing the meals to the people wasn't quite what I expected. I expected really happy and grateful people expecting the meals, but most of them hid behind the door and stuck their arms out to recieve the meal. So it was just different than what I was used to. After we finished our route, we went to Kevin's Noodles, which is a Pho place. There we met up with the rest of the group.
That's Group 2's story for Monday.
-Krisi Rose
Moo.moo milk milk
-A naughty moose
Early in the morning on Monday, we had all woken up and got ready for the day. I am in group 1 so we left first. We went to the Salvation Army and first helped to organize clothes so that when homeless people walk in and need clothes, it makes them feel like they are walking into a store. Afterwards, we then started to open boxes full of clothes and had to cut the tags off so that people couldn't return them. We opened up 18 boxes and went through about 900 pairs of clothes! All of these clothes were donated from different stores.
After we had finished working at the Salvation Army, we were then taken to the City Hall and given $2 each and a whole lot of time to buy lunch for ourselves and someone else. We had 4 hours to do this. My group stayed together and combined our money to buy bread, bologna salami, mustard, mayo, a water jug, and cups. We all had a sandwich and walked around in front of the City Hall all day and gave sandwiches to the homeless people, who were actually very nice. We met a lot of people and got their viewpoints of the city and about being homeless. We learned that all homeless people want is company and comfort from others. We had a lot of really interesting talks with a lot of them. We have only been asked for food or money ONCE out of everyone we talked to and saw.
That night we ate at a Vietnamese restaurant call Kevin's Noodle and I had some steak pho that I really enjoyed.
Today on Tuesday, so far from the point of which I am typing this, we are at Saint Vincent Day Home and we are helping teachers to take care of children ages 2-5. I got a class with an age group of 4 (not that it matters though) and they are REALLY energetic. However no less fun to be around. I so far have enjoyed the trip and have enjoyed the activities and the food. The experiences are amazing and I can't wait to experience more throughout the week.
-Dylan Johnstone
Today I had much high fashion. I modeled for Salvation Army and tried many different clothes.
-Austin Jungers
For part of the day we went to this after school day care sort of thing to help out. The first hour was filled with playing around with the kids, age 5-18. Then after that we helped the kids out with their homework. And we finished off with doing a bible lesson with the kids. I feel like I was able to get a lot out of today solely due to this program. It was a lot of fun and also nice to help out children.
-Austin Gee
Today was a fun day, we worked at the Salvation Army and volunteered at an after school program working with kids of a variety of ages. The two activities were very different but rewarding in different ways. The work we did at the SA was very repetitive and mundane but it was cool knowing that we were helping fulfill a need in such a simple way. We sorted brand new, donated clothing and removed or crossed out any labels. This was to ensure that the donated clothes weren't just sold for profit but instead go to people and families that actually needed them.
At the Rescue Mission we hung out with kids, played basketball with them, helped with homework, and shared the Gospel with the teenagers. It was cool getting to know them but also very awkward and it took most of the day to feel comfortable with them. A lot of the kids come from very different situations than how I was raised so it can be hard to relate and it was very sad to hear the types of things they have to go through at such a young age. I enjoyed getting to know the kids a little bit but it's hard to only volunteer for a day and actually build relationships with the kids. I saw God in the interactions we had with kids even though it was only for a few hours, we still helped that Rescue Mission function well for that day.
Our challenge for the day was to do a random act of kindness for someone without expecting anything in return. I saw members from our group donate money to a homeless man who was selling newspapers, they also gave away some food to people we interacted with while walking to our ministry sites. It has been awesome seeing our group slowly get more comfortable serving in some awkward situations and I am excited to see what he has left in store for our group!
-Seth
Today was a really fun today helping the kids. I got put with the pre-schoolers. They were all so adorable and all wanted me to play with them at the same time. They all kept asking my name and telling me their names over and over. When I left during their nap time they all shouted "BYE SARAH!" It made me feel really special inside knowing that they love me. -Sarah Fair
Dear blog today is april 22nd 2014. Today we went to Saint Vincent day something. we went in and met this lady named Jennifer. she was so funny. shes one of those people who likes to joke around. anyways i got assigned to the 4 year olds aka the dolphins. I walk in and I sit down and the teacher is teaching them the months and the days of the week like Monday Tuesday etc. When she would have them answer most of the kids would go umm. The teacher (no kids it's not umm). Then a kid wouldn't sit down so she said sit down bruh. I was laughing in my head. Then they were doing crafts and play time. Right away a kid came up to me and put his hand on my arm and said will you play with me? I said of course I will. He took to me to the play dough area. As we got the stuff out more kids came over to play with it to. All of them were guys so you know what guys do? They talk about guy stuff. Well the word poop is so funny to 4 year olds. So there was this thing with a hole and then you push the play doe through it and it makes a snake shape. Well to them it was poop. The little boy said look Lucas I made orange and green poop. I saying really fast very nice. But really I was cracking up in my head. After that it was recess. The kids were so excited. We played hide and seek and dodge ball. (Don't worry it wasn't normal dodge ball) it was roll the ball. It was a flat ball so it wouldn't hurt them. One kid from another classroom came to me on the play ground and thought Matt was my brother. I said no we aren't. But then I said hey Matt we are bros for life now.
After the kids we went to Berkeley and went to the peoples park. At that park there was huge groups of homeless people. Our task for the day was to found out a need. Like we had $20 bucks as a group and we had to go talk to homeless people and see what they need. It's like giving them a present because they don't know what we are giving them. So my group (Matt Dylan Jacob and I) walked around and around. The hard thing for all of us was going up to a homeless person and asking them like questions or starting a convo. So we walked more and more then every single time we would go up to a single person like a herd of them would come. Those herds didn't look scary they were frightening. So we met up with the rest of our group. Then we walked some more. Burn those calories!!! Anyways we found a guy with a dog and 2 other guys next to him. It was the most awkward moment. We said hi and then stood there for a min. Then we left awkwardly and found a guy on a rug with his dog. His name was Ian. He was a down to earth dude. He was wherever the spirits are. But he was really cool cause he had these rocks like Amber. His rock he wants to find is the tigers eye. I don't know what that is but it sounds good. So we talked and talked then a dude came up to us and wanted food. Then he said I'm Christian and he was yelling at Mrs. Garrett because she said the Holy Spirit. It was interesting so Matt took him to get burritos. After that Ian said he could use a backpack to put his rock stuff in so we went to a store and the store owner gave us a discount. Then we gave it to him and he said he was really thankful. It put a smile on his face. Oh I forgot a part. Back it up. When we walked and walked looking for a person Matt said and I quote I'm giving you an hour to find someone and see what they need. If you do I'll go hiking mission peak with you. Really I thought nah he won't cause he's been saying that to me for years. But now he says he promises and he says I never break a promise. I hope he doesn't I been waiting a year for this!!!
That was my day today
by: Lucas Evans
Look for more insight and observations from people tomorrow.
We are all well. We are all safe. We are all having a good time and glad we came.
Any guesses, parents, on who wrote the "milk and cow" comment?
Thanks for sharing Scott, Krisi, Dylan, Austin x2, Seth, Sarah and Lucas…oh ya, and Naughty Moose too. God is working in each of you and using each of you to touch lives for Him--maybe with the exception of NM. Not so sure about that one.
ReplyDelete