Thursday, July 20, 2017

Youth Reflection - Josie

This week in Fort Worth I worked in a food bank, interchurch agency, mobile pantry, and women and children’s center. At the food bank, on Monday, I got to help by stuffing food in a grocery bag to put in a box for the homeless people. Monday afternoon, during devotion, I watched a documentary called A Place at the Table where it talks about the families who are struggling to keep their family and themselves alive. Before the documentary we did an activity where there was 1 blue card, 2 red cards, and 5 yellow cards. Each colored card had a real life scenario and depending upon the scenario the person holding that colored card got to step forward or back. At the end of the activity the blue card was ahead of everybody else, the yellow cards were in the middle, and the red cards were way behind everybody else. The red cards were those in poverty, the yellow cards were the average people, and the blue cards were the wealthy. Monday night we hosted a place called Room at the Inn where 14 homeless men sleep in the gym. I got to talk about politics with a guy named Reginald and talk with Tony and Prentice about many different things like movies, books, animals, and numbers.

Tuesday I went to the Northside InterChurch Agency (NICA). At NICA the group painted a main entrance gate. For devotion we got to walk the labyrinth which was really nice, soothing, and relaxing. Tuesday night we went to a pool party at a church member’s house.

Wednesday morning I got to serve the homeless people potatoes and talk with them about their life and they got to know us too by asking us questions. At 11 am we arrived at six flags and rode rides and played arcade games. I rode the Aquaman, Mine Train, and Roaring Rapids.

Thursday morning the WUFPC went to Community Crossroads and there my group sorted crayons, tested markers, and sharpened colored pencils. In the afternoon we went to the Baptist Church and set up the agape meal. There were a number of kids 16 and older who got to eat the food and be a table host, a lot of us served and helped tables. Afterwards we helped clean up and talk to the homeless people who stayed and wanted to talk with us.

I saw God in the homeless people I talked to throughout this week because I felt the love and caring community in them and I knew that most of them needed God with them, near and around them, and I hope that sooner than later they will see God’s work being done to them and hope they will not be in poverty anymore.

-Josie, WPC