Staten Island 7-14-09 pm
Ashley and Chrisanne (6:38 pm) Today was a lot of fun! A group of us went to the food pantry and soup kitchen. We met a lot of new and exciting people. Mine and Chrisanne's job was to bag the food the clients “purchased” at the food pantry. The clients were so thankful for our work, in total we got like 100000 thank yous. Ashley also worked in the kitchen area with Courtney where we got to wear hair nets, aprons, and gloves preparing the food and dining area for the soup kitchen. The volunteers that work there were awesome; they made us laugh the whole day! Today we also served the clients in the soup kitchen which was very humbling. It was amazing to see how many people came to receive food...i believe that we served like 120-125 people which is awesome. The people were so grateful and kept telling us “God bless you” which was very sweet and really showed us how grateful they were that we were there to help them. Also, today we had a homelessness seminar which was very inspirational. It was really courageous for the people that told their life stories about their homelessness and drug use. Their life stories really opened our eyes to what homelessness was really like . I saw God's grace and strength through all of them and it was just amazing.
John (7:33 pm) Today I had a great!! crew with me; Darian, Megan, and Amanda. We went to the Hospitality House and out worked what they had planned for us. And the young ladies kept asking for more. They let us go early so we could get over to the food pantry earlier and help out there. It is amazing when you see how the same story of homelessness and substance abuse moves one person to tears while others barely seemed touched. The sagas today were so powerful. It makes one realize how blessed we are in our lives. It also makes me wonder what do I not see when I am in Albany, Troy, or even Clifton Park. Open my eyes.
True Freedom
Katie (9:00pm) Today I was at the food pantry with 9 other people. We helped many people get food to hold them over until the next month Items such as pasta, cereal,milk, frozen chicken, canned vegetables- basic staples that are needed for nutrition to keep you going. Many were very thankful to have the help, as they were new to the food pantry, others had been using the food pantry for some time and were familiar with it. In the afternoon we had a very moving talk by three individuals who have experienced homelessness. All three had common themes, even though they came from slightly different backgrounds and where they are in their journey is different.
All three had different life circumstances that influenced them to use drugs with their friends when teen peers suggested it. Some started with pot, others harder things like coke and heroin. All became addicted eventually, and the drugs were stronger than they were. Jail was their chronic home, and when they weren't in jail they were homeless. None graduated from high school- all had to get a GED at some point. Pride stood in the way of them getting the help they needed to get clean and get off the streets. Usually, someone broke through, and and they humbled themselves enough to realize they needed help to get sober. They humbled themselves before God and asked for help, and continue to rely on Him daily to stay clean. The physical jails they had finally been able to stay out of were one thing, now they were conquering another kind of jail- a mental and spiritual jail. All had achieved a freedom from that jail by letting go of their pride and relying on God. God's mercy at work in their lives was moving.
Devotions
Katie
Tonight we talked about 1 Timothy 4:12, “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for others in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.” We discussed ways we had been examples to the people we had interacted with during the day.
7-15-09 am
Jeff (8:15 am) We are splitting up the teams differently this morning to make sure that everyone has the chance to work at other sites and with different people. The first groups have gone out to sort potatoes and then to work at their assigned sites. My group will leave a bit later to to maintenance at the Family Transitional Housing Center. Tonight we have a barbeque with a ministry group at another church so there will be no evening posting on the blog.
Ashley and Chrisanne (6:38 pm) Today was a lot of fun! A group of us went to the food pantry and soup kitchen. We met a lot of new and exciting people. Mine and Chrisanne's job was to bag the food the clients “purchased” at the food pantry. The clients were so thankful for our work, in total we got like 100000 thank yous. Ashley also worked in the kitchen area with Courtney where we got to wear hair nets, aprons, and gloves preparing the food and dining area for the soup kitchen. The volunteers that work there were awesome; they made us laugh the whole day! Today we also served the clients in the soup kitchen which was very humbling. It was amazing to see how many people came to receive food...i believe that we served like 120-125 people which is awesome. The people were so grateful and kept telling us “God bless you” which was very sweet and really showed us how grateful they were that we were there to help them. Also, today we had a homelessness seminar which was very inspirational. It was really courageous for the people that told their life stories about their homelessness and drug use. Their life stories really opened our eyes to what homelessness was really like . I saw God's grace and strength through all of them and it was just amazing.
John (7:33 pm) Today I had a great!! crew with me; Darian, Megan, and Amanda. We went to the Hospitality House and out worked what they had planned for us. And the young ladies kept asking for more. They let us go early so we could get over to the food pantry earlier and help out there. It is amazing when you see how the same story of homelessness and substance abuse moves one person to tears while others barely seemed touched. The sagas today were so powerful. It makes one realize how blessed we are in our lives. It also makes me wonder what do I not see when I am in Albany, Troy, or even Clifton Park. Open my eyes.
True Freedom
Katie (9:00pm) Today I was at the food pantry with 9 other people. We helped many people get food to hold them over until the next month Items such as pasta, cereal,milk, frozen chicken, canned vegetables- basic staples that are needed for nutrition to keep you going. Many were very thankful to have the help, as they were new to the food pantry, others had been using the food pantry for some time and were familiar with it. In the afternoon we had a very moving talk by three individuals who have experienced homelessness. All three had common themes, even though they came from slightly different backgrounds and where they are in their journey is different.
All three had different life circumstances that influenced them to use drugs with their friends when teen peers suggested it. Some started with pot, others harder things like coke and heroin. All became addicted eventually, and the drugs were stronger than they were. Jail was their chronic home, and when they weren't in jail they were homeless. None graduated from high school- all had to get a GED at some point. Pride stood in the way of them getting the help they needed to get clean and get off the streets. Usually, someone broke through, and and they humbled themselves enough to realize they needed help to get sober. They humbled themselves before God and asked for help, and continue to rely on Him daily to stay clean. The physical jails they had finally been able to stay out of were one thing, now they were conquering another kind of jail- a mental and spiritual jail. All had achieved a freedom from that jail by letting go of their pride and relying on God. God's mercy at work in their lives was moving.
Devotions
Katie
Tonight we talked about 1 Timothy 4:12, “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for others in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.” We discussed ways we had been examples to the people we had interacted with during the day.
7-15-09 am
Jeff (8:15 am) We are splitting up the teams differently this morning to make sure that everyone has the chance to work at other sites and with different people. The first groups have gone out to sort potatoes and then to work at their assigned sites. My group will leave a bit later to to maintenance at the Family Transitional Housing Center. Tonight we have a barbeque with a ministry group at another church so there will be no evening posting on the blog.
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