A humbling experience

Lastnight my family and I went and served the homeless dinner at the Rescue Mission. This is something I have been wanting to do for a long time. My dad and brothers had done it once before, and they said it was a great experience.

They have the volunteers sit and listen to the sermon they give before dinner is served. The man who gave it said he used to be homeless and an alcoholic and said he has since found god. I don't know if it made an impression on the large crowd of mostly homeless men and a few homeless women, but sitting there looking at everyone, I really hope that it impacts them somehow.

I haven't been to any kind of church service in a long time, and probably wouldn't normally go to one, but it was refreshing and sad see this preacher standing at the microphone in his jeans and dirty t-shirt. I think the most effective words of advice someone can give is "I have been there, I made it through, it is hard and I still struggle, but you can do it." And, that is what he said.

After the church service, we went downstairs and got the food ready. It was lasagne, soup, and rolls donated from the event center down the street. I was the lasagne scooper, and several of the men said to me "Can I get a little more? I haven't eaten all day."

After the hundred or so people came through and got their food, we all washed the dishes and swept the floor. The residents (those who live at the Rescue Mission but also work there) thanked us for coming and we left.

It was a really fulfilling experience, and I definately want to do things like this more often.