[Entry for Thursday, April 1]
After working with the generous organizations that have allowed us to serve the Dallas community all week, we said good bye as we worked our last day of community service at the Resource Center. It was a similar shift to the one that our team served yesterday, with a few new things to do and a few of our members performing different tasks. We showed up in the morning to prepare the dining room for the lunch crowd, and some of us made creatively decorated posters with uplifting and inspirational quotes used to commemorate National Volunteer Appreciation Week. When we left yesterday afternoon, we made the last-minute decision to come back today and help out some more. The main cook of the kitchen, Doris, was especially glad and promised to bake us a cake as a thank you for our return visit. Doris made good on that offer with an amazing chocolate dish.
It was wonderful walking in to the Resource Center dining room and kitchen this morning while being greeted warmly by Doris and the volunteer coordinator, Deborah. We again chatted it up and had a great time getting to know great people who come from such a wide variety of backgrounds. So many of the individuals whom we have gotten to know and love in these last few days have become our friends in Dallas, and they really have done a great job at making us feel welcome.
Working for these organizations has really been quite the experience. It has been a heart-touching one for all of us. While working hard yesterday, Kate thought to herself about how her feet were hurting and she wanted a Diet Coke. A simple complaint, she realized, when she thought about all of the people around her. Reflections like this really have taught us that while some days are rough, and all days have rough parts within them, our days are really just little details that make up the great lives that we really do have. We love the work we've done this week, and the amazing people whom we've met and what they've taught us. Many of the clients and a few of our fellow workers asked with hope in their eyes if we'd be coming back next year. We might not have to wait that long, because there's a summer internship with the Resource Center that sparked interest in a couple of our team members.
After that rewarding day of service, we enjoyed more of beautiful and exciting Dallas. Kristina, Alex, and Ashley went on a bike ride around the lake and a few of us took a stroll to feed the ducks and talk with Dallas citizens. It really was another wonderful day with perfect weather. We can't wait to enjoy our day of being tourists tomorrow at The Sixth Floor Museum and the Dallas Zoo!
If you'd like to learn more about the amazing organizations with which we've worked, or make a donation to them, please visit http://rodallas.org and http://resourcecenterdallas.org
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