Hay friends, I just wanted to write again and update you on yet another week here in D.C. Last week was not necessarily as good as weeks past, so please forgive me for the bitter undertone that may or may not appear in the following:)
Sunday: I started out the day at Capitol Hill Baptist Church w/ Kristyn, Arthur, and Greg (the aforementioned VP of CSM). It was a great service, very similar to Spring Place, and our message was the first in a 4 part on Job. It was phenomenal! Afterwards we went to Bread and Chocolate for lunch and it was amazing not only because of the food, but also because it was free!:) We had a staff meeting at 2:30 and I was especially excited because my group was coming from Atlanta--the Atlanta Chinese Christian Church. I also hosted with Cassie, which was better than great. I love her! Our group was late because they hit traffic, so while we were waiting Cassie and I met with Greg. We talked to him about the possibility of starting CSM Atlanta, because Cassie is going to Emory in the fall, so he got our emails in case that ever happens. He also remembered Alan Ridley, Bryan's dad who took us on our CSM trip to Philly in 2004. I thought that was pretty cool. I read a lot after that, and our group arrived around 8. 10 high schoolers and 2 leaders plus Cassie and I went to Old City to eat, and then to Northwest Community Church, our alternate/overflow housing site. That's surely the worst part of my week. At Northwest we slept on airbeds and in a room with a half door, which was directly connected to the girls' room. Fortunately the bathrooms are one-seaters so that's all private, plus we have central heating and air there.
Monday: We started the day off at Matha's Table, a soup kitchen of sorts, where we sorted groceries and made sack lunches. It was pretty good, and while I was there I got mail--a card from my Aunt Sue:) That definitely made my day and reading it was also a nice break from the kitchen. We had lunch at Anacostia Park and our students played with some of the kids who were hanging out at the park. After lunch we headed over to Children of Mine, an after school program, and helped the owner Ms. Hannah Hawkins, clean the center, cook for the kids, and help them on school practice work. We had supper at Ben's Chili Bowl and I had my first ever veggie burger and liked it so much that I think I could be a vegetarian. Afterwards we did the prayer tour, since we couldn't the night before, and I think it was quite a success. It ended with a cold rain shower at the National Cathedral and after dropping students off at NWCC, Cassie and I went to Star for food. We went to bed fairly early, but were unfortunately kept awake by screaming students and the air mattresses made it even worse. I might've slept 2 hours.
Tuesday: I feel terrible, like I've never been so tired in all my life. Sleeping was rough and the noise issues made it even worse. We went to Vision DC with Ms. Azi, and organized vests and boxes. Luckily Jason picked me up for our meeting and I got coffee to revitalize me a bit...not very successful. We had lunch at the Basilica where Cassie and I had some awesome conversation about our families and our futures and such. She may be the most encouraging person I have ever met and I consider myself endlessly blessed to have met her. We then went back to Children of Mine and had dinner at Tropicana Jamaican. We debriefed at a park, and attempted (unsuccessfully) to get in bed early.
Wednesday: No rest for the weary, more noise and a bad mattress made for another sleepless night. We went to Food and Friends and I did a ton of deliveries, I'd say twice as many as usual, and when we got back we marinated fish in the kitchen until time to go. We headed back to Northwest for lunch because the group wanted a free afternoon (thank you Lord!) Cassie and I took naps, then we had dinner at the Tasty Diner w/ Kristyn and Arthur since their group had urban plunge. Cassie and I went to Borders afterward to get the 2nd book in the series I'm reading. I feel bad because I'm extremely irritable due to lack of sleep and I think I'm nearly impossible to be around. I'm trying to be positive thought and Christ-like, but its really hard. We got back to Star and started some laundry and our new books. Mine took a sad turn and left me in tears though, so I had to stop for a bit. My dad called then and it turns out he's coming to visit me on the 5th-next weekend!! I'm pretty excited, because I'm a tad homesick (more for Star than my actual home in GA) but it'll be good to see him. We went back to Northwest with our group around 9 and read til 11 or so. I talked to my parents and Drew and attempted to sleep for the night.
Thursday: Capitol Area Food Bank=gross and I'm still exhausted from little sleep. We sorted through cages of "pantry goods"--cake mix, olive oil, popcorn, bacon bits, etc. and put them into boxes for people to pick up or deliver. most of the stuff was covered in rodent poop, but fortunately we didn't run into the actual rodents. We did do a lot of gagging though. For lunch we went to the FDR Memorial and I enjoyed the best rest of my week under a tree by the Potomac River. It was phenomenal!! After lunch we went back to Children of Mine to play with kids, tutor them and prepare dinner. We had dinner at Mid-Atlantic Seafood where I had black-eyed peas (a new favorite), mac and cheese and potato salad with a Dr. Pepper (yay for that!) We're debriefing at Rock Creek Park and hoping, again, for an early night. Also, Cassie just informed me that I'm going to learn to ride a bike on Saturday, too...scary.
Friday: Morning at Food and Friends again where we packed bags, sorted old food, and colored cards and happy birthday bags. We left early and headed to the monuments for lunch. Cassie and I read for 2 hours under another tree at the FDR while the group looked around and such. We were back at Children of Mine playing with kids and planning tonight's final debrief. We're heading to Taste of India for supper then hopefully debriefing at the Lincoln/WWI. We'll be back at the church to do t-shirts and evaluations, and then hopefully have an early night. They're supposed to leave at 8am, which really means 8:30 to them.
Saturday: The group left at 8:45ish and by 9 we were back at home--yay! I finished my book and everybody minus William had breakfast at Tasty Diner (its turning into a tradition) and then Cassie, Arthur, and I went to Borders and American Apparel. We hung out at Star for awhile after that and watched Across the Universe (the Beatles musical), then went to Giant, Target, and Barnes and Noble to get dinner and the last book in the series I'm reading (at least til August, when the newest one comes back). That night we cooked spaghetti and had a dance party, then Cassie, Kristyn, and I spent some time on the roof talking, which was great. I've missed some good girl talk! We headed to bed around 1!
That's it for this week. I'll be working on the next asap, and I'm sorry that it goes back and forth between past and present tense, I've been keeping a journal and I'm just copying it on here. I miss you guys, and would love to hear from you!!
XOXO,
Hannah
Wednesday: No rest for the weary, more noise and a bad mattress made for another sleepless night. We went to Food and Friends and I did a ton of deliveries, I'd say twice as many as usual, and when we got back we marinated fish in the kitchen until time to go. We headed back to Northwest for lunch because the group wanted a free afternoon (thank you Lord!) Cassie and I took naps, then we had dinner at the Tasty Diner w/ Kristyn and Arthur since their group had urban plunge. Cassie and I went to Borders afterward to get the 2nd book in the series I'm reading. I feel bad because I'm extremely irritable due to lack of sleep and I think I'm nearly impossible to be around. I'm trying to be positive thought and Christ-like, but its really hard. We got back to Star and started some laundry and our new books. Mine took a sad turn and left me in tears though, so I had to stop for a bit. My dad called then and it turns out he's coming to visit me on the 5th-next weekend!! I'm pretty excited, because I'm a tad homesick (more for Star than my actual home in GA) but it'll be good to see him. We went back to Northwest with our group around 9 and read til 11 or so. I talked to my parents and Drew and attempted to sleep for the night.
Thursday: Capitol Area Food Bank=gross and I'm still exhausted from little sleep. We sorted through cages of "pantry goods"--cake mix, olive oil, popcorn, bacon bits, etc. and put them into boxes for people to pick up or deliver. most of the stuff was covered in rodent poop, but fortunately we didn't run into the actual rodents. We did do a lot of gagging though. For lunch we went to the FDR Memorial and I enjoyed the best rest of my week under a tree by the Potomac River. It was phenomenal!! After lunch we went back to Children of Mine to play with kids, tutor them and prepare dinner. We had dinner at Mid-Atlantic Seafood where I had black-eyed peas (a new favorite), mac and cheese and potato salad with a Dr. Pepper (yay for that!) We're debriefing at Rock Creek Park and hoping, again, for an early night. Also, Cassie just informed me that I'm going to learn to ride a bike on Saturday, too...scary.
Friday: Morning at Food and Friends again where we packed bags, sorted old food, and colored cards and happy birthday bags. We left early and headed to the monuments for lunch. Cassie and I read for 2 hours under another tree at the FDR while the group looked around and such. We were back at Children of Mine playing with kids and planning tonight's final debrief. We're heading to Taste of India for supper then hopefully debriefing at the Lincoln/WWI. We'll be back at the church to do t-shirts and evaluations, and then hopefully have an early night. They're supposed to leave at 8am, which really means 8:30 to them.
Saturday: The group left at 8:45ish and by 9 we were back at home--yay! I finished my book and everybody minus William had breakfast at Tasty Diner (its turning into a tradition) and then Cassie, Arthur, and I went to Borders and American Apparel. We hung out at Star for awhile after that and watched Across the Universe (the Beatles musical), then went to Giant, Target, and Barnes and Noble to get dinner and the last book in the series I'm reading (at least til August, when the newest one comes back). That night we cooked spaghetti and had a dance party, then Cassie, Kristyn, and I spent some time on the roof talking, which was great. I've missed some good girl talk! We headed to bed around 1!
That's it for this week. I'll be working on the next asap, and I'm sorry that it goes back and forth between past and present tense, I've been keeping a journal and I'm just copying it on here. I miss you guys, and would love to hear from you!!
XOXO,
Hannah
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