When we all arrived at our house in Philadelphia, the homeowner shared about the house’s history. Built in 1755 and worth about $700,000, we experienced what it was like to live in an old house. It’s still in good condition, just like the rest of the city. As we got settled in our living quarters, we set out to explore the rest of the city. Various statues depicting Revolutionary era figures along with stunning architecture surround the city streets. At the end of the day, however, traditional sight-seeing was over. Our group had a mission to do.
In the evening, our group did an activity that showed how food insecurity works. One person sat at a table who was wealthy. She had a full meal in front of her. Another two ladies sat at a middle class table. They were well fed as well. The rest of the group sat on the floor. We ate rice, ham, and a loaf of bread. During the activity, we learned just how hard it is to be food insecure. 1 in 5 people in Philadelphia are living below the poverty line. This statistic is astounding. I think this activity really put me in the shoes of these individuals living below the poverty line. After we did this activity, we gave out the remaining food to a few men and women standing in front of a church on the streets of Philadelphia. They were waiting outside the church on Easter Sunday for the building to open at 8:45 a.m. the next morning. Seeing these people struggle really hit me. Right then, I realized that I was a part of a much bigger mission. It redirected my mind and reminded me why I am here. I am here to serve and not help. I am excited to be able to impact so many more lives in the days to come.
-Derek
Once we got to Philadelphia we were all very relieved to settle into our beautiful housing. The car ride from Columbia was very fun and I think a lot of us started to build our friendships from the car ride alone. During the drive through Pennsylvania we decided to stop in Hershey, PA which is where the Hershey chocolate factory is. I think we all enjoyed getting to walk around the biggest Hershey chocolate store in the world, and we even got to do a free riding tour which showed us a bit about the production of Hershey chocolate products. We all came away with a sweet treat and a fun story to tell our family and friends.
Sunday was our free day so we started out early to explore the city surrounding our house. Rittenhouse Square is right by our housing, which is a very pretty park situated in the heart of the city. The walk to liberty bell and independence hall is about a 10-15 minute walk from our house and the city hall, which stands taller than most of the buildings downtown. City Hall was closed so we weren’t able to go in and explore but we were able to see the awesome building from the outside. You are able to walk through the city hall building into an atrium that has exits around Philadelphia. A few of us went over and took pictures with the LOVE sign which Philadelphia is famous for. The LOVE sign signifies that Philadelphia is the city of brotherly love. When we were there a couple came up to one of us and asked if we could take a picture of them. Little did we know that the man was about to propose to his girlfriend right in front of the LOVE sign! It was really amazing and I was so glad that I got to witness a moment like that. The moment reminded me of the “This is It” principle of MAB. It was a great reminder that each and every moment on this trip is special and a lot of it is unexpected. It made me realize that moments like this happen every day but I may not always be present enough to appreciate them the way I should. I am so excited to see what other crazy/cool/amazing moments happen this week.
-Emily
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