After serving at the homeless shelter, I was so enlightened by the people's gratitude towards us that it made me realize how I should be all the more grateful for what I have. This made me even more enthusiastic about my CAS Project there, though it is still in its infancy.
However, after the event and after talking to my fellow church members about their reactions, I found out there were quite a few people that were disappointed with us. Scratch the word 'disappointed' because that would mean their expectations of us were not met. In fact, they did not even expect us at all. I agree that when we were setting up the food and our equipment, some of the people looked very surprised, as if we were barging in their territory.
I completely understood that because, especially with the bible study, they might have felt we were imposing ourselves and our beliefs on them. This made me realize even more that while I was naively becoming immersed in my own self-assurance, I became oblivious to their reactions, which all the more disproves the act of true giving. Giving is supposed to be a one-sided act where the giver does not need nor expect anything in return.
Their reactions also made me realize how poor the communication was between our church and their managers. I don't intend to put the blame on anyone but just to put to light that next time we try to hold a church outreach again, we should be even more aware to communicate our plans.
Monday, September 15, 2014
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Homeward Bound - Church Outreach
On September 12, 2014, my church and I sponsored an outreach program in the Homeward Bound Shelter here in Grand Junction. Our cause was to help our fellow man and share our faith. Even for one event, and hopefully more in the future, we wanted to let the people in the shelter know that they weren't invisible to the community and that there are many people that care. We served them dinner, pizza and chicken, to go-to Friday night meal, and afterwards, held a bible study for those who wanted to listen and learn a little bit about out church.
For the purpose of my CAS Project, I focused on the service part of the event and left the bible to my ministers. I contributed to this pre-planned even by establishing relationships with the people there. I made conversations, asked them how they were doing, and get to know them not just as homeless people but as equals, individuals with their own story to tell. What surprised me about talking to some of them was that instead of telling me how they were, they told me how grateful they were for our help. This gave me a wake-up call because for people who don't have much, they have plenty to be thankful for. Their gratitude opened my eyes to all of the things I should not take for granted like having a home that I can call my own and have three meals a day on a regular basis because there are plenty of other people who don't have the opportunities that I have. Instead of giving, I felt like I was receiving, but what I received wasn't something tangible or materialistic. It was a piece of wisdom that is so universal yet, ironically, often taken for granted. The act of serving them dinner seemed so small compared to what they have given me. However, now I know better than to call it a small thing because some of them, unfortunately, might not have gotten any food if it weren't for us. That was also when I realized that have made a difference.
For the purpose of my CAS Project, I focused on the service part of the event and left the bible to my ministers. I contributed to this pre-planned even by establishing relationships with the people there. I made conversations, asked them how they were doing, and get to know them not just as homeless people but as equals, individuals with their own story to tell. What surprised me about talking to some of them was that instead of telling me how they were, they told me how grateful they were for our help. This gave me a wake-up call because for people who don't have much, they have plenty to be thankful for. Their gratitude opened my eyes to all of the things I should not take for granted like having a home that I can call my own and have three meals a day on a regular basis because there are plenty of other people who don't have the opportunities that I have. Instead of giving, I felt like I was receiving, but what I received wasn't something tangible or materialistic. It was a piece of wisdom that is so universal yet, ironically, often taken for granted. The act of serving them dinner seemed so small compared to what they have given me. However, now I know better than to call it a small thing because some of them, unfortunately, might not have gotten any food if it weren't for us. That was also when I realized that have made a difference.
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