Miss Thang

Dear Friends, I am in desperate need of prayer. Miss Mandie needs herself an attitude adjustment. I could offer tons of excuses as to why my sass meter is reading off the charts, but truth be told excuses are what I don't need right now. Pray that I would regain focus and have the attitude of a servant- since that's what I'm here to do.

Okay, now that I've gotten that off of my chest, here's what's been going on this week: Tuesday was kind of a hands off day for me. We went to St Vincent's Day Home and I took the morning off. I hung out in the break room and had some much needed Mandie-time. I checked in with the students (or rather, they checked in with me during their breaks) and we chatted about how things were going. The one thing that was in common with their stories was how easily and quickly these children form attachments. All it takes is for them to know that you are interested in them, and immediately you've made a lifelong friend. No questions asked, no judgments, just a need for acceptance. Maybe this is one of the things that Jesus meant when he said that we have to become like children. I've heard tons of interpretations of what that might mean, and all of them are very good and give me something to think about, so consider this just another one.

Tuesday afternoon we did a Project Open Hand food delivery route which I do enjoy in its own way. It's hands on and hands off for me at the same time. In my opinion this is one of the most eye-opening experiences that students have when they come. Almost everyone has at least seen someone who is homeless. On a street corner, on the side of the road; but very few of them have seen the living conditions that many people are forced to live in because it is their only option. These "SRO" hotel rooms are affordable- to some extent, but are practically unlivable. There are a couple of things that are mentioned during the prayer tour that really kind of shake me up when I think about them. Most of the SROs are in the Tenderloin area- including the ones that we deliver meals to for POH. "There are no single family homes in the Tenderloin; there are however 263 active liquor licenses". "The Tenderloin is home to about 30,000 people, including 3500 children". Yet they are forced to live in these SROs or one room apartments- so where do they play? They have no common area or living room, except for the lobby area in the hotel. Would you want to invite friends over to play there? Most of the parks in the TL are unsafe as well- some are even overrun by drug dealers. There is one in particular- "Boedekker Park" that is across the street from a Christian school, and catty-corner from a police station, but it too has become a haven for drug dealers. So where to kids play? On the streets- and yet this is the same place that other people, unsafe people, gangs, etc... are hanging out. It's just like I said, very eye-opening.

Wednesday we went to Med-Share in the morning and opened gloves again, continuing on from last week's group project. It's tedious, yet fun because we're doing it as a team, rocking out to 90's music, and having conversations getting to know each other better. It's a great team-building opportunity and it's even better because no one complained, everyone just worked together and got done what we could. We still didn't finish the project because it's a long process with pallets and pallets of gloves, but we made a dent and did our part, so in that respect it was rewarding.

In the afternoon, we went to Bay Area Rescue Mission and hung out with kids in their after school program "King's Club". My buddy Elisha was there and as soon as he realized I had arrived, he grabbed me by the hand and said, "you need to come help me with my homework". It was really cool to see what kind of a relationship has built up over the past few weeks. I've been there once a week for the past 4 weeks, always a different day, and yet as soon as he knows I'm there it's like no time has passed at all. It's great, and I love it.

Today we went and served meals at the St Vincent de Paul Dining Room. Today I was in the book area where we allow clients to come and pick up magazines or books to take with them. They are all donated and many of them were missing covers; this made it hard to help people who were looking for a specific kind of book (like cowboy books, or westerns), but all of the people who stopped by were very kind to me. One gentleman asked me if I was God's wife- to which I really didn't know how to respond. He said something about how I looked standing behind the counter like I was God's wife and no one could touch me while I was back there. Another woman told me how beautiful I was and that I had the eyes of an angel. They were both sweet and sounded sincere, and it was a gentle reminder that we all need encouragement- even in small ways.

In the afternoon the students did Meet a Need and passed out socks, deodorant, other hygiene items as well as had a little money to meet other needs they came across. One group even used a little of their own money to help buy shoes for a couple of people and meals for four people. It was encouraging to hear them tell me what they did with the money that was given to them- when they did I acted very shocked and asked them how they did all of that with $10.00. He looked at me and said that it was a little more than $10.00 but that he used some of his own money, and then proceeded to defend himself saying that I never said he couldn't use his own money for that. Which is kind of true, but it was mostly encouraging to hear a college student be so willing to open his wallet and provide for people in need.

It really has been a good week, and for the most part, I really do enjoy this group. Sometimes I have to be reminded that they are college students, and at times they really do play with those lines. But overall, they are here in the Bay Area to serve, and when asked to do something they practically run at the chance to do so. I just need to keep praying that God will continue to keep me focused on the positive things instead of me enhancing the frustrating moments.