Our Monday morning started out at Grace Place, which is the soup kitchen affiliated with Galloway United Methodist Church. We were fortunate enough to serve them on their Grand Opening of their new facility, which consisted of approximately 77 individuals. The breakfast ended and we were asked by the director of Grace Place to organize the clothing donation closet afterwards .
All of us spoke with many different people about their particular situations. We realized very quickly that every individual has the same drive to move past these unfortunate circumstances. After volunteering, the Director, Leslie, shared with us a touching story about a photograph taken by a parish member. The photograph was of a broken down Rolls Royce and metaphorically that our current situations do not devalue the priceless value of all men. Therefore the individuals at Grace Place were at some combination of personal choice and factors beyond their control, and at Grace Place they want to honor their individuality and dignity. This experience was very humbling and put things in perspective for our lives back home, and how lucky we are to have our education.
After our lunch break back at the Youth House we traveled to Brandon, MS for our first day of service with RideABILITY, a therapeutic riding center. We split into two groups where one group assisted with maintence in the facility and then the other group served as side walkers for the therapuetic riding sessions. The role as the side walker consisted of balance and stability for the children as they went through their exercises on the horses. We gained insight with profound effect that RideABILITY can have on each indivudual child with their partiuclar need. A few us talked with the family members and their children about what RideABILITY means to them. One of the mothers of a child with Cererbral Palsy mentioned that her daughter had not yet smiled today and once she got on the horse she was all smiles, and that touched us all in a unique way. We also learned the faciltiy director lives with Parkinsons's Disease and that she left her previous job as a nurse to start RideABILITY.
In reflection, you should follow your dreams and it's never too late pursue your goals, even if the odds are completely against you.
We Look forward tomorrow working with RideABILITY again!
Peace and Blessings,
The Jackson Crew
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