The adventure continues!
We got to the DRM and Matt and Nate had a street tour planned for us. We walked around the neighborhood that the DRM is located in and they pointed out different areas. The area across from the DRM where a lot of people hang out was busy again, and Matt said that there was a prostitute over there and that a drug deal just went down. Matt pointed out a store where you could buy "medicinal" marijuana with a credit card and the different places that people would hang out. Nate told us that the city was trying to help out the homeless and that affordable halfway housing was built and being built in the area. He showed us the alley behind the DRM that people used for a bathroom and Matt showed us a dumpster that was there and said that after people bought their drugs from across the road they normally had used them by the time they got to the dumpster. He joked about the crack pigeons who were addicted to crack from all the little droppings that get left around the area. It was a very eye opening experience.
We got back and set to work preparing lunch again. We got to eat with some more people from the DRM but just talked casually, shooting the wind. Then it was time to serve the outside guests, and I was in charge of grabbing the trays that were full of food and giving them to the guests. It was cool to get that interaction with them and not just see them from behind the counter. I could tell that they loved the smiles and that they weren't used to getting that love. Most of them were super thankful for the food and the work that we were doing, definitely a cool experience.
We were told that we would be splitting up into two groups and a couple of us went upstair to use the bathroom. We had to walk through the chapel to get back downstairs and one of the PC's stopped us and asked if we could sing and if we would sing him a song. We asked what he wanted and so with the help of Mackenzie, one of the worship leaders at church, we started singing some songs. Slowly more and more girls from our group joined us and soon we had a full on choir going for these guys. One of the guys named Jason turned on the mics and camera and our voices and pictures were being broadcast throughout the building drawing in more of the guys. It was really cool how the songs that came to mind to sing were about second chances or about getting out of the wilderness or things like that and just hearing our voices and the message of God through our songs really brought a smile to their faces, it was really moving and Jason asked us if we would sing again sometime for the dinner guests, we agreed that that was a really good idea.
We finally split up into two groups and me and my group left the DRM not knowing where the heck we were going. We arrived at this place called the Crossing, apparently a transtional home for families and also for people who are actually in the New Life Program, so it's where the guys from the mission will end up once they get in. We found out that we would be working with the kids that lived there and also helping clean up a semi where they stored all of their supplies. We worked with Joe who really loved and believed in what he was doing. He took us out to the semi and when we looked inside we were overwhelmed with all of the chaos and un-organization, we stood there for a couple minutes trying to decide what to do. We split the semi into front middle and back with 2-3 people assigned to each area and at first we just tried to figure out where everything was and get ready of any trash we could.
We slowly put a dent into it and then Joe came out and got us to help with the reading and writing club, a time for the kids to hangout and get help with their hw. He briefed us on what we would be doing and how they want to emphasize education so all the games they had were educational, things like Uno and board games were included too because they help with counting and other basics. The kids kept peeking into the windows waiting for the time when they could come in and hangout.
A lot of the money for the program was donated by the Broncos so the room was called the Bronco Room and was decked out in Bronco gear, I thought it was really awesome that the Broncos cared for the kids and the homeless people.
At 4:30 we let the kids stampede in and they grabbed a snack and we sat down and talked a little with them. They were kinda shy and hesitant about talking with us but that changed pretty fast. For the first 30 minutes they had to read or do homework so the two kids I was hanging around grabbed a book of biblical comics and cartoons. It was really funny and I'm sure that it helped them learn about the bible and get them interested in Jesus.
The kids slowly started opening up to us and we were laughing and joking around by the time those 30 minutes were over and then the kids were allowed to go on the computer or play educational games. I ended up playing Candyland with 2 of the kids and then coloring with 2 teenagers. I think they really liked having new people to hang out with and I really liked getting to hang out with them, because who knows where they would be without this program.
We then got to eat dinner there, which was a whole different experience. Since our group was kinda big and the cafeteria wasn't very large we had to wait until most of the residents were done eating and so we didn't get to eat with really any of the people that lived there. They only serve the people that live there so they make healthier better quality food and had a ton of desserts that you could choose from. It's more of a buffet style where you have choices as to what you want to eat instead of just getting a tray full of food. It was just a very different atmosphere than the DRM.
We went back to the DRM and picked up the other half of our group and went back to CCU. We got a little break and a bunch of us ended up piling on top of our bed and just talking about our days and comparing stories and bonding, it was really great. Then we went upstairs and did devos, led by Erica. She shared her testimony and also talked about how we need to have the whole shebang when it comes to Christ, like we can have all the ingredients for puppy chow but separately they aren't as good as when they are all mixed together, just like we have to have all the "ingredients" of a relationship with Christ and we have to mix that all together to get an awesome close relationship with Christ.
To emphasize that she gave us all a little sheet of paper and told us to write down whatever was keeping us from that close personal relationship and then we passed them to her and she read them to everyone so we could see what everyone was dealing with. We did all anonymously and she asked if anyone wanted to share what theirs was and elaborate on it, we were all quiet for a while and then someone spoke up and soon everyone had shared what was holding them back. It was a really great bonding experience to share and feel what everyone else was dealing with.
We ended that with a group hug and then proceeded to have a dance party that ended when an RA came and told us to quiet down, oops.
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