More of God’s Faces by Genny and Emily
Posted by Genny and Emily, J2A youth group
Today we walked to St. Anthony's without the help of Genny's poor navagational skills. We served and talked from 9-2. We met some nice and extremely smart people while we were working there. It challenged our belief that homeless people are uneducated and socially inept. It was a change from our normal way of working on the streets. Some people began the day by serving food and others worked in the clothing room hanging up clothes and watching and interacting with the children and parents that came into shop.
It was very busy and a little nerve racking while serving the people waiting for food, but we still had time to talk to people and form new friendships. In the dining room, we served people their trays, bused tables, passed out water, or put food on the trays. While I bussed tables, one man asked me to do him a small favor. I reluctantly said yes. He proceeded to pray and bless his meal, and afterwards he thanked me for taking the time to pray with him. I was so touched that he asked. It was also surprising to see how upset some of the people became if I asked if they were done with their meals and they were not. They probably wanted to spend as much time there as possible, as I'm sure it is one of the greatest comforts they have all day to sit down and enjoy a meal with others.
The lines to get into the dining hall were out the door. We made connections with people by talking about our homes, the places we'd traveled, and our love of animals. One man saved parts of his meal of rice and meat to make dog food for his dog. After a long but rewarding day at St. Anthony's, we came back to the hostel, chilled for about an hour, and went to see... HARRY POTTER! It was clear that we enjoyed it by Emily and Lucy's sobs and great amounts of laughter. It was the end of a beautiful day.
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