DC Mission Trip
I wrote 22 pages of notes (not all about mission trip itself, only 19 pages of that lol) during mission trip, so this will be a long post. It was an interesting trip though and one probably worth reading about, so enjoy. I got 40 hours of service time for IB too, so that's quite a bonus. Oh and one more thing. It would be annoying to have to come up with names for everyone, and many of the people reading this would not understand, so I am using REAL [first] names. If you are mentioned on this post and wish for anonymity, then just ask.
~SUNDAY~
Sunday morning I went to the 9:00 service at church, sunday school, and then we packed the bus to leave for mission trip. A couple interesting things stuck out to me at that point. First of all, there were only five youth going, and two leaders. Second of all, we were all guys. Third of all, the youngest of us was in 9th grade, and most of our youth group is in 7th-8th. The youth going were Drew (just graduated from RMHS), myself (10th), Parker [superman] (10th), Harrison [Noname] (10th), and Alex (9th). The leaders going were Lee and Brian, and I guess Drew could be considered half of a leader. After a few goodbyes here and there and packing the van, we left for DC. We stopped for Bojangles on the way up and I bought a box of Spearmint Altoids there for the trip, but it was otherwise uneventful. I now consider the box of Altoids a good souvenir, because so many people asked for one in so many places and at so many times over the course of the mission trip. Heh, we didn't get lost on the way up to DC thanks to some good directions and a good copilot (Brian). No, Lee, you get NO CREDIT. However, if we had gotten lost it was all you. You know it's always your fault. Ok fine, so I have to give the driver some credit; you did good, Lee. We stayed at Star of Bethlehem church in DC, a three story building I believe, but we only used the first and third floors. When we got there, we found out the leaders were expecting us to be a mostly middle school group (no middle schoolers were in our group), a mix of guys and girls, and a larger group. I don't think we disappointed them when we got to work, though. Must have been a bit of a surprise, though. Anyway, we were the second group there, and the group there already there was from Gastonia, NC. The third group, from Atlanta, GA, was there soon after. The Durham group was a bit late, so we went ahead and did orientation after a little while. There were to be three groups from NC, and I found through the week that many of the people in DC are from NC originally. The group from Atlanta came from a Chinese church and the youth were very friendly. It was also a large group, and they made things interesting at times, in a good way of course. They did a worship service of their own every night with a guitar, but although I listened in a few times I never stayed long. I really needed to sleep, and write notes to preserve the memories of the trip. We moved our bags into a first floor room with several bunk beds with small mattresses. That's really not bad accomodations, considering that we were prepared to sleep on the floor. There was also a half bath, which smelled horrible invariably over the course of the trip. I called my parents when I got a chance to check up and tell them I was still alive. We stayed there for a little while before orientation. At orientation we were introduced to our leaders from the week, as every group was to have two leaders from CSM (Center for Student Missions) with them to help out in various ways. Lee had taken trips with CSM to different places before, so he already knew the deal. We met our leaders before orientation, but of course we were introduced again there. They were Eric and Megan. Unfortunately, of the nine of us, Megan was the only girl. I hope that wasn't too much torture for her. I know at certain times during the week, which will be mentioned later, it must have been especially... interesting. We were also told there that the second floor was off-limits, and that the NC groups would be staying on the first floor and Atlanta on the third. The food room and staff rooms were also on the third floor. Food was only allowed in the food room, and it was often a meeting place. We had meetings there, hung out there, had breakfast and made/ate lunch there. Oh and the showers were also on the third floor, so yeah much walking up and down. After orientation, we went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant, Wok and Roll. As we were walking down the road, something more common to DC came to pass. A homeless man asked for money to go to Burger King. We were specifically told not to give out money, because you truly never know how they will spend it. Eric offered food if I recall correctly, but he denied him, so we kept walking to Wok and Roll. The food was good there, although perhaps not as new as some of the foods we had later in the week. The Durham group had a table reserved behind us, and they showed up as we were finishing. I never really got to know that group, though. For the most part, the groups were separate except at Star (what we called the church). We only saw another group at a site once during the week, which will be mentioned later. During dinner, Lee asked Eric and Megan if it would be ok to go out for ice cream. They said we could probably work it in, which satisfied Lee. Lee had been placed with leaders that he did not like before, but this satisfied him that he could work with these. We planned to go to Union Station for Ben & Jerry's. After eating, we bagged the leftovers to give to the homeless man. He was still there, so Eric offered it, but he said he was paranoid that we would put medication or poison in it. He was persistent in asking for money or a metro ticket apparently (he pestered Eric, I was in front of him and payed little attention), so Eric gave him a metro ticket with a few dollars on it. We drove to Union Station and found that Ben & Jerry's was closed as well as many of the stores, but split up and went to McDonald's and Starbuck's. I went to McDonald's (shock, disbelief). EXCUSE TIME. I don't drink coffee. I haven't given it a try really, and it's not that I'm biased against it, I just haven't given it a try yet. As you may note, I said in the McDonald's post that when faced with a competitor, I usually don't go to McDonald's. Since I'm not a big Starbuck's fan, I just went and got a McFlurry. While I was there, I asked Eric if he had ever heard of "East Carolina Sauce." He had, which was quite interesting, since I had not heard of it until not so long ago, this year's ski trip that is. I just had to see if someone from out of state had heard of it. After hanging out at Union Station for a few minutes, Lee and Eric went to go get the van. We waited outside by a replica of the Liberty Bell. We waited a long time there; I believe there was a detour. Also, Lee's cell wasn't working at the time, so we had a bit of difficulty communicating. When they got near though, Eric called and they picked us up. Heh - we told them we were in front of the building, but they drove past us and we had to chase after them. We drove back to Star from there. When we walked in, the power was out, so we had to use flashlights. The power was on in the surrounding buildings but I never found out why it was off at Star. I used my penlight a lot that night. Brian had a flashlight too, and they brought in a couple for the room later on. Late during the night, as I was finishing writing, the power came back. The lights stayed off in our room, though, because most people had gone to bed. I finished up writing and went to sleep.
~MONDAY~
Monday morning we woke up late; we were the last group to get up. We quickly took showers, had breakfast, made lunch, brushed teeth, etc. When we were ready, we left for Central Union Mission, our first site of the week. Apparently we parked in an area we weren't supposed to, because we later realized we got a parking ticket there. It's difficult to tell where you are supposed to park and where you are not in DC sometimes. That was, however, the only parking ticket we were given for the week. Central Union Mission is a homeless shelter, but at the same time so much more. They offer night stay for homeless people, food, education, and worship. They have an extensive program to help homeless people get back on their feet, and several of the people working for the program are part of it. When we walked in, we put on gloves and were separated, two at many of the sites. Brian, Eric, Megan, and Alex stayed downstairs, and Lee, Drew, Harrison, Parker and I went to the fourth floor. The other group went to make bags of food for the elderly, and we made up beds for those that were going to spend the night. We took an elevator to the fourth floor and got started. The elevator seemed pretty ancient, which is understandable, but it had the lever for up and down and the manual door opener. When we got up there, three guys were talking, and they told us what to do. The beds were just bunk beds with a small mattress, sheet, pillow, and blanket. We made sure each bed had one of each and made them up. While we were there we met John. John is 101 years old and stays at the center. He sleeps most of the day, but he can walk around on his own and gets up mostly just to eat. We didn't really get to talk to him then, but we did later. So, I'll talk about that later. There were around forty beds up there, so yeah it took a while to finish. Also while we were working, I listened in on a few of the conversations going on between the workers there. They were just talking to each other about their lives, but it was so different. They related the holy spirit to everything that happened to them. If one forgot to mention the holy spirit, the other was quick to mention it. For instance, one man was talking about something that happened:
"All of a sudden, out of nowhere, she said - "
"No, it wasn't out of nowhere, it came from the spirit!"
I personally found that fascinating. To see how God works among those who have so little, and to think of how unthankful we are in comparison to those people. I think we have so much, that when we get something, we see it as normal and not as a gift from God. We tend to be less religious because we have so much more. It was hot up there too, which was true across most of the mission sites. We were encouraged to drink plenty of water, and we carried water bottles just about everywhere. Needless to say, I'm kind of tired of water by now. Once we finished with the beds, we went around and swept and mopped the floors. Once we finished that, we went downstairs. We joined up with the other group down there and finished up making the bags. They were very large bags, but when you consider that they are meant not as meals, but supplies for days at a time, they seem a little smaller. We waited for an assignment in the front for a little while after we finished that. Then Philip, who was in the program at Central Union Mission, gave us the grand tour. The first thing he showed us was the mural they made. It was a mural started by an art student, but made by workers at the center for the most part. It conveyed the themes of what was given to homeless people at Central Union Mission, that is, food, shelter, education, and worship. Philip put a lot of work into it. Philip was very impressed by the result, because it was the art student's final, so he didn't expect the judges to like it. They had seen many amazing pieces, pieces that looked like photos, that the judges didn't like. Not to criticize, but the mural wasn't anything so special when it comes to detail and realism. Yet, when the art student told the judges about the piece and how he thinks that it is true art, the judges were impressed. He told them that he believed art was involving other people, involving the community, and creating something that reaches people. The judges just said "now *that's* art." Philip was very proud, and they even put an article about the mural in the Washington Post, which was framed and sitting beside the mural, which we were shown. I thought it was a great idea and a well done project, as I am sure the judges did. After that we went to the fourth floor first to make sure all the beds were tucked in and ready. While we were checking around, Philip told us his story. He had been on drugs, leading a not-so-great life for a while, and decided to go to Central Union Mission to try to change his life around. It was there that he came to Chirst, broke away from drugs, and began to learn skills necessary for getting a job. He was very happy about his situation at the time, and looked forward to his future in Christ and in finishing the center's program. Also, it was there that we stopped to talk to John. Philip introduced him to everyone. He then asked him who wakes him up every morning. In an old, Russian accent, he said "four mockingbirds, they were singing and dancing!" Philip said that after much thought, they decided that he was referring to four angels that wake him up in the morning. John insisted that they were mockingbirds every time you asked him though. He also told us that he comes from Latvia, a country beside Russia. He has a sister there who is in her nineties, but he left because, he said, "Communism doesn't work. Capital works, capital works." He was, of course, referring to the capitalistic system. I only wish it were that simple: communism is strong in so many parts of the world, and if it were not corrupted by the few, it would be a much cleaner, more effective system. There is still a battle amongst thinkers between the two systems; the system of one group and the system of two groups. John obviously didn't regret coming to the US even though he ended up staying at a homeless shelter, which is kind of interesting. I guess it shows how people express their opinions. After a brief conversation with John, we went back to the elevator to go through the tour. I couldn't tell you the entire layout of the building, mostly because I can't remember perfectly. I can, however, tell you that there were several rooms used for education; a computer room, a conference room, a library, a tv room (for staff), which I must mention had a wide screen tv, a basement, which had a much larger tv, a laundry room, a kitchen, and a chapel. At least, those are the rooms I remember. There were offices as well, and probably other rooms we were not shown. The tvs were apparently donations, which seems very ignorant to me. Why would someone donate a wide screen tv to a homeless shelter, when they could give much needed food or supplies instead? Through the tour Philip let Harrison and me work the elevator, with varying levels of success. I probably would have done perfectly if people hadn't screamed "STOP! STOP!," but because of that, I stopped a few inches too soon. Harrison, on the other hand, stopped about a yard too soon, then about a foot too soon, then a few inches too soon. We got out on his third try. Throughout the trip, I believe Harrison was the one that made things interesting. He was always the first one to talk, the first one to say something random, the first one to start a conversation. We went back downstairs after the tour and waited for a bit. We were given plates and shirts down there for volunteering, for which we thanked the workers there. After the preacher finished his sermon to the elderly people there, we were asked to give them their food. We handed back our shirts and plates for a second and did that. Since there were just a few people, we gave most of them two bags. I believe one person actually got three, because we had an odd number though. They put them in their carriers or picked them up and walked out. We were given our shirts and plates again, and after many goodbyes, left the center. We went from there to a point, Hawker's Point or something like that. You know what I mean, a jut of land surrounded by water. When we got there, there were about five buses just arriving, so we went to a table as quickly as possible. However, as we went from table to table, there was always a better one, and we finally got to one near the river and realized it was dirty. When we looked behind us, all the other tables were taken. Is there a lesson in that or what? One must be satisfied with what is given; the grass is always greener on the other side. So, we walked to a few benches and sat down there, and half of us sat on the ground. We had lunch there, which was just about the same every day. Sandwich, fruit, BBQ chips, oreos or Three Musketeers (donation), and water was basically it. Given, they had mixes to make Kool Aid or Lemonade, but other than that, not much variety. But who's complaining, it was a mission trip after all. After lunch, we went to something called "Awakening," a sculpture used as a play area as well. It was supposed to be a person coming out of the ground, so there was half of a head, a foot, a knee, etc., so that it looked like a person getting up. We hung out around there for a little while, and played frisbee or football. Lee took a picture of us at the foot. As I looked back to the buses that had gotten there just as we did, they were gone already. It was so hot out there, I think they didn't want to stay long. There was also a group of bikers going around, and they came by about three times. After that we went back to Star to take a quick nap before the next site. Personally, I can't take naps because if I do, I can't sleep at night. So, I rested and kept my eyes open as best as I could, just as I did any time we took a nap. The next site of the day was the Fishing School. Fishing School is a Christian after school program for kids. Since DC schools only had two weeks left, the kids didn't have much homework, so we went to a park. We almost lost them on the way over there, but they stopped and let us catch up. When we got there, even though there was a sign saying not to, we parked on the grass. When everyone got out, one of the leaders realized that he had forgotten the charcoal to make dinner for the kids. The bus had already left to bring the second load of kids, so one of the leaders just called the driver and asked him to bring it. Interesting, but the first thing one kid was to do was pick up a stick and pretend it was a gun. He began arresting people for various crimes such as murder, stealing, and one time I heard even the rape of a young girl, and sending them to jail. That really shows the kind of things those kids are exposed to, and it's really sad. After helping one kid with a little homework, we started up a game of football. It was, of course, endless, so when the second load of kids arrived, we paused for a break and started back up. I scored a few touchdowns in the game, as many as anyone else, which made it a little fun of course. While we were playing, a policeman stopped by and told us to get the van and bus off the grass. He let us off after we did that. I heard later that someone told someone from our group that once, a leader almost went to a jail for the same thing. After a while I believe I scratched myself, so I stopped for a bit to clean it up, and slowly other people started stopping for a break as well. Thus, that was the end of the game. We kind of hung out at the park for a while, the leaders cooked dinner for the kids, and we eventually left. Megan went to the van to plot out a course to the restaurant, A Taste Of India. The food there was very good. I have no idea what the names of most of the foods were, but I must say it was all delicious. It was also all new foods that I had never tried before, and I tried at least a little of everything. After dinner we went across the street to Baskin Robbins. We got ice cream there (for me, Reese's ice cream), and went back to the van after everyone had gotten some. Eric and Megan didn't have any, but everyone else did. After dinner we began something called a prayer tour. I had never been on one before, but found it interesting enough. We went to different sites and prayed for different people, different institutions, different programs. The first stop was the Washington Monument, and we went outside, but it was getting very stormy. It was extremely windy at first, and we had to go back to the van to pray. Heh - there was a fountain nearby, and water was flying out of it constantly. After praying there, we went to an area near the Capitol building and prayed for our government. We didn't get out of the car, because it was rainy and there was lightning by then. After that we went to Anastosia, a very poor and often violent section of DC. We prayed for the people there and Megan and Eric told us facts and statistics about DC and Anastosia. We were told that even most locals had never seen the areas we went through. Our last stop was the National Cathedral. We walked inside as an interfaith service was ending. Outside, they had a table up about "One" a program to end world hunger. I didn't get a chance to sign their sheet, but Brian and Eric did. We didn't stay in there long, but went back outside and back to the van. After the prayer tour we talked a bit and returned to Star. We had debriefing, a time of reflection and discussion, on the third floor at Star. My snapshot of the day was the two people talking at Central Union Mission, but for many people it was John. After reflection, I wrote notes for this blog (don't you feel special) and went to bed. Heh - after a while everyone was asleep but the lights were still on, so Lee told me to turn them out when I was done. I turned them out after a little while and kept writing. Yeah, I had a lot of notes.
~TUESDAY~
Apparently we were allowed to sleep later on Tuesday, but from what I could tell, we woke up about the same time as everyone else. I guess everyone woke up later, but I didn't really notice much of a difference. The usual morning stuff, shower, breakfast, make lunch, etc. Then we left for the Downtown Cluster, a geriatric daycare center. But right now, you're just saying "what?" A geriatric daycare center is a daycare center for the elderly. Basically, it gives them something to do and a place to go as opposed to going to a nursing home or wasting away at home. A Chinese church hosts the center, and it is held in a building just behind it. At the center, they provide services, recreation, therapy, a meal, etc. for those who attend. When we got there, they showed us in and asked each of us to fill out a form. It seemed that the forms were meant for those volunteering for extended periods of time, so many of the blanks didn't really apply to us. Also, a few people talked to us about the clinic while we were waiting. After we filled out the forms, they split us up and sent Megan, Brian, Parker and me to one room, and Lee, Harrison, Drew and Eric to a room with elderly that had Altzheimer's. From what I hear, they played Bingo, and really enjoyed the experience. In our room, we first introduced everyone. Our group told them our names and where we are from, and they did the same. Another Eric, who helps out at the center regularly, stayed with us most of the time. He really seemed like the right type of guy to help out there. After everyone was introduced, we asked the people there trivia questions. They were pretty simple questions, and I think I might have been insulted if I was asked them, but they enjoyed it. One woman in particular was very animated and answered every question almost. On that day, they had a trip to go shopping, so around half the people left for that, but we stayed behind. After a while they went to lunch, and Eric and Harrison served them food. Once they were done, we went back to Star for lunch and a nap. Regular lunch, regular nap (avoiding sleep, of course), and then we left for the Fishing School. When we got there, we basically went straight to work building a basketball goal for the kids there. We had almost no tools though, so it was quite difficult. We used my leatherman and a few tools that were there to do as much as we could, but didn't get very far considering. Lee and Brian were doing most of the work, I helped where I could, and although a few kids hung out around us, everyone else in our group hung out with the other kids. Lee and Brian apparently found the process very annoying, and I must say the kids that were around us were much more of an annoyance than a help. I nonetheless enjoy building anything, so it didn't bother me so much. I found out later that, while we were working, a kid rode by on a bike and told Alex "I'm gonna beat you up, white boy." He just kept riding, though. After that, Eric ran into the same guy. He had another kid on his shoulders at the time, and as soon as he saw the other kid he asked to get down, because he knew the other kid would disapprove. The kid said "this white boy babysitting you?" Eric asked the kid if he was trying to be rude, so he was, from what I hear, nice to Eric after that. When we ran out of time and were not done with the basketball goal, we pushed it up against the school, and left with everyone else for dinner at Union Station. We went to the food court which, mind you, is very different from the food courts we usually think of. There was Chinese, Mediterranean, all sorts of food. I had Chinese, a Bourbon Chicken plate. Heh - we were given $6 for dinner, but I believe everyone in the group went over that. Lee let me try a bit of his Baklava as well. Harrison didn't like it, but it was delicious to me. Tasted like a mix of apple and pecan pie, with honey added. At the table, we talked about Nathaniel [Wheezy] a bit. He couldn't come on this trip, but he had been on other mission trips before. We told them about how he acted back when his ADHD was really strong. By the time we finished with that, Megan just said "No offense to Nathaniel, but I think I'm glad he didn't come on this trip." We then went through his redeeming qualities, but I think the first few comments left a permanent bad impression. After that, we drove to the Lincoln Memorial for debriefing. We walked through the Vietnam War memorial together, and then split up for a bit. Harrison, Parker and I went into the Lincoln Memorial and came back. Parker sat and looked at the reflecting pool for a little while, and Harrison and I went to sit down with Drew and Alex. When the time was up, we went to sit down on the grass nearby and had debriefing. When we had prayed, we walked to the World War II memorial, an assortment of pillars in a sort of circle around a fountain. The pillars were each for states in the US or territories of the US involved in the war, organized by Atlantic and Pacific sides. We found the North Carolina pillar and took a picture there. As we were walking out, we saw something Lee and I found funny. There was an old lady holding a green lightsaber high in the air to direct a group. Lee took a picture without her knowing, and we walked on. As we walked to the bus, we talked about the NYC trip earlier this year and so many other interesting topics. I also asked Alex about the Yana's shirt he had been wearing for the day, and he told me that he used to have a beach house that was very close to the restaurant. We then drove back to Star, talked a bit, I wrote notes of the day in my journal, and went to bed.
~WEDNESDAY~
Usual morning routine, shower, breakfast, brush teeth, although we didn't make lunch because we were going to have lunch at the first work site. Once we finished at Star, we left for the DCCK, DC Central Kitchen. When we got there, they first told us a brief history of the kitchen and then put us to work. This was one of the two days we were required to wear long pants, so it was extremely hot. We were asked to bring short pants to change before going to Fishing School, but I forgot to. Also, we were told to take breaks often in the kitchen, but I took just one. We all put on gloves, aprons, and hairnets and were put to work. I was asked to cut cucumbers, tomatoes, and celery for the salads. I was the only one from our group doing so; Megan cut lettuce for the salads in another area and everyone else was doing other jobs in another part of the room. I was working with Beverly, an intern at the kitchen (they have a program to train chefs), three girls and one guy that I did not know. The girl to my right was from Hungary, and we talked a little bit. The woman to my left was Beverly, the person across and to the left was the other guy, and in front of me and to my left were two other girls I did not know. I met one of them later, she was from Charlotte, NC, and talked a bit. Luckily for me, none of the people around me had any idea what they were doing either, and I pick up skills reasonably quickly, so I didn't have to make a fool of myself. That is, if I did, everyone else quickly changed what they were doing too. Dorothy was in charge of the area, and often corrected what we were doing (a little more obviously than Beverly would), and once just took over and finished one post's work in a few minutes. Beverly said she was just trying to show off. If Beverly wanted to show you how to do something, she would, without a word, beckon for the knife, show you how it should be done, and give it back to you. That was the best advice I have ever been given, and I intend to follow that example. Once we were finished cutting the vegetables, we moved away all the boards and bins and began to make the salads. We made an assembly line; lettuce, then vegetables, then croutons (me... we ran out about halfway through though), then Megan put saran wrap over the container, then the girl from Charlotte put on the lid, then the girl from Hungary wrote "SALAD" on the lid. We made as many containers as possible and Megan and I ended up being the last from our group out of the kitchen. We waited in the lunch room (had a fan, also where we took breaks) to be served lunch. We were showed to a buffet line, where they had duck, something that tasted like chili, a sort of chicken pastry, a pasta with tomato sauce, chicken and vegetable soup, and then various desserts. I had a little of everything, and it was all good. After that lunch, we went back to the van, but had a bit of difficulty getting out. There happened to be a truck that parked in front of us while we were inside (the parking lot was VERY crowded). Brian found the truck owner, a Vietnam veteran who had lost both his legs but got back on his feet and began working at DCCK. Brian said he was a nice guy, and he moved the truck and let us out. From there we went to the Smithsonan Air and Space Museum. Everyone knows how much I love that sort of thing, so I loved going there again (I had been there once before, around eight or so years ago). I walked around with Harrison and Parker for a little while, but they weren't interested in anything, so after that I walked around with Brian. I told him basically what everything I knew was, and he seemed interested enough. I was glad to have someone with whom I could talk about such topics. Brian is most definitely a smart guy, even if he is anti-Bush. Lee and Eric tried to go back to Star and get some stuff for the basketball goal, but they couldn't find the van soon enough. They ended up just coming back and picking us up. From there we went to actually buy a basketball for the kids and Lee bought me swimming trunks so I could wear something a bit cooler. We finished up the basketball goal when we got to the Fishing School, found a way to turn on the hose to fill it up (no handle) and put it up. They played for a while, but you know me by now, I don't play much sports. I switched between watching and hanging out inside instead. Before we left, we went inside and watched the kids do Inspiration, which we missed the first couple days. At Inspiration, the kids said the mission statement of the school (which was very long, mind you) and one kid read off the Bible quote and person of the month. After that, we said goodbye, and they cheered and clapped for us since the next day would be our last together. It was nice to have a little thanks. Mr. Thomas is the leader of the program, a very nice guy. Brian got to talk to him a little; apparently he was a chef for 20 years, the seventh best chef in DC as a matter of fact, and he had the Washington Post to prove it. He started the Fishing School for a week, it turned into two weeks, and then however long it had been in existence. He is thinking of going back to work as a chef; he made great food for the center while we were there, at least it smelled good enough! From the Fishing School we went to Astor, a Mediterranean restaurant. I had a gyro, and enjoyed it fully. Alex got a pizza not knowing how large it would be, and ended up eating only half of it. We helped him eat the rest, that was very good pizza. After we finished, we walked down to Starbuck's for a coffee. I should have taken the chance to try one, but I'll wait for a week that I haven't already been trying so many new foods. I saw a couple interesting things in Starbuck's. First, there was a student typing his paper, not on a laptop, but a wireless system that included a tiny mouse, keyboard, and almost a Gameboy sized screen. That was very interesting. Also, I noticed the new Dave Matthews CD was for sale there, one that I already had and have thoroughly enjoyed. From there we drove back to the National Cathedral for a tour, but it was Wednesday and the Cathedral was closed on Wednesdays. We had hoped to have debriefing inside, but had it in the Bishop's garden instead, which was unbelievably beautiful, especially considering the backdrop of the gigantic Cathedral. I was able to center myself there more than I had in a long time. The National Cathedral is the second largest building in DC, second to the Washington Monument alone, to give you an idea of the size. I wasn't even able to comment at debriefing, I really just wanted to think. I did get a lot out of other people's comments, though. When we finished debriefing we prayed and went back to the van. When we got back to Star, we went ahead and took showers and made lunches since we knew Thusday would be a busy day, with three sites. I took the opportunity and listened in on the Atlanta group's worship, which was in the food room when I was making lunch. Their music was awesome, and I only wish I had been given more time to spend listening. Harrison sang along a bit. When I went back downstairs, I called my parents to check up again and tell them again that I was alive. When I hung up, I noticed that I had a voicemail. It was Dad, telling me to call home that night. I couldn't believe that, even in DC, Dad managed to tell me to do something before I did it, and I didn't even realize it until after I had done it. I then went to bed, knowing how much was to be done the next day.
~THURSDAY~
Thursday we woke up early, around six, since we were going to three sites. The usual morning stuff, bla bla, although we didn't make lunch or have breakfast. Then we left for the 3rd street prayer breakfast, the first site of the day. It is a program that provides a meal and a church service for homeless people. We were told to split up when we got there and spread around the room, talk to the people, get to know them. We had varying levels of success doing so. Brian tried to talk to the only person near him, but he answered any question with a very simple answer. Megan seemed to have found someone easy to talk to, and I believe a few other people were able to talk as well. There were a couple people at my table, but they were talking to each other for the most part. We introduced ourselves, but they were having a conversation, so it didn't go very far past that. After a time, someone asked me if I could cook eggs. I said yes, and so I was ushered to the kitchen. As I was following the person that asked, another man asked him if I could cook eggs, and then he asked me. I said yes, and he looked me deep in the eyes, a penetrating stare, and said, "Don't burn those eggs. Don't even brown them." I just told him I have cooked eggs before and I wouldn't. After that his expression changed to a more appreciative look, and I went on into the sweltering hot kitchen. Eric and I both cooked one batch of scrambled eggs, and after that Harrison took over for Eric. Harrison and I both cooked two more batches, with no problems. As I said before, it was very hot in there, so after that we went back into the other room to cool off for a bit and listen to the preacher. The sermon was kind of themed for homeless people, as you could imagine, and, not to be prejudiced, but toned in a black manner. I think we could agree that hearing a black man preach is different than a white man, and although I cannot say that one is better than the other, I simply appreciate the latter more. So, I was not very caught by the sermon, although I believe the preacher did do a good job. After a little while, they asked me back into the kitchen. For the record, Eric, Harrison and I were really the only ones that worked in the kitchen. Harrison and I were asked to serve the food this time, to make the plates. We first made our meals, and then went to work making the standard ones. Each one had grits, eggs, meat, and bread. One of the staff helped out several times, because he didn't think Harrison and I were making them fast enough. I was infinitely more thankful than insulted by his help. After we served everyone there, Harrison and I got our breakfasts and went to eat with the rest of the people there. We talked to a couple other people then as well. Once everyone had finished their meal, we swept and mopped the floor. They wouldn't let Megan mop the floor because she is a girl, though, which to me seems a bit ironic, since in our society that is a job we usually push onto women. After we finished that, James, a Vietnam vet and the leader of the program, prayed with our group. His prayer was very long, but once he said "Amen," we said our goodbyes, and left for the next site, the Downtown Cluster. We had visited the cluster once before on Tuesday, but were going to switch rooms this time. We got there a bit early, so we tried to visit the Convention Center, but it is closed to the public (it is a public building - makes no sense). We then went across the street to the City Museum, but it was closed at the time. We had used up our extra time by then though, so we went on to the cluster. For a while, we hung out with all the people at the center in one room, but when they split up, we did as well. This time we went with the Altzheimer's patients to the "A Room." Of course, most of them had no idea what the "A Room" was, having forgotten. A couple therapists were there to help, but I must question their skill, at times they seemed like more of an annoyance than a help. But what do I know anyway. After a few general questions like "what is today," "what are the days of the week," "who is our president," etc., art therapy began. Of course, only a small number of the clients knew the answers to those questions. For art therapy, each client was given a sheet of paper with a tree and road printed in black and white, and they were asked to color. There were varying levels of skill, from the use of perspective to seemingly random dots and lines. I was at the bottom of that line, and complimented Odessa's green shapes. I believe that may have been the first time I had ever appreciated modern art. That is, I think what Odessa drew could qualify, and I thought it was awesome. She is from Mississippi, just as Lee is, from Jackson. That was one thing in particular that she remembered. After she finished drawing, she just talked to me, but I could not understand a word of what she was saying, so I laughed when she did, said "yeah" or "mhm" when she paused, and gave her my full attention. After we finished up in the "A Room," we took them to the lunch room, where Eric and Harrison served everyone their lunch. We waited for a while outside as they finished up, and then we left for Star. We had lunch there and hung out there for a while and talked. Brian called his wife, Ellen, while we were having lunch, and at one point he turned on the speakerphone without telling her. She had asked if he had been tired or aching, so he turned it on and said yes, a bit. He had told us of the lecture he got the first time he told her that, so we expected another, but it never came. I think she suspected something. Brian started to push the limit a bit, and as she figured it out, he turned off the speakerphone and admitted to it. After lunch, Harrison and I brought in packs of water bottles, which were quite heavy if I may say so. Everyone took a good nap after that (I tried not to sleep, but kind of failed), and then we left for the Fishing School. When we got there, I kind of just walked in and out, not doing anything in particular. After a while, I played basketball with the other guys. Teams were Lee, Harrison, Mike, Kevin, me, and after a while Eric and a girl vs. Parker, Drew, Brian, Andrew, and two other guys at the school. I think when I started playing, no one really expected much from me, so I had to make an impression. The first two shots I took, no one really tried to stop me, so I made them. After that, I was well covered. I mostly played defense, only shooting once more for the rest of the game. I missed that one, but I think I covered the other team pretty well. After I started to get hot, I went inside for a break. The girls inside asked if I wanted to play 7-up, so I did that a few times. It seems the game kind of fell apart when I left, because, one by one, other people started coming inside. Throughout the time I was there, one kid in particular, a different Kevin, repeatedly asked for Altoids. I had bought them on the way up for something to put in my mouth, but they turned into a souvenir of sorts over the course of the trip. Many people had one, and so the memories are spread across all the events of the trip. After a little while inside, they had Inspiration, and after that, we said our final goodbyes and left. We went to a Thai restaurant, Jandara, for dinner, which wasn't exactly the best food of the week, but it was ok. The coke was extra (we had to pay for it ourselves), but we had all had so much water that you can bet it was worth it. We went back to the National Cathedral after dinner, but since it was so close to closing time, we were only able to take a very brief tour. The guard let us stay until about five minutes after closing time though, so we did get to look around a bit. We then went to the Bishop's garden once again for debriefing, this time inside a gazebo. We stopped by a seven-eleven on the way home and got slushies and chips. I mentioned Black Cherry Coke there, but everyone just thought the difference was only psychological. We came back to Star after that. I bought a T-shirt, and talked to Megan about the shirt I was wearing at the time. It was the "2" shirt. Yep, the Halo 2 shirt. Another leader said that Megan hates Halo 2 because boys play that as opposed to spending time with her, but Megan denied it. I had mentioned it to Eric earlier at the Fishing School as well. I talked with Josh from the Atlanta group and went downstairs after that. I wrote thank you letters to Megan and Eric and went to bed.
~FRIDAY~
We woke up before the other groups on Friday. We had breakfast, made lunch, packed our bags since we were leaving that day, etc. The DC Food Bank was our only stop on Friday. We didn't get to go through orientation there, but split up and went straight to work. Harrison, Drew, and Alex went to move boxes, and everyone else along with the Gastonia group went to make bags of food for the elderly. We formed an assemply line - two bags inside one another, and put in two cans of vegetables, two cans of soup, two food tags (rice, jello, etc.), one bottle of powerade, four snack bars, and two bags of cheez-its. Lee, Brian, Parker and I switched off between supplying and working the assembly line. Supplying the line meant filling boxes of vegetable cans, soup cans, and food tags (each separately), and moving them to the line. That may have been the most strenuous job of the week. Lee and I had our fun with the soup cans. He started it though, lol. He brought up a box of soup, and they were all Progresso. When I went to the bin, I filled my box with all Campbell's. After that I started working on a box that had no Campbell's or Progresso, but they called for a break before I finished and someone else took over and RUINED IT! Anyway, we also emptied boxes of snack bars and cheez-its. Working the line meant either taking out two plastic bags and opening them or putting in the soup and vegetables (the first two steps). We made 393 bags, not bad for just a few hours of work. We got pretty dirty though, and I had been wearing my new shirt. I found out later that, since I had been wearing a lotion on my face that bleaches clothing (didn't know that before), when I wiped off my face on my shirt, it bleached it. It's still wearable, but the permanent stains are quite visible. That was the second time we were required to wear long pants, also. We came back to Star for the last time when we finished up. We had lunch, watched the Atlanta group play their version of Scrabble, packed (I finished in the morning), and waited for Harrison's mom. Harrison was going to be picked up at the church since he has family in DC, and was going to stay a few days more in DC. We said goodbye, I gave Megan and Eric the thank you letters, said hey to Mrs. Mitchell, and left for Rocky Mount.
Apologies for the delay in finishing this post, but if you just look at the size, I hope you can understand.
~SUNDAY~
Sunday morning I went to the 9:00 service at church, sunday school, and then we packed the bus to leave for mission trip. A couple interesting things stuck out to me at that point. First of all, there were only five youth going, and two leaders. Second of all, we were all guys. Third of all, the youngest of us was in 9th grade, and most of our youth group is in 7th-8th. The youth going were Drew (just graduated from RMHS), myself (10th), Parker [superman] (10th), Harrison [Noname] (10th), and Alex (9th). The leaders going were Lee and Brian, and I guess Drew could be considered half of a leader. After a few goodbyes here and there and packing the van, we left for DC. We stopped for Bojangles on the way up and I bought a box of Spearmint Altoids there for the trip, but it was otherwise uneventful. I now consider the box of Altoids a good souvenir, because so many people asked for one in so many places and at so many times over the course of the mission trip. Heh, we didn't get lost on the way up to DC thanks to some good directions and a good copilot (Brian). No, Lee, you get NO CREDIT. However, if we had gotten lost it was all you. You know it's always your fault. Ok fine, so I have to give the driver some credit; you did good, Lee. We stayed at Star of Bethlehem church in DC, a three story building I believe, but we only used the first and third floors. When we got there, we found out the leaders were expecting us to be a mostly middle school group (no middle schoolers were in our group), a mix of guys and girls, and a larger group. I don't think we disappointed them when we got to work, though. Must have been a bit of a surprise, though. Anyway, we were the second group there, and the group there already there was from Gastonia, NC. The third group, from Atlanta, GA, was there soon after. The Durham group was a bit late, so we went ahead and did orientation after a little while. There were to be three groups from NC, and I found through the week that many of the people in DC are from NC originally. The group from Atlanta came from a Chinese church and the youth were very friendly. It was also a large group, and they made things interesting at times, in a good way of course. They did a worship service of their own every night with a guitar, but although I listened in a few times I never stayed long. I really needed to sleep, and write notes to preserve the memories of the trip. We moved our bags into a first floor room with several bunk beds with small mattresses. That's really not bad accomodations, considering that we were prepared to sleep on the floor. There was also a half bath, which smelled horrible invariably over the course of the trip. I called my parents when I got a chance to check up and tell them I was still alive. We stayed there for a little while before orientation. At orientation we were introduced to our leaders from the week, as every group was to have two leaders from CSM (Center for Student Missions) with them to help out in various ways. Lee had taken trips with CSM to different places before, so he already knew the deal. We met our leaders before orientation, but of course we were introduced again there. They were Eric and Megan. Unfortunately, of the nine of us, Megan was the only girl. I hope that wasn't too much torture for her. I know at certain times during the week, which will be mentioned later, it must have been especially... interesting. We were also told there that the second floor was off-limits, and that the NC groups would be staying on the first floor and Atlanta on the third. The food room and staff rooms were also on the third floor. Food was only allowed in the food room, and it was often a meeting place. We had meetings there, hung out there, had breakfast and made/ate lunch there. Oh and the showers were also on the third floor, so yeah much walking up and down. After orientation, we went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant, Wok and Roll. As we were walking down the road, something more common to DC came to pass. A homeless man asked for money to go to Burger King. We were specifically told not to give out money, because you truly never know how they will spend it. Eric offered food if I recall correctly, but he denied him, so we kept walking to Wok and Roll. The food was good there, although perhaps not as new as some of the foods we had later in the week. The Durham group had a table reserved behind us, and they showed up as we were finishing. I never really got to know that group, though. For the most part, the groups were separate except at Star (what we called the church). We only saw another group at a site once during the week, which will be mentioned later. During dinner, Lee asked Eric and Megan if it would be ok to go out for ice cream. They said we could probably work it in, which satisfied Lee. Lee had been placed with leaders that he did not like before, but this satisfied him that he could work with these. We planned to go to Union Station for Ben & Jerry's. After eating, we bagged the leftovers to give to the homeless man. He was still there, so Eric offered it, but he said he was paranoid that we would put medication or poison in it. He was persistent in asking for money or a metro ticket apparently (he pestered Eric, I was in front of him and payed little attention), so Eric gave him a metro ticket with a few dollars on it. We drove to Union Station and found that Ben & Jerry's was closed as well as many of the stores, but split up and went to McDonald's and Starbuck's. I went to McDonald's (shock, disbelief). EXCUSE TIME. I don't drink coffee. I haven't given it a try really, and it's not that I'm biased against it, I just haven't given it a try yet. As you may note, I said in the McDonald's post that when faced with a competitor, I usually don't go to McDonald's. Since I'm not a big Starbuck's fan, I just went and got a McFlurry. While I was there, I asked Eric if he had ever heard of "East Carolina Sauce." He had, which was quite interesting, since I had not heard of it until not so long ago, this year's ski trip that is. I just had to see if someone from out of state had heard of it. After hanging out at Union Station for a few minutes, Lee and Eric went to go get the van. We waited outside by a replica of the Liberty Bell. We waited a long time there; I believe there was a detour. Also, Lee's cell wasn't working at the time, so we had a bit of difficulty communicating. When they got near though, Eric called and they picked us up. Heh - we told them we were in front of the building, but they drove past us and we had to chase after them. We drove back to Star from there. When we walked in, the power was out, so we had to use flashlights. The power was on in the surrounding buildings but I never found out why it was off at Star. I used my penlight a lot that night. Brian had a flashlight too, and they brought in a couple for the room later on. Late during the night, as I was finishing writing, the power came back. The lights stayed off in our room, though, because most people had gone to bed. I finished up writing and went to sleep.
~MONDAY~
Monday morning we woke up late; we were the last group to get up. We quickly took showers, had breakfast, made lunch, brushed teeth, etc. When we were ready, we left for Central Union Mission, our first site of the week. Apparently we parked in an area we weren't supposed to, because we later realized we got a parking ticket there. It's difficult to tell where you are supposed to park and where you are not in DC sometimes. That was, however, the only parking ticket we were given for the week. Central Union Mission is a homeless shelter, but at the same time so much more. They offer night stay for homeless people, food, education, and worship. They have an extensive program to help homeless people get back on their feet, and several of the people working for the program are part of it. When we walked in, we put on gloves and were separated, two at many of the sites. Brian, Eric, Megan, and Alex stayed downstairs, and Lee, Drew, Harrison, Parker and I went to the fourth floor. The other group went to make bags of food for the elderly, and we made up beds for those that were going to spend the night. We took an elevator to the fourth floor and got started. The elevator seemed pretty ancient, which is understandable, but it had the lever for up and down and the manual door opener. When we got up there, three guys were talking, and they told us what to do. The beds were just bunk beds with a small mattress, sheet, pillow, and blanket. We made sure each bed had one of each and made them up. While we were there we met John. John is 101 years old and stays at the center. He sleeps most of the day, but he can walk around on his own and gets up mostly just to eat. We didn't really get to talk to him then, but we did later. So, I'll talk about that later. There were around forty beds up there, so yeah it took a while to finish. Also while we were working, I listened in on a few of the conversations going on between the workers there. They were just talking to each other about their lives, but it was so different. They related the holy spirit to everything that happened to them. If one forgot to mention the holy spirit, the other was quick to mention it. For instance, one man was talking about something that happened:
"All of a sudden, out of nowhere, she said - "
"No, it wasn't out of nowhere, it came from the spirit!"
I personally found that fascinating. To see how God works among those who have so little, and to think of how unthankful we are in comparison to those people. I think we have so much, that when we get something, we see it as normal and not as a gift from God. We tend to be less religious because we have so much more. It was hot up there too, which was true across most of the mission sites. We were encouraged to drink plenty of water, and we carried water bottles just about everywhere. Needless to say, I'm kind of tired of water by now. Once we finished with the beds, we went around and swept and mopped the floors. Once we finished that, we went downstairs. We joined up with the other group down there and finished up making the bags. They were very large bags, but when you consider that they are meant not as meals, but supplies for days at a time, they seem a little smaller. We waited for an assignment in the front for a little while after we finished that. Then Philip, who was in the program at Central Union Mission, gave us the grand tour. The first thing he showed us was the mural they made. It was a mural started by an art student, but made by workers at the center for the most part. It conveyed the themes of what was given to homeless people at Central Union Mission, that is, food, shelter, education, and worship. Philip put a lot of work into it. Philip was very impressed by the result, because it was the art student's final, so he didn't expect the judges to like it. They had seen many amazing pieces, pieces that looked like photos, that the judges didn't like. Not to criticize, but the mural wasn't anything so special when it comes to detail and realism. Yet, when the art student told the judges about the piece and how he thinks that it is true art, the judges were impressed. He told them that he believed art was involving other people, involving the community, and creating something that reaches people. The judges just said "now *that's* art." Philip was very proud, and they even put an article about the mural in the Washington Post, which was framed and sitting beside the mural, which we were shown. I thought it was a great idea and a well done project, as I am sure the judges did. After that we went to the fourth floor first to make sure all the beds were tucked in and ready. While we were checking around, Philip told us his story. He had been on drugs, leading a not-so-great life for a while, and decided to go to Central Union Mission to try to change his life around. It was there that he came to Chirst, broke away from drugs, and began to learn skills necessary for getting a job. He was very happy about his situation at the time, and looked forward to his future in Christ and in finishing the center's program. Also, it was there that we stopped to talk to John. Philip introduced him to everyone. He then asked him who wakes him up every morning. In an old, Russian accent, he said "four mockingbirds, they were singing and dancing!" Philip said that after much thought, they decided that he was referring to four angels that wake him up in the morning. John insisted that they were mockingbirds every time you asked him though. He also told us that he comes from Latvia, a country beside Russia. He has a sister there who is in her nineties, but he left because, he said, "Communism doesn't work. Capital works, capital works." He was, of course, referring to the capitalistic system. I only wish it were that simple: communism is strong in so many parts of the world, and if it were not corrupted by the few, it would be a much cleaner, more effective system. There is still a battle amongst thinkers between the two systems; the system of one group and the system of two groups. John obviously didn't regret coming to the US even though he ended up staying at a homeless shelter, which is kind of interesting. I guess it shows how people express their opinions. After a brief conversation with John, we went back to the elevator to go through the tour. I couldn't tell you the entire layout of the building, mostly because I can't remember perfectly. I can, however, tell you that there were several rooms used for education; a computer room, a conference room, a library, a tv room (for staff), which I must mention had a wide screen tv, a basement, which had a much larger tv, a laundry room, a kitchen, and a chapel. At least, those are the rooms I remember. There were offices as well, and probably other rooms we were not shown. The tvs were apparently donations, which seems very ignorant to me. Why would someone donate a wide screen tv to a homeless shelter, when they could give much needed food or supplies instead? Through the tour Philip let Harrison and me work the elevator, with varying levels of success. I probably would have done perfectly if people hadn't screamed "STOP! STOP!," but because of that, I stopped a few inches too soon. Harrison, on the other hand, stopped about a yard too soon, then about a foot too soon, then a few inches too soon. We got out on his third try. Throughout the trip, I believe Harrison was the one that made things interesting. He was always the first one to talk, the first one to say something random, the first one to start a conversation. We went back downstairs after the tour and waited for a bit. We were given plates and shirts down there for volunteering, for which we thanked the workers there. After the preacher finished his sermon to the elderly people there, we were asked to give them their food. We handed back our shirts and plates for a second and did that. Since there were just a few people, we gave most of them two bags. I believe one person actually got three, because we had an odd number though. They put them in their carriers or picked them up and walked out. We were given our shirts and plates again, and after many goodbyes, left the center. We went from there to a point, Hawker's Point or something like that. You know what I mean, a jut of land surrounded by water. When we got there, there were about five buses just arriving, so we went to a table as quickly as possible. However, as we went from table to table, there was always a better one, and we finally got to one near the river and realized it was dirty. When we looked behind us, all the other tables were taken. Is there a lesson in that or what? One must be satisfied with what is given; the grass is always greener on the other side. So, we walked to a few benches and sat down there, and half of us sat on the ground. We had lunch there, which was just about the same every day. Sandwich, fruit, BBQ chips, oreos or Three Musketeers (donation), and water was basically it. Given, they had mixes to make Kool Aid or Lemonade, but other than that, not much variety. But who's complaining, it was a mission trip after all. After lunch, we went to something called "Awakening," a sculpture used as a play area as well. It was supposed to be a person coming out of the ground, so there was half of a head, a foot, a knee, etc., so that it looked like a person getting up. We hung out around there for a little while, and played frisbee or football. Lee took a picture of us at the foot. As I looked back to the buses that had gotten there just as we did, they were gone already. It was so hot out there, I think they didn't want to stay long. There was also a group of bikers going around, and they came by about three times. After that we went back to Star to take a quick nap before the next site. Personally, I can't take naps because if I do, I can't sleep at night. So, I rested and kept my eyes open as best as I could, just as I did any time we took a nap. The next site of the day was the Fishing School. Fishing School is a Christian after school program for kids. Since DC schools only had two weeks left, the kids didn't have much homework, so we went to a park. We almost lost them on the way over there, but they stopped and let us catch up. When we got there, even though there was a sign saying not to, we parked on the grass. When everyone got out, one of the leaders realized that he had forgotten the charcoal to make dinner for the kids. The bus had already left to bring the second load of kids, so one of the leaders just called the driver and asked him to bring it. Interesting, but the first thing one kid was to do was pick up a stick and pretend it was a gun. He began arresting people for various crimes such as murder, stealing, and one time I heard even the rape of a young girl, and sending them to jail. That really shows the kind of things those kids are exposed to, and it's really sad. After helping one kid with a little homework, we started up a game of football. It was, of course, endless, so when the second load of kids arrived, we paused for a break and started back up. I scored a few touchdowns in the game, as many as anyone else, which made it a little fun of course. While we were playing, a policeman stopped by and told us to get the van and bus off the grass. He let us off after we did that. I heard later that someone told someone from our group that once, a leader almost went to a jail for the same thing. After a while I believe I scratched myself, so I stopped for a bit to clean it up, and slowly other people started stopping for a break as well. Thus, that was the end of the game. We kind of hung out at the park for a while, the leaders cooked dinner for the kids, and we eventually left. Megan went to the van to plot out a course to the restaurant, A Taste Of India. The food there was very good. I have no idea what the names of most of the foods were, but I must say it was all delicious. It was also all new foods that I had never tried before, and I tried at least a little of everything. After dinner we went across the street to Baskin Robbins. We got ice cream there (for me, Reese's ice cream), and went back to the van after everyone had gotten some. Eric and Megan didn't have any, but everyone else did. After dinner we began something called a prayer tour. I had never been on one before, but found it interesting enough. We went to different sites and prayed for different people, different institutions, different programs. The first stop was the Washington Monument, and we went outside, but it was getting very stormy. It was extremely windy at first, and we had to go back to the van to pray. Heh - there was a fountain nearby, and water was flying out of it constantly. After praying there, we went to an area near the Capitol building and prayed for our government. We didn't get out of the car, because it was rainy and there was lightning by then. After that we went to Anastosia, a very poor and often violent section of DC. We prayed for the people there and Megan and Eric told us facts and statistics about DC and Anastosia. We were told that even most locals had never seen the areas we went through. Our last stop was the National Cathedral. We walked inside as an interfaith service was ending. Outside, they had a table up about "One" a program to end world hunger. I didn't get a chance to sign their sheet, but Brian and Eric did. We didn't stay in there long, but went back outside and back to the van. After the prayer tour we talked a bit and returned to Star. We had debriefing, a time of reflection and discussion, on the third floor at Star. My snapshot of the day was the two people talking at Central Union Mission, but for many people it was John. After reflection, I wrote notes for this blog (don't you feel special) and went to bed. Heh - after a while everyone was asleep but the lights were still on, so Lee told me to turn them out when I was done. I turned them out after a little while and kept writing. Yeah, I had a lot of notes.
~TUESDAY~
Apparently we were allowed to sleep later on Tuesday, but from what I could tell, we woke up about the same time as everyone else. I guess everyone woke up later, but I didn't really notice much of a difference. The usual morning stuff, shower, breakfast, make lunch, etc. Then we left for the Downtown Cluster, a geriatric daycare center. But right now, you're just saying "what?" A geriatric daycare center is a daycare center for the elderly. Basically, it gives them something to do and a place to go as opposed to going to a nursing home or wasting away at home. A Chinese church hosts the center, and it is held in a building just behind it. At the center, they provide services, recreation, therapy, a meal, etc. for those who attend. When we got there, they showed us in and asked each of us to fill out a form. It seemed that the forms were meant for those volunteering for extended periods of time, so many of the blanks didn't really apply to us. Also, a few people talked to us about the clinic while we were waiting. After we filled out the forms, they split us up and sent Megan, Brian, Parker and me to one room, and Lee, Harrison, Drew and Eric to a room with elderly that had Altzheimer's. From what I hear, they played Bingo, and really enjoyed the experience. In our room, we first introduced everyone. Our group told them our names and where we are from, and they did the same. Another Eric, who helps out at the center regularly, stayed with us most of the time. He really seemed like the right type of guy to help out there. After everyone was introduced, we asked the people there trivia questions. They were pretty simple questions, and I think I might have been insulted if I was asked them, but they enjoyed it. One woman in particular was very animated and answered every question almost. On that day, they had a trip to go shopping, so around half the people left for that, but we stayed behind. After a while they went to lunch, and Eric and Harrison served them food. Once they were done, we went back to Star for lunch and a nap. Regular lunch, regular nap (avoiding sleep, of course), and then we left for the Fishing School. When we got there, we basically went straight to work building a basketball goal for the kids there. We had almost no tools though, so it was quite difficult. We used my leatherman and a few tools that were there to do as much as we could, but didn't get very far considering. Lee and Brian were doing most of the work, I helped where I could, and although a few kids hung out around us, everyone else in our group hung out with the other kids. Lee and Brian apparently found the process very annoying, and I must say the kids that were around us were much more of an annoyance than a help. I nonetheless enjoy building anything, so it didn't bother me so much. I found out later that, while we were working, a kid rode by on a bike and told Alex "I'm gonna beat you up, white boy." He just kept riding, though. After that, Eric ran into the same guy. He had another kid on his shoulders at the time, and as soon as he saw the other kid he asked to get down, because he knew the other kid would disapprove. The kid said "this white boy babysitting you?" Eric asked the kid if he was trying to be rude, so he was, from what I hear, nice to Eric after that. When we ran out of time and were not done with the basketball goal, we pushed it up against the school, and left with everyone else for dinner at Union Station. We went to the food court which, mind you, is very different from the food courts we usually think of. There was Chinese, Mediterranean, all sorts of food. I had Chinese, a Bourbon Chicken plate. Heh - we were given $6 for dinner, but I believe everyone in the group went over that. Lee let me try a bit of his Baklava as well. Harrison didn't like it, but it was delicious to me. Tasted like a mix of apple and pecan pie, with honey added. At the table, we talked about Nathaniel [Wheezy] a bit. He couldn't come on this trip, but he had been on other mission trips before. We told them about how he acted back when his ADHD was really strong. By the time we finished with that, Megan just said "No offense to Nathaniel, but I think I'm glad he didn't come on this trip." We then went through his redeeming qualities, but I think the first few comments left a permanent bad impression. After that, we drove to the Lincoln Memorial for debriefing. We walked through the Vietnam War memorial together, and then split up for a bit. Harrison, Parker and I went into the Lincoln Memorial and came back. Parker sat and looked at the reflecting pool for a little while, and Harrison and I went to sit down with Drew and Alex. When the time was up, we went to sit down on the grass nearby and had debriefing. When we had prayed, we walked to the World War II memorial, an assortment of pillars in a sort of circle around a fountain. The pillars were each for states in the US or territories of the US involved in the war, organized by Atlantic and Pacific sides. We found the North Carolina pillar and took a picture there. As we were walking out, we saw something Lee and I found funny. There was an old lady holding a green lightsaber high in the air to direct a group. Lee took a picture without her knowing, and we walked on. As we walked to the bus, we talked about the NYC trip earlier this year and so many other interesting topics. I also asked Alex about the Yana's shirt he had been wearing for the day, and he told me that he used to have a beach house that was very close to the restaurant. We then drove back to Star, talked a bit, I wrote notes of the day in my journal, and went to bed.
~WEDNESDAY~
Usual morning routine, shower, breakfast, brush teeth, although we didn't make lunch because we were going to have lunch at the first work site. Once we finished at Star, we left for the DCCK, DC Central Kitchen. When we got there, they first told us a brief history of the kitchen and then put us to work. This was one of the two days we were required to wear long pants, so it was extremely hot. We were asked to bring short pants to change before going to Fishing School, but I forgot to. Also, we were told to take breaks often in the kitchen, but I took just one. We all put on gloves, aprons, and hairnets and were put to work. I was asked to cut cucumbers, tomatoes, and celery for the salads. I was the only one from our group doing so; Megan cut lettuce for the salads in another area and everyone else was doing other jobs in another part of the room. I was working with Beverly, an intern at the kitchen (they have a program to train chefs), three girls and one guy that I did not know. The girl to my right was from Hungary, and we talked a little bit. The woman to my left was Beverly, the person across and to the left was the other guy, and in front of me and to my left were two other girls I did not know. I met one of them later, she was from Charlotte, NC, and talked a bit. Luckily for me, none of the people around me had any idea what they were doing either, and I pick up skills reasonably quickly, so I didn't have to make a fool of myself. That is, if I did, everyone else quickly changed what they were doing too. Dorothy was in charge of the area, and often corrected what we were doing (a little more obviously than Beverly would), and once just took over and finished one post's work in a few minutes. Beverly said she was just trying to show off. If Beverly wanted to show you how to do something, she would, without a word, beckon for the knife, show you how it should be done, and give it back to you. That was the best advice I have ever been given, and I intend to follow that example. Once we were finished cutting the vegetables, we moved away all the boards and bins and began to make the salads. We made an assembly line; lettuce, then vegetables, then croutons (me... we ran out about halfway through though), then Megan put saran wrap over the container, then the girl from Charlotte put on the lid, then the girl from Hungary wrote "SALAD" on the lid. We made as many containers as possible and Megan and I ended up being the last from our group out of the kitchen. We waited in the lunch room (had a fan, also where we took breaks) to be served lunch. We were showed to a buffet line, where they had duck, something that tasted like chili, a sort of chicken pastry, a pasta with tomato sauce, chicken and vegetable soup, and then various desserts. I had a little of everything, and it was all good. After that lunch, we went back to the van, but had a bit of difficulty getting out. There happened to be a truck that parked in front of us while we were inside (the parking lot was VERY crowded). Brian found the truck owner, a Vietnam veteran who had lost both his legs but got back on his feet and began working at DCCK. Brian said he was a nice guy, and he moved the truck and let us out. From there we went to the Smithsonan Air and Space Museum. Everyone knows how much I love that sort of thing, so I loved going there again (I had been there once before, around eight or so years ago). I walked around with Harrison and Parker for a little while, but they weren't interested in anything, so after that I walked around with Brian. I told him basically what everything I knew was, and he seemed interested enough. I was glad to have someone with whom I could talk about such topics. Brian is most definitely a smart guy, even if he is anti-Bush. Lee and Eric tried to go back to Star and get some stuff for the basketball goal, but they couldn't find the van soon enough. They ended up just coming back and picking us up. From there we went to actually buy a basketball for the kids and Lee bought me swimming trunks so I could wear something a bit cooler. We finished up the basketball goal when we got to the Fishing School, found a way to turn on the hose to fill it up (no handle) and put it up. They played for a while, but you know me by now, I don't play much sports. I switched between watching and hanging out inside instead. Before we left, we went inside and watched the kids do Inspiration, which we missed the first couple days. At Inspiration, the kids said the mission statement of the school (which was very long, mind you) and one kid read off the Bible quote and person of the month. After that, we said goodbye, and they cheered and clapped for us since the next day would be our last together. It was nice to have a little thanks. Mr. Thomas is the leader of the program, a very nice guy. Brian got to talk to him a little; apparently he was a chef for 20 years, the seventh best chef in DC as a matter of fact, and he had the Washington Post to prove it. He started the Fishing School for a week, it turned into two weeks, and then however long it had been in existence. He is thinking of going back to work as a chef; he made great food for the center while we were there, at least it smelled good enough! From the Fishing School we went to Astor, a Mediterranean restaurant. I had a gyro, and enjoyed it fully. Alex got a pizza not knowing how large it would be, and ended up eating only half of it. We helped him eat the rest, that was very good pizza. After we finished, we walked down to Starbuck's for a coffee. I should have taken the chance to try one, but I'll wait for a week that I haven't already been trying so many new foods. I saw a couple interesting things in Starbuck's. First, there was a student typing his paper, not on a laptop, but a wireless system that included a tiny mouse, keyboard, and almost a Gameboy sized screen. That was very interesting. Also, I noticed the new Dave Matthews CD was for sale there, one that I already had and have thoroughly enjoyed. From there we drove back to the National Cathedral for a tour, but it was Wednesday and the Cathedral was closed on Wednesdays. We had hoped to have debriefing inside, but had it in the Bishop's garden instead, which was unbelievably beautiful, especially considering the backdrop of the gigantic Cathedral. I was able to center myself there more than I had in a long time. The National Cathedral is the second largest building in DC, second to the Washington Monument alone, to give you an idea of the size. I wasn't even able to comment at debriefing, I really just wanted to think. I did get a lot out of other people's comments, though. When we finished debriefing we prayed and went back to the van. When we got back to Star, we went ahead and took showers and made lunches since we knew Thusday would be a busy day, with three sites. I took the opportunity and listened in on the Atlanta group's worship, which was in the food room when I was making lunch. Their music was awesome, and I only wish I had been given more time to spend listening. Harrison sang along a bit. When I went back downstairs, I called my parents to check up again and tell them again that I was alive. When I hung up, I noticed that I had a voicemail. It was Dad, telling me to call home that night. I couldn't believe that, even in DC, Dad managed to tell me to do something before I did it, and I didn't even realize it until after I had done it. I then went to bed, knowing how much was to be done the next day.
~THURSDAY~
Thursday we woke up early, around six, since we were going to three sites. The usual morning stuff, bla bla, although we didn't make lunch or have breakfast. Then we left for the 3rd street prayer breakfast, the first site of the day. It is a program that provides a meal and a church service for homeless people. We were told to split up when we got there and spread around the room, talk to the people, get to know them. We had varying levels of success doing so. Brian tried to talk to the only person near him, but he answered any question with a very simple answer. Megan seemed to have found someone easy to talk to, and I believe a few other people were able to talk as well. There were a couple people at my table, but they were talking to each other for the most part. We introduced ourselves, but they were having a conversation, so it didn't go very far past that. After a time, someone asked me if I could cook eggs. I said yes, and so I was ushered to the kitchen. As I was following the person that asked, another man asked him if I could cook eggs, and then he asked me. I said yes, and he looked me deep in the eyes, a penetrating stare, and said, "Don't burn those eggs. Don't even brown them." I just told him I have cooked eggs before and I wouldn't. After that his expression changed to a more appreciative look, and I went on into the sweltering hot kitchen. Eric and I both cooked one batch of scrambled eggs, and after that Harrison took over for Eric. Harrison and I both cooked two more batches, with no problems. As I said before, it was very hot in there, so after that we went back into the other room to cool off for a bit and listen to the preacher. The sermon was kind of themed for homeless people, as you could imagine, and, not to be prejudiced, but toned in a black manner. I think we could agree that hearing a black man preach is different than a white man, and although I cannot say that one is better than the other, I simply appreciate the latter more. So, I was not very caught by the sermon, although I believe the preacher did do a good job. After a little while, they asked me back into the kitchen. For the record, Eric, Harrison and I were really the only ones that worked in the kitchen. Harrison and I were asked to serve the food this time, to make the plates. We first made our meals, and then went to work making the standard ones. Each one had grits, eggs, meat, and bread. One of the staff helped out several times, because he didn't think Harrison and I were making them fast enough. I was infinitely more thankful than insulted by his help. After we served everyone there, Harrison and I got our breakfasts and went to eat with the rest of the people there. We talked to a couple other people then as well. Once everyone had finished their meal, we swept and mopped the floor. They wouldn't let Megan mop the floor because she is a girl, though, which to me seems a bit ironic, since in our society that is a job we usually push onto women. After we finished that, James, a Vietnam vet and the leader of the program, prayed with our group. His prayer was very long, but once he said "Amen," we said our goodbyes, and left for the next site, the Downtown Cluster. We had visited the cluster once before on Tuesday, but were going to switch rooms this time. We got there a bit early, so we tried to visit the Convention Center, but it is closed to the public (it is a public building - makes no sense). We then went across the street to the City Museum, but it was closed at the time. We had used up our extra time by then though, so we went on to the cluster. For a while, we hung out with all the people at the center in one room, but when they split up, we did as well. This time we went with the Altzheimer's patients to the "A Room." Of course, most of them had no idea what the "A Room" was, having forgotten. A couple therapists were there to help, but I must question their skill, at times they seemed like more of an annoyance than a help. But what do I know anyway. After a few general questions like "what is today," "what are the days of the week," "who is our president," etc., art therapy began. Of course, only a small number of the clients knew the answers to those questions. For art therapy, each client was given a sheet of paper with a tree and road printed in black and white, and they were asked to color. There were varying levels of skill, from the use of perspective to seemingly random dots and lines. I was at the bottom of that line, and complimented Odessa's green shapes. I believe that may have been the first time I had ever appreciated modern art. That is, I think what Odessa drew could qualify, and I thought it was awesome. She is from Mississippi, just as Lee is, from Jackson. That was one thing in particular that she remembered. After she finished drawing, she just talked to me, but I could not understand a word of what she was saying, so I laughed when she did, said "yeah" or "mhm" when she paused, and gave her my full attention. After we finished up in the "A Room," we took them to the lunch room, where Eric and Harrison served everyone their lunch. We waited for a while outside as they finished up, and then we left for Star. We had lunch there and hung out there for a while and talked. Brian called his wife, Ellen, while we were having lunch, and at one point he turned on the speakerphone without telling her. She had asked if he had been tired or aching, so he turned it on and said yes, a bit. He had told us of the lecture he got the first time he told her that, so we expected another, but it never came. I think she suspected something. Brian started to push the limit a bit, and as she figured it out, he turned off the speakerphone and admitted to it. After lunch, Harrison and I brought in packs of water bottles, which were quite heavy if I may say so. Everyone took a good nap after that (I tried not to sleep, but kind of failed), and then we left for the Fishing School. When we got there, I kind of just walked in and out, not doing anything in particular. After a while, I played basketball with the other guys. Teams were Lee, Harrison, Mike, Kevin, me, and after a while Eric and a girl vs. Parker, Drew, Brian, Andrew, and two other guys at the school. I think when I started playing, no one really expected much from me, so I had to make an impression. The first two shots I took, no one really tried to stop me, so I made them. After that, I was well covered. I mostly played defense, only shooting once more for the rest of the game. I missed that one, but I think I covered the other team pretty well. After I started to get hot, I went inside for a break. The girls inside asked if I wanted to play 7-up, so I did that a few times. It seems the game kind of fell apart when I left, because, one by one, other people started coming inside. Throughout the time I was there, one kid in particular, a different Kevin, repeatedly asked for Altoids. I had bought them on the way up for something to put in my mouth, but they turned into a souvenir of sorts over the course of the trip. Many people had one, and so the memories are spread across all the events of the trip. After a little while inside, they had Inspiration, and after that, we said our final goodbyes and left. We went to a Thai restaurant, Jandara, for dinner, which wasn't exactly the best food of the week, but it was ok. The coke was extra (we had to pay for it ourselves), but we had all had so much water that you can bet it was worth it. We went back to the National Cathedral after dinner, but since it was so close to closing time, we were only able to take a very brief tour. The guard let us stay until about five minutes after closing time though, so we did get to look around a bit. We then went to the Bishop's garden once again for debriefing, this time inside a gazebo. We stopped by a seven-eleven on the way home and got slushies and chips. I mentioned Black Cherry Coke there, but everyone just thought the difference was only psychological. We came back to Star after that. I bought a T-shirt, and talked to Megan about the shirt I was wearing at the time. It was the "2" shirt. Yep, the Halo 2 shirt. Another leader said that Megan hates Halo 2 because boys play that as opposed to spending time with her, but Megan denied it. I had mentioned it to Eric earlier at the Fishing School as well. I talked with Josh from the Atlanta group and went downstairs after that. I wrote thank you letters to Megan and Eric and went to bed.
~FRIDAY~
We woke up before the other groups on Friday. We had breakfast, made lunch, packed our bags since we were leaving that day, etc. The DC Food Bank was our only stop on Friday. We didn't get to go through orientation there, but split up and went straight to work. Harrison, Drew, and Alex went to move boxes, and everyone else along with the Gastonia group went to make bags of food for the elderly. We formed an assemply line - two bags inside one another, and put in two cans of vegetables, two cans of soup, two food tags (rice, jello, etc.), one bottle of powerade, four snack bars, and two bags of cheez-its. Lee, Brian, Parker and I switched off between supplying and working the assembly line. Supplying the line meant filling boxes of vegetable cans, soup cans, and food tags (each separately), and moving them to the line. That may have been the most strenuous job of the week. Lee and I had our fun with the soup cans. He started it though, lol. He brought up a box of soup, and they were all Progresso. When I went to the bin, I filled my box with all Campbell's. After that I started working on a box that had no Campbell's or Progresso, but they called for a break before I finished and someone else took over and RUINED IT! Anyway, we also emptied boxes of snack bars and cheez-its. Working the line meant either taking out two plastic bags and opening them or putting in the soup and vegetables (the first two steps). We made 393 bags, not bad for just a few hours of work. We got pretty dirty though, and I had been wearing my new shirt. I found out later that, since I had been wearing a lotion on my face that bleaches clothing (didn't know that before), when I wiped off my face on my shirt, it bleached it. It's still wearable, but the permanent stains are quite visible. That was the second time we were required to wear long pants, also. We came back to Star for the last time when we finished up. We had lunch, watched the Atlanta group play their version of Scrabble, packed (I finished in the morning), and waited for Harrison's mom. Harrison was going to be picked up at the church since he has family in DC, and was going to stay a few days more in DC. We said goodbye, I gave Megan and Eric the thank you letters, said hey to Mrs. Mitchell, and left for Rocky Mount.
Apologies for the delay in finishing this post, but if you just look at the size, I hope you can understand.
posted by Doug at 8:37 PM
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