Part Three of the SAY dispatches from Nashville, TN
SAY is in Nashville this week on our mission trip. We are practicing living simply so others can simply live. Yesterday our assignment was to create our own service project. Each group was given fifty dollars and an all day bus pass. We were divided into three groups where we had to plan our project and carry it out.
Our group decided to help the homeless people on the streets of Nashville. Our group consisted of Zach Ast, Alexx Burnside, Laura Hoeven, Lindsey Johnston, Caitlin Jordan, and Jennifer Sommerfeld. We took our money to the grocery store to buy bread and peanut butter to make sandwiches. We also bought bottled water and applesauce to hand out to the homeless on the streets downtown. We made two signs to carry with us, one was advertising the free sandwiches and water and the second was a free hug sign.
We worked as a team to serve the homeless population as best we could, and all of the hard work and walking was well worth it in the end. In the beginning, we were all skeptical as to whether or not our project would be successful. However, once we got up the nerves to approach the homeless, we found communicating with them to be much easier than one would think. Our entire group, as well as the other members of SAY (who were also roaming around downtown, serving the homeless in other ways) agreed that the reactions of the people who received the food and water was the most rewarding part of the experience. At the end of the three hours allowed, we had distributed all of our food and water- consisting of 50 sandwiches, 48 water bottles, and 36 containers of applesause. We all saw the face of God in the people we served and in the way the homeless people were looking out for their friends. It was a great experience that none of us will ever forget.
It makes me so proud to be associated with the kids of Saint Andrew! I see God in every single one of them and am humbled at what selfless acts they shared with others.
As a parent, it thrills me beyond belief that we are part of a community such as Saint Andrew where my kids learn and play – and I too am not so scared of a future knowing that these young men and women are a part of it. 🙂
Jerrie Lynn Kind