Greetings everyone! Today and yesterday have been especially fun and action-packed, so we are taking this moment as our first chance to breath and relax. We are currently sitting in the Central Christian Church of Denver, CO drifting one by one off to sleep on the carpet and, for the lucky few, inflatable air mattresses. We spent yesterday exploring Denver and some of the mountainous regions in the areas around Denver. We then had our first day of service today at Sunrise Senior Living at Cherry Creek.
It was an exhausting but extremely rewarding experience to be among the people we were with today.
In fact, today was so incredible, that during our discussion this evening we had some of the following revelations.
1. There is rarely any kind of interaction that the general public undergoes which gives them perspective on what the aging process does to a person's mind or a person's life.
2. The elderly often do not have anyone to speak for them or their rights.
3. We (our trip) ought to try and found an organization that tries to fix these problems.
THIS. TRIP. IS. AMAZING. There is no way to truly enunciate how excited and powerful our discussion was this evening, and it was so perfectly fit to the way the mission of Mizzou Alternative Breaks. We had a radical shift in how we perceive those with Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease, and it was so great a shift that we could not escape the process of growing up and becoming better people. That reflection period alone was so powerful that this week holds nothing but excitement and opportunity for us as we move forward.
But first, let's recap exactly what we've been up to these past two days!
Sunday morning, we set out after breakfast to downtown Denver to see the capital building (Missouri's is way way better) and we ended up stopping outside of a giant dust pan for a quick trip picture. Then, we set out on the road to see the famed Red Rock Amphitheater, where we hopped up a short trail for some scenic views. Then we hustled back down the road to the Pepsi Center to see the Denver Nuggets come away with a victory over the Washington Wizards. After that, we trekked our way back to our housing site and headed to sleep before starting our long day the following morning.
The next morning, we began our work at Sunrise Senior Living at Cherry Creek. It was incredible to meet the people who call Sunrise Senior Living home. From former Vietnam War veterans to former Ivy League physics professors to former traveling meditative specialists, there was no shortage of colorful stories and powerful recollections for these residents to relate to us. Needless to say, we left our service site awed and humbled.
That's the sum total of our first two days! Be sure to look for pictures in the coming blog posts. Since my sleeping bag is calling my name, I'll be heading to bed now. But rest assured, we'll all be waking tomorrow to bring more stories to this blog for you to enjoy. See you then!
No comments:
Post a Comment