In case you don't know, the title is a line from a song called Marvelous Light by Charlie Hall. You should youtube or godtube it, because it's amazing:)So I have a lot of catching up to do, since I've not written on here since Saturday.
I'll start with Sunday. We went to church Sunday morning at 9 at National Community Church in the theatre at Union Station. It was a lot like Rockbridge Community in Dalton, so I enjoyed it. Everything was really upbeat in terms of music, and we sung old hymns, and the message was absolutely phenomenal! The church is in 4 different locations at different times, on Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday morning, and Sunday night. Afterwards we went to a coffee shop and got doughnuts before heading home. We got back around 11, and I was totally disoriented since church doesn't usually START until then back home. That afternoon, me, Katie, Cassie, and Sarah went and spent the day on the national mall next to the Washington Monument. We laid out on a blanket and mapped out directions/napped. I got sunburnt on my knees though, because of the way that I was laying, and that wasn't fun at all. Sunday night a group of 11 senior high students came in, and we had dinner with them, and watched a leaders meeting and orientation so that we could get an idea of what we are doing all summer. Sunday night we went to a Memorial Day concert at the Capitol which was incredible, and I saw some really awesome people like Rodney Atkins and Gladys Knight. I also felt especially patriotic when they played the songs for each of the military branches. I think its incredible that our country takes a day out of the year to remember those who served and died, and to uplift our veterans and those who are currently active. After the concert we went home and to bed, because after such a long day we were all exhausted.
Monday: Cassie's 22nd birthday!! We worked that morning at a place called Martha's Table, which is a soup kitchen that sends meals out each day, and prepares lunches at the kitchen on weekends and holidays. I worked in the kitchen and made 12 funfetti cakes!! Mrs. Baxter(the teacher I did my practicum under) would be so proud!! After that I helped box up the lunches for the people outside waiting on them, which were comprised of chicken breasts(they looked awesome), rice, rolls, and greens. A good lunch, I think. When the lunches were finished the guy in charge of the kitchen asked me specifically to wash dishes. So the whole group was held up while I finished, I was glad to be able to help though, even though the water only had two temperatures: scalding and freezing. Also the kitchen was the hottest place I've ever been. Still, awesome. And I look GREAT in a hairnet;)
After Martha's Table, we did an activity called Urban Plunge. What happens during that is the group is split up (in our case we were split into two groups of four) and given a sheet w/ directions downtown and $35. With this you have to feed yourselves and a homeless person, buy socks for a homeless person in need, find housing for the night, find healthcare, and find a place to shower/potty. We met a man named Ricardo, who had been homeless for years, and had interesting stories. He said he always tried to take care of himself and wore $100 slacks and Timberlands, which he once had 2 pairs of but gave them to someone else in a similar situation who was in need of shoes. I thought that was touching, especially since he has almost nothing. We got him the dinner that he wanted--a chicken salad sandwich from Starbucks--and talked to him for awhile about some interesting topics, specifically his relations with ladies in the city, information he volunteered for sure. We left him a bit later and went in search of housing and food for ourselves, since we couldn't afford to feed everyone at Starbucks. By this point, due to spending $5.40 on the bus, we were down to about $22 or so, and still in need of housing, clothes, medical care, and socks. We searched around until we found a thrift store which was closed, and then a soup kitchen where we would be able to find food, clothes, and a bathroom the next morning. We weren't within walking distance to a shelter, but we did get the addresses of some, and we found some comfortable places on the street where we could sleep. Our favorite was in some grass near the Episcopal church, where there was a slight incline that would've been comfortable. We then found our dinner by splitting 2 $5 footlongs at Subway, and getting water there. Down to $12 we had to hurry to get back to the bus within 3 hours of when we rode it the first time, so that we could ride for free. We also had to buy socks, which were $7 at CVS. We thought it was ridiculous, but were able to bless a man by giving them to him. We returned home exhausted, and holding around $5 give or take a few cents which we gave to a few other homeless people who gave us a bit of information. That night Melissa and I led the bible study/debriefing and I must say we did a pretty good job talking about the events of everyone's days and relating them to different biblical principles. We mainly played off of the ways in which each of us have different strengths and weaknesses, and how each of those can be used to glorify God, and NONE of us is any less valuable to the Kingdom than the other.
After that we went for a real dinner at a place called Chipotle, which is a lot like Moe's or Barberitos. We came home when we finished, and we all took the 5 Love Languages quiz, as well as Spiritual Gifts. My love language is quality time, as is everyone else's who lives here, then physical touch. I think its funny that we're all quality time, which should make it easier for us to love each other this summer. My highest spiritual gifts were mercy, teaching/pastoring, and serving/ministering. Makes me reconsider my future goals for sure.
This morning we went to a place called Food and Friends, which is a meal delivery kitchen that delivers meals to the terminally ill according to their dietary needs. While everyone else stayed in the kitchen packaging and preparing food, Melissa and I went out with Jason (the boss) to deliver the meals. It was awesome to be able to see the people whose lives are being touched and affected by this service. It was also difficult to see since most of them are HIV/AIDS patients. After finishing the delivery we went back to Food and Friends and helped organize some milk cartons and things with a group of middle school students! I was happy to interact with some kids finally, and they all called me Hannah Montana and sang some of her songs with me. One of them also told me that he was a ladies man:) I must admit that I've missed my middle schoolers!!
After Food and Friends we came back to Star for lunch, and then went to drive around the city to learn directions more. It was a long day, but we had to be back at 5 to go out for dinner for Cassie's birthday. We went to a chicken place (I can't remember the name of it) in Silver Spring, which was pretty great as well. I think I am eating way too much, and I'm horrified I won't fit into my Georgette uniform already! We came back after dinner for bible study, and the two leaders proposed a foot washing for Thursday night which makes me nauceous. I've never done it, and I really hate feet. Please pray for me that I'll keep an open mind, and see this as I'm doing it for Jesus and not only for my peers. Now we're all just hanging out until time for bed.
So thanks for reading all of this if you have, I know that it's incredibly long, but it's what I've been up to. I hope to hear from you all, and I miss you all a ton. Please pray for me, my friends, and the people we will be serving in DC this summer. As always, it would be great to hear from you!!
XOXO,
Hannah
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