First of all, I must say that Bolt is an excellent cartoon movie full of fun quips and clever dialogue but the movie would be nothing without Rhino the Hamster. Rhino is a hamster who has idolized Bolt for quite some time and eventually gets the opportunity to travel with his main man Bolt. I won't say too much because I don't want to ruin it for the rest of you but I will will give you guys one great quote from the movie. At this point Rhino is getting ready to join Bolt and Bolt is warning him about things to come. Also, Rhino is always in a hamster ball. With that said, here's the dialogue.
Rhino: I'm Lightning Quick, I have razor sharp reflexes, and I'm a master of stealth. Plus, I'll keep the cat in check.
Bolt: The road will be rough
Rhino: I have a ball.
Bolt: There's no turning back
Rhino: I guess I'll have to roll with the punches.
Bolt: I gotta warn you going into the belly of the beast danger at every turn.
Rhino: I EAT DANGER FOR BREAKFAST!
Bolt: You Hungry?
Rhino: STARVING!
Anyway if you want to see those clips check out go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQqBpDDrurc. We watched this movie during our family time and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of that.
With all of that said, I must say that today was the best day of training yet for one reason. This morning after some of our usual things that we do in the morning we packed up the vehicles and got ready to go out to do a service project. We had been told we were working with an organization called FICA which does a lot of work for the community around them and we were also told that we would be working in a small soup kitchen. In all honesty I was not really looking forward to doing this, which looking back, sounds awful. I did not feeling like spending my morning/afternoon in a small soup kitchen but God has a way of turning things upside down I guess. When we arrived I must say that my boisterous outgoing self clammed up in the midst of poor people who I had no clue about. As people came in and we began serving food I saw people for our fuge team beginning to sit and chat with people. Again, I must say that I was somewhat uncomfortable with the situation that I had been put in, but I stepped our of my spoiled little bubble and began to talk with people who were being served lunch.
The first woman that I talked to had hit a hard patch and even though she was working it wasn't enough to keep her afloat and in a home all of the time. This woman was full of stories of travel and even of getting to experience the Richard Petty Driving Experience as part of a prized draw that she had entered herself in. As I talked NASCAR with this lady I began to build up a little confidence and I began stepping out of my box a little bit more.
The next man that I talked to began asking me about football and I began telling him of my football history. He was a big giants fan and began telling the people at the table and I about the old teams and the current team and how the Giants had always been his favorite football team. He asked me what my major was in and I proceeded to tell him youth ministry in which he responded that I needed to stay strong because there are a lot of people in this world who need helping. Here this guy who was down and out on his luck was practically telling me to go out and help because those kinds of people had helped him when he was in need.
The next fellow by the name of Raymond Smith was a rather odd man who seemed to be a motorized bobble head but he was rather amusing. As I talked to him about his home and things he proceeded to tell me that he normally ate at the soup kitchen later in the month when his checks ran out because he didn't want to overstay his welcome. Apparently Raymond was living on disability and had been laid off. Raymond had lived in Jackson all of his life and he kept telling me how good the food was here and how I needed to work hard and keep my scholarships so I could do well for myself.
In the midst of serving these people who were smiling ear to ear, I was being served and stirred in my soul. I began to talk to Mr. Dan who runs the facility and he told me that this soup kitchen had served 51,000 meals in the past year and as busy as the place was today was slow compared to some days. Here was a man who gets nothing for what he does but he is constantly investing his life into other people. As many of the regulars left they thanked Dan and told him how much they appreciated what he did. The picture was never so innocent as an 8 year old kid eating a cupcake or the grandmother and grandson who came in while we were cleaning everything up looking for a piece of cake. Apparently the grandmother had frequented this food pantry for quite some time but was now far less reliant on the pantry to be able to live her life. Dan gives everything he's got day to day to serve these people in his community. Along with that, this food pantry serves lunch 365 days a year and dinner twice a week. WOW!
The last person that I talked to was probably the most influential person I talked to the whole time. His name was Orlando and he was a pretty clean cut guy who was just an all around nice person. I sat down at Orlando's table and began to talk with him as we got close to the closing hours. As I listened to Orlando's story about his victories over crack and weed and other such things I was amazed. This man had moved away and come back to be near his family but was living in a Christian homeless shelter kind of place. He told me about all the shelter did and how they had offered him a position of staff getting the men who stayed to do their "chores" at the shelter. Orlando continued to tell me it had been 9 months since he had done crack and how much that struggle had taken from his life. He talked to someone of the phone that he called his brother and I mistakenly took it as his literal brother but Orlando continued to tell me that I was his brother too and that he was blessed to have such people around him. This man was willing to accept and try to help anyone that was around him and he was reaching out the those who had gone through the struggles that he was finally starting to see victory in. He also talked to a friend on the phone and asked to call her back later because he was talking to his friend Jason. This man had no clue who I was but was willing to call me his friend. As we left I shook his hand and joked with him on our way out I told him how much I appreciated his time. No amount of me serving him food could pay him back for how much his story touched my heart.
I can admit that sometimes I look at poor people and think it is ridiculous because they just don't try hard enough but God slapped me across the face and refocused my attention on him tonight. Who am I to ignore people less fortunate than I? Honestly, I pray that the service project today and the passion that I gained from it will never fade because there are some genuinely amazing people who are struggling and crying for help. Thank you Orlando for changing my perspective and thank you Dan for pouring yourself out to see others' smiles because the joy in their eyes is what makes it all worth doing.
I'm sorry if tonight's was long but I have been thinking all day how much I had to write tonight. I can't wait to tell some of you guys this story in person because God really moved today. Continue praying.
Union Love,
Jason
Jason
1 comment:
Wow, Jason. What an awesome day you had! God is moving, and your story touched me. Thank you for sharing these things! I love you, Mom
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