Friday-March 12th

Yesterday was another crazy yet awesome day. The group we led went to the San Fran Food Bank, and we took plastic bins with about 1450 pounds of oranges and boxed them up to send out to the over 400 non-profit organizations that the food bank works with. Their motto is "Feeding the programs that feed the people". What a cool motto. Though we didn't directly work with the faces that this ministry site provides for, it was great to know that we were a part of a bigger picture. And this place does their best not to waste anything. Any oranges that the skin had split or that they had maybe seen better days were sorted and put into their own container which was going to be shipped to a pig farmer. They also recycled the cardboard from boxes or other things that couldn't be used. Though this isn't necessarily a "Christian organization" they are doing the best they can to be good stewards of what they have been given.

From the food bank we did two other activities in the afternoon which included "Meet a Need" and visiting a site called Project Open Hand. The city hosts didn't actively participate in Meed a Need, because this is an opportunity for the students to directly interact with those people they come into contact with. The group was given $20.00 with the idea that they need to talk to people on the street who look like they are in need and "meet their need" with the money they are given. This isn't necessarily food, it could be a blanket, or umbrella, or a sweatshirt- anything that they need that you can do for them with the $20.00. One of the other city hosts and I sat in a coffee shop and just hung out during this time while the group made their way up and down the street finding as many people as they can to help. The group we hosted decided to split themselves and the resources in half to cover more ground, and to look a little less overwhelming to the people they might meet. Surprisingly enough it's a lot harder than you might think. One group had a terrible time trying to find someone to help. They encountered a few people- one of which took off before they could even ask him if he needed help, and another guy started yelling at them, using profanity telling them he didn't want their charity. While this may seem ridiculous and for the girls in this group it frustrated and angered them, you have to try to understand from his perspective that he's probably trying to hold onto any dignity he still has. Or maybe he really didn't have a need and was offended that they asked- who knows.

Project Open Hand is a ministry that delivers hot meals to the homes of people primarily suffering from HIV/AIDS. We had the opportunity as hosts during training to do one of the routes ourselves earlier in the week, so this time we were able to step back and allow the group we were hosting to do this while giving them good direction of what to do. There are some people who get special meals (for certain dietary needs) and other little nuances that go into making sure everything is done correctly; this time also included delivering two frozen meals to cover them for the weekend. This was also an eye opening experience for many of the students to see the living conditions many of these people live in. We don't go inside their living space, but when they open the door to receive their meals you are able to see in a little and it is just sad what they are forced to live in. Most of the places we deliver to are SRO (single room occupancy) hotels, or small one room apartments. Many of buildings look in bad shape and they have a distinct odor that is less than pleasant. It's heartbreaking to know that not only are these people living with an incurable disease but they are also forced to live in a space that isn't even fit for most animals, but it's all they can afford so they make due.

The day consisted of many contrasts between a food bank that has so much food and stuff, verses people who have nothing or almost nothing. We also had the experience of working directly with the people that ministries like Project Open Hand serves as well as working with a place that is a part of the bigger picture. To look at the sharp contrasts in the day was very eye opening and I believe made a lasting impact on the students (as well as myself, and the other city hosts).