LOVE IN ACTION (Days 3 & 4)
Ten months ago, I sat in my basement at home waiting for my newly appointed co-site leader to call me so that we could discuss a service site for our MAB trip. Two minutes later our phone call was over. Our decision was unanimous – we would be serving at Love in Action Outreach in New Orleans for spring break. When I made the phone call to Love in Action to schedule our service, I was enthusiastically greeted by a hug through the phone from Miss Gail. When I asked if we might be able to serve with her next March, she immediately said "Yes, baby! You know we always love having your Mizzou groups come down. When are you getting here?!" I hung up the phone feeling like I had just received the biggest hug, and ecstatic to get down to NOLA.
Fast forward to this week. We walked into Love in Action on Monday and were directed towards Miss Gail. To be completely honest, I was very anxious and nervous. I knew the general outline for our service that Gail had explained to me, but I was very anxious to lead our group into our first day of service. I soon found that my anxiousness was completely unnecessary. When we walked in, we found Miss Gail sitting at her desk, reminiscing over pictures of past MAB trips. We were greeted with the warmest hugs, and then put to work!
Some of us worked on unloading all of the donations coming in, some of us helped the customers shop through the aisles and pick up their monthly items, and some of us greeted and filled out paperwork for new customers. While we eased into the work on Monday with only 50 customers throughout the day, we were quickly put to the test on Tuesday when nearly 200 customers walked through the door. Our system became more and more efficient throughout the day. It's safe to say that we rock the 1-6-4-1.
Coming into the trip, we had completed some pre-trip education about the demographics of New Orleans, focusing more on the housing and poverty line of NOLA since Katrina. Actually experiencing this poverty in person was more eye opening than I could have ever imagined. When thinking about the homeless and impoverished, it's really easy to just think about those sitting on the side of the street begging for money. It's easy to just brush them off, to walk past them and move on with your day. But what happens when you give them the time of day? What happens when you ask them how their day has been? What happens when you ask them about their kids? What happens when you find out that these people are the same as me and you, that you could be one day away from being in their same situation.
It has been an incredible few first days of service. We have met some of the most genuine and loving people of New Orleans. We have learned the stories of so many people, celebrated birthdays, and had many laughs along the way. But it's also been tough. It's tough knowing that this one cart that we help our customers fill might be the biggest deposit into their kitchen until they come back next month. It's hard and sometimes awkward eating our lunch in front of the people waiting to fill their carts. But then again it's a powerful moment when these people open up to us, share their lives with us, give us a warm hug after we load up their cars. It's an unexplainable feeling knowing that, yes, we are only here for one week, but our simple conversations and time has made an impact on someone's day.
I can't tell you how many times I've been told "thank you" after putting groceries in a car, how many times I've been thanked for spending my spring break at Love in Action. I want to give a public shout-out and thanks to those who walked through the doors of Love in Action during our week here. Thank you for reminding me of all of the blessings in my life, for showing me true strength, and truly communicating love.
Shoutout to my Baes. Thanks for letting me take on Momma Lo status this week. I can't wait to take on the rest of the week with all y'all angel babies.
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