My first mission of the new year. At Circl3 (the youth group with which I serve) we call it the Winter Attack. Most youth groups go on some type of retreat during the winter, but not us. Instead of hanging out at a retreat center or bombing down the slopes, our group goes on a day mission in Philadelphia to fight against homeless, poverty, and injustice. We certainly enjoy retreating and relaxing but this trip is all about serving.
The theme of this years Attack is "We are the 1%". Most of us wouldn't consider ourselves "rich" by American standards, but compared to the rest of the worlds population we are exceedingly wealthy. This event is a chance for us to remove ourselves from our abundance and serve the afflicted and the homeless in places we wouldn't normally go.
The weekend is full of teaching, activities, and personal reflection but the actual mission takes place on a Saturday.
We woke to a beautiful sky at sunrise. After a quick meal of toast and oatmeal, we were off to Philly to begin the attack.
This was the quietest bus of teenage boys EVER! Reason: 8AM and no girls to talk to!
There were ladies on the attack, but they served at separate locations. This army of teens filled four busses with 50 people per bus. Ours was bound for Hunting Park while the others were dispatched to different ministries throughout the city.
We reached our battle ground,
and rendezvoused with our commander.
Leroy Fisher's personality did not fit the hard nosed, intimidating, inner city native I expected to meet. He certainly wasn't a pushover, but his sense of humor, positive attitude, and hospitality made us feel welcome.
He was raised a few blocks from the park and used to play there as a boy. As he grew older, the area surrounding the park got worse. When Leroy returned from serving in the Marine Corps, he found the park had become a breeding ground for drug dealing, violence, and prostitution. Sickened by the pathetic state of his childhood stomping ground, he banded together with community leaders and launched an effort to retake the park.
I asked him if this was his full time job, and he said he is 100% volunteer at the park and works another full time job. "This is my home," he said. "How can you not take care of your home?" Since initiating the restoration effort, Leroy has attracted funding from the NFL, Philadelphia Phillies, and other prominent organizations from around the city.
Our part in this campaign was simple: pick up trash!
The refuse we collected was not common to most parks in Lancaster County, but in Hunting it is the norm. Drug baggies, hypodermic needles, condom wrappers, and liquor bottles were everywhere. One of our students was taken aback at the sight of an empty baby food jar. "It's crazy to think that someone is trying to care for a child in this environment," he said. "Who knows how they will turn out."
One of the leaders, Chris, saw our shirts and had an idea for a slogan. "United, the 1% can make a difference!" So true. At the park, we weren't in direct contact with the homeless and widows as some of our teams were, but we still impacted the city in a big way. 50 of us picked up trash for four hours. Thats 200 man hours, or at minimum wage, $1450 in labor.
Not only that, but residents from the community witnessed us working that entire time. If they saw use taking an interest in keeping the park clean, hopefully they will too. That is Leroy's vision for this project: "healthy park, healthy neighborhood." It's amazing how one person's example can change an entire community.
We bagged as much as we could and dropped it at the curb.
It was such an awesome day! Good weather,
strapping, courageous leaders,
and a great team!
After serving, we had a period of reflection at the Cathedral Basilica in center city...
then back home toward setting sun.
The Winter Attack is more then a weekend serving trip, it is a test drive. If our students enjoyed this experience, then how much more would they like serving somewhere for an entire week? We discovered the answer is, "A LOT MORE!" 201 out of about 250 students applied for summer missions! The cool part is that our students want to do more then travel. They really want to serve others. It's exciting to see what God has done and will continue to do with this youth group.
The Winter Attack was the beginning of the road to my Haiti Experience last year, and will be a new beginning again for me this year. Who knows where this trail will lead???
Coming soon...
" A New Day, A New Faith"
Follow me on Twitter @MissionAnywhere to receive blog post notifications and snapshots of my everyday mission experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment