Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Day 3 in the Books

Today's blog post is written by April Lang one of our College/Career types who is on the trip.  Tomorrow Robin Reuter will be posting a blog.


Today we served at the St. Anthony’s Foundation in which we served food and bussed tables at their Dining Room.  It was not exclusive to the homeless because there were many other people there. Whether they were on the verge of being homeless or since it is the end of the month their Social Security checks are now gone and need a good meal.  Each one of us had a good experience there because we got a new perspective on the needy people of San Francisco. Many of us had preconceptions that these people were dirty and weird…far different from us…yet we were proved wrong when many of them were happy and very easy to talk to and get along with.
We also ate lunch at the Dining Room and were challenged to sit separate from our group so that we could interact with the other guests at the Dining room. Some of us had good conversations with the people eating lunch near us, while unfortunately others did not get the chance to talk to them.  But God did open the opportunity for one student, in particular, to learn about some of the people’s lives and actually pray with them for their faith, well-being, and futures. That was definitely a God moment and will be long remembered by the student as well as the individuals she prayed with.  It was a privilege for us leaders and students to serve those people and learn more about their lives.
Later in the day we spent a couple hours on Haight & Ashbury with the goal to “meet a need” for someone we encountered on the streets.  We broke into two groups and were each given $10 to buy someone something we found necessary as well as interact in conversation with them with the goal to share Jesus’ love.  One group reached out to three 18 year-old guys and got them guitar strings and an egg-shaker and had great conversation until a drunken girl rudely interrupted.  The other group reached out to a girl, probably 19-20, who was playing a home-made Bohemian drum with her dog Pepper nearby.  They bought her some coffee, banana bread, a banana, and a Sobe drink for later. They too had a good conversation with her and she was a sweet girl who had a positive outlook on life. The topic of creation and God surely came up and though the gospel wasn’t shared, Jesus’ love was definitely shown.
For dinner we had Indian food which was delicious and the restaurant was very nice and peaceful. Afterward our group had a debriefing session where we shared our thoughts, feelings, and experiences from the day. The intimacy of the group is growing and our faith is being stretched and God is definitely moving through the team.  A time of prayer and singing (worship) also took place and we got to bow down before God and the cross and spend time just focusing on Him and what He is doing through and to us. 

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