Dc mission trip part 2
This past week was probably one of the most eye-opening mission trips I have ever been on. Usually I just treat everything like a routine and go through the motions, not really paying attention to who I’m serving or why. But for some reason, this one was different. I actually got to know who the people who I was serving and working with at the different organizations and parks that we worked at.
Whatever it was, it helped me see the homeless and other people less fortunate than myself in an entirely different light. I began to see them as just that. People. People who just didn’t have the fortune I did. When I saw that, I became able to relate to them so much better. It was easier to talk to them and relate to them.
While working at D.C. Central Kitchen I met Matoka, a 25 year-old woman who worked at a soup kitchen in the utility department, bringing donations into the kitchen and sorting the freezers. Someone who I never would’ve thought I could relate to. But it turned out, like me, she enjoys running, likes macaroni and cheese, and hates the heat. I met many more people at the various soup kitchens and other organizations that were volunteering alongside us, and they turned out to be a lot like me, just high school kids looking to make a difference. They weren’t just there to fill a volunteer hours quota or because it was what a “good Christian” would do.
While we were feeding the homeless in McPherson Park I met Mr. Richberg, a homeless veteran who enjoyed singing songs by The Weekend and was capable of “eliminating any obstacle in his way”. His story stands out to me because at first I assumed he’d just be a typical homeless person that we had served countless times before, but he broke the stereotype and was likeable and funny. This story is important because it cemented the thought that homeless people were a lot like me. Instead of pitying him like so many other homeless I had met before and not bothered to get to learn, I realized that he wasn’t so different than me (I especially enjoyed his sense of humor). This encounter along with many others further cemented the thought in my head that these were real people.
The fact that I could connect and even befriend these people made me want to help them so much more. I feel like this realization is something that so many people sorely need, especially those involved in the political scene. If those more fortunate and privileged people in our society would just take the time to meet these people, these “lowest of the low”, I think they would understand that these people aren’t that different from themselves. I strongly believe that this would be the first major step in winning the fight against homelessness and poverty. Think about it.
Gavin Driggers
