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I stand in awe of a God who works miracles in the lives of teens. Sometimes I plan things and they go alright. Sometimes I plan things and the miracles happen in abundance and lives are changed forever. Listen, look and soak in what happened this weekend for our students in the JYM on our weekend trip to San Francisco.
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What did we do for 48 hours in the city? We didn't sleep much that's for sure!
Worked 3, 2 hour shifts at Glide Memorial Feeding 800 people breakfast two days in a row, doing all meal prep, sitting and listening to those who needed listeners, prepped turkeys, made hundreds of bagged lunches to hand out, mopped, cleaned and did whatever was needed.
Made 200 holiday placemats for Meals on Wheels
Served an all you can eat buffet dinner at City Team Ministries to hundreds alongside the men in the recovery house.
Washed, massaged with lotion, powdered and anti-fungal sprayed the feet of homeless people and gave them clean socks.
Went on a prayer walk to Single Room Occupancy"hotels" where people live in horrific conditions, in isolation with no personal bathrooms of showers in 6x8 rooms.
Helped clients "shop" for clothing and shoes in the City Team Donation Clothing Closet
Passed out 100 nutritious lunches that our students purchased and prepped in the SRO "Henry Hotel" building and prayed with people as they answered their door.
Passed out 200 razors, toliet paper, socks and toothpastes to those living in the "Baldwin SRO/Hotel" and prayed with the people living in isolation.
Went to church for worship at GLIDE
Ate brunch at Delancey Street- a restaurant/non-profit run by recovery addicts and ex-cons who are learning job training.
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:31-40
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-
when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness[a] will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings." Isaiah 58:6-12
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You can serve too
Places we served/worked
Here is a link to help you understand what SRO's are and why we went there
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Written reflections from our youth after our trip
"I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me." So greatful to know my calling. This weekend was exactly what I needed." Natalie Benedict.
"Serving this weekend in San Francisco just confirmed what I want to do with the rest of my life! "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11"
Emily Barker
"It's crazy how people who have the least love the most."
Adrianna Castellanos
"God moved in my life: Today I had a conversation with: a murder, who lives on the sidewalk, a prisoner of domestic violence and a heroin addict. When I went door to door of these rooms today filled with pollution, I didn't run away from the appearance, smoke, and odors of these people living a caged life, like many teens would, but I provided them with food, socks, and toiletries. I listened and prayed for them with my fellow youth group members. The truth is, all they wanted was to live, to break free, and to "have a happy holiday." I thought I knew what poverty looked like, but I honestly didn't even fathom what was happening in a city so close to San Jose where I live my sheltered life. Poverty can teach you a lesson, all you have to do is: stop talking, and just listen."
Excepts from Tabytha Jensen's reflection
"This trip was exactly what I needed. This trip helped me realize how tough it is to make it in the world lately. this whole weekend changed everything I have ever thought about people living below the poverty level. Some of the smells of the trip made me want to vomit. I don't know if I could ever live like that. But I met some really great people that I normally wouldn't have even talked to. And I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort level! This trip the most meaningful thing i have ever done in my life." Excepts from Andi Lougee's reflection
"This San Francisco trip changed my thinking about poverty, about the homeless, and about my life that I take for granted. I was one of the feet washers, and one of our customers was an elderly woman with a vision problem. When I first saw her I was honestly a little scared; she was the kind of woman everyone avoids, with crossed eyes, and old clothes, and dirty hair. But when she sat down and I started talking to her, she must have been the nicest most kind-hearted woman I've ever met. She started to cry and when Emily and I prayed for her, her tears of regret and remorse turned into tears of happiness and eventually a smile. She had one of the biggest influences on me this weekend, and I realized that all these people have their own unique story to tell to someone who will listen and care. This weekend was an eye-opening experience, one I will never forget." Excepts from Ariana Barrett's reflections
"I saw Jesus in the woman we gave toiletries to today who said that her dad called her today and invited her to have Thanksgiving with him. I was amazed that toothpaste and toilet paper could make someone's day like that, not to mention the fact that she was so excited to have dinner with her family, something I am almost never excited for and often take for granted. It was also one of the moments that Lisa talked about Saturday night, where God keeps sending a message that He wants you to receive. Maybe for this woman the lesson was that she is not abandoned, that she is still loved despite her situation."
Excerpts from Sarah Chung's reflections
"I saw Jesus in every face I served, but I really saw him at Glide when I was signing Seniors in at the front desk. He was there in the man who limped to the counter and asked me how my day was. He was in the man that just wanted to sit down in the room, cold and wet from the rain. He was in every face I saw walk through that door. The SF trip changed the way I think about poverty and people. It was absolutely heartbreaking when I realized that by 8:30 I had signed 150 people in. 150 people that were reduced to bar codes and ID cards on a list in a binder. It's absolutely true what Lisa's been saying about having no identity when you're in poverty. I heard three women called "mama" simply because the staff didn't know their names and were too busy to ask, there were countless "Sirs" that were directed this wayand that. I watched people walk in trying to make eye contact with anybody asking for help, and I watched people get kicked out of the room to stand in the rain outside because it was too crowded. The most heart-wrenching thing was when one young man dripping wet walked inside with his head down and asked for a bed; he was turned down because they didn't have any available.
God moved in my life by showing me people that could smile at me from the other side of a counter and be patient as I tried to find their name in a binder so I could check it off and give them a meal ticket. He moved in my life when a man that I had checked in a few minutes ago asked the line to move when I was to quiet to. He moved in my life when I got a toothy smile from a guy that walked through the door to get a second meal. He spoke to me when I signed in a shivering war veteran as he stammered out where he was from. God absolutely moved me when he lead a couple seniors to walk up to the counter- after a group of impatient or angry people had signed in- and smile at me, and ask me how my day was. They were cold, limping, carrying backpacks with them, but they smiled and asked me what my name was anyway. That's how I saw God move.
Excerpts from Mikaela Manuel's reflection.
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