Dallas 1 - Homelessness (5)

Howdy y'all,

Hard to believe it is already Wednesday, however, today continued the trend of excellent service, inspiration and rejuvenation.

Today began with a pre-service grocery run at the local Tom Thumb (feels like a very Texas kind of name). The eleven of us piled into the store and enjoyed being the only ones shopping at 7:45 am. We got restocked on bread, peanut butter and jelly, fruit and breakfast pastries. Though there was a slight dispute about the choice of Funions for a chip option, it was a huge hit for all who tried them at lunch!. And of course there was an obligatory splurge for hostess products which later decorated the lunch table with many smiles.

We proceeded to Becky's and were graciously greeted with fresh blueberry pancakes. For many of us this was our second breakfast of the morning, but regardless, we had second servings. After our cups of joe, hot chocolate, and cider we were awake and ready to assist in the garden. We worked to clear rye leaves so that the soy bean plants could get more sunlight and more quickly ripen for picking. It was a fulfilling moment for all of us to get to see the soy bean plants stand tall after our clipping- making a difference little by little! We then removed the coating of intrusive vines from the fencing surrounding the garden. It was incredible to see how quickly our team was able to accomplish this. It was also satisfying to serve Becky in this way knowing the immensity this task would hold for one person to do alone.

Like clockwork, we arrived next at Dallas Life. We enjoyed many laughs on the car ride there- as we continue to bond and share our funny stories. The girls worked to serve today's lunch consisting of lasagna, bread, potatoes, veggies and the favorite: pineapple and pears. Many of us were able to converse with other volunteers as well as the kitchen staff. This served as a source of inspiration for the day as we were coached in perserverance, strength, motivation for serving and wisdom. In addition, we heard the stories of some of the people we have been serving. This added a much needed element of authenticity and reality to our service there and generated new perspectives on the true humanity of all people. The boys worked diligently in the kitchen washing the dishes, however, unlike past days- today was all by hand due to broken machinery. Their dedication to hard work did not go unnoticed and it was encouraging to hear workers praising them. Even more so, however, it was humbling to our group to hear the praise coming from a women who usually does the work of 6 young men by herself. This created a new sense of motivation and servitude for our group to be able to lighten her burden and serve her as she deserves.

Becky again spoiled us with fancy sandwiches from a part of Dallas she was serving in the morning. Though most of us were not tough enough to eat the sandwiches with all the peppers on them, we liked knowing the chickens would enjoy what we couldn't. We were accompanied by Barbra, a member of the church, for lunch. She had a genuine curiosity to know us on a personal level and hear about our dreams, goals and plans for the future. It was a very cool lunch conversation. We spent the majority of our afternoon doing odd jobs from cleaning fences, watering plants in the green house, and cleaning vegetables. Hump day did not go without being acknowledged as our team enjoyed a nice break to rest amongst the breeze, garden and serenity. 

Since Family Gateway had an event this afternoon, we had that time off and enjoyed a good couple hours of team bonding over Froyo (4.7 star rated!) We were able to walk around the West Side neighborhood of Dallas and enjoy the p e r f e c t weather! We headed from there to Brandon's house for a couple of good games of corn hole and some naps. We had delicious chili dinner followed by some special dessert treats that Brandon brought back from a Mizzou Preview event he worked the day before. As always, Brandon and his roommates were very hospitable and great company!

The evening ended with an insightful reflection discussing our definitions of service and intentions to embed it further into our future lives. Its very cool to hear many journalism team members talk about wanting to use service areas as the focus and features of their journalistic emphasis in the future as well as a collective desire to be continuously more involved with service back at Mizzou! Much to look forward to! (of course a riveting game of four square followed before bed)

Sending our love and smiles,

your aspiring Texans

Zach and Taylor playing in the tree this afternoon!

The beautiful morning sun over the garden today!