the best things in life are free June 30, 2008

so i guess we’re running low on money. not everyone in the group was able to raise the $2300 required for each person. thanks to all of you guys I was able to meet the goal. even still- if anyone is able to spare a few extra dollars for this trip, it would make the next two weeks much less stressful for the entire group.

today we went to church and painted an abandoned building. of course it was the hottest day seattle will have all summer. yuck. then we went to a lake. some people swam but i just napped in the shade.

there’s a group staying in our building that is supposedly here on a weeklong missions trip but every encounter we’ve had with them has been negative. some kid was standing on a car while the person inside was driving in the parking lot. when our leaders told him to get down, they replied “he’s an adult”    yeah- tell him to act like it. dumb high school boys. dumb boys in general.

tomorrow we’re doing some bible studies then going to help set up an inner city sports camp. we’ll be helping with that for the rest of the week and possibly helping with a handicapped kids summer program. i think that one includes a trip to the zoo. we’re not sure yet if that is going to work out because the people in charge haven’t called us back for a while.

so we’ll see. we’re going to have a time for testimonies then i’m hittin the hay. once again i’m exhausted. between the heat and the hills, Seattle is kicking my butt.

end of week 2 June 29, 2008

friday was our last day at the department of corrections. we spent the morning wrapping up, then had a barbecue with all of the staff. very fun. then we drove to Tacoma (about 45 minutes from Seattle) to a church where we made 700 pbj sandwiches. the guy in charge was kind of crazy. he and his two old lady helpers kept telling us how to make a pbj. like really? i think i’ve got it. it was comical.

then we picked up some dinner and took it to a park on the shore of puget sound. it was beautiful. i picked up trash from our group that blew down the rocky beach. silly college kids. pick up your own trash.

after dinner, we joined multiple church groups under a freeway overpass where we all passed out food, toiletries, and clothes. we passed out pbj and helped other groups make box dinners. there were about 300 homeless and poor people. there were some scary people there. we had to stick together. a christian biker church was on security duty. very funny. those guys spend their weekend nights doing this. they haul the tables to and from every friday and saturday and take care of trash. they may be on the outskirts of main stream culture but they know what it means to be a servant. on the other hand, a guy from a staight-laced white-faced christian church was a total jerk. he may have been there serving but his heart was not there at all.

today (saturday) was our free day. we got to sleep in and do whatever. i went with a group to pikes place market in downtown seattle. we ate lunch together then split into 3 smaller groups. i was with my friends megan and anna all day. we left pike place and went to the heart of down town for some serious shopping therapy. we finally got back to campus around 6:45. my first experience on public transportation was great. everyone really just needed a day to chill and have some space from the whole group. i’m exhausted. we walked so much today. of course i wore flip flops so my feet are disgustingly dirty. i’m still going to go running tonight with a couple of people.

the weather has been in the eighties the past few days. today was really hot. with the sun, heat, and amount of walking we did, i’m a sweaty pig. it’s been a great day.

tomorrow we’re painting an abandoned pancake house with an inner city church. they offered to clean up the lot for the elderly woman who owns it. when we heard, we offered to paint the building too. we’re pros at painting buildings now. it’s crazy how quickly it goes when you have 25 paintbrushes/ rollers going. you finish your little square and then KABLAMMM everyone’s done.

one thing’s for sure, i’m going to sleep very well tonight.

oh the people you’ll meet June 27, 2008

We have met some amazing people on the streets of Seattle. It’s amazing how complete strangers will open up and spill their guts to you when you just sit down and say hi. These are real people with incredible stories to tell.

bloop June 25, 2008

that’s laura being a total dweeb in the background. i  love her… she’s crazy with a capital Z

Department of Corrections June 24, 2008

yesterday was our first day at the department of corrections. we listened to some lectures, toured the building, and got to do ridealongs with NCI (neighborhood corrections initiative) which is the police and corrections officers working together. We were in a big van with 2 cops and 1 corrections officer. We arrested 2 people and stopped several others. The cops opened the side doors so one of the guys we arrested could talk to us. it’s surprising how open offenders are to sharing their history, offense, and drugs of choice. not that they actually shared drugs they just told us.

I saw what a crack pipe looks like for the first time. we learned where each drug is prevalent in Seattle, how to spot suspicious activity, and how to tell what drug a person is high on. it was sweet.

today we toured 2 prisons. one was maximum security and one was minimum. I was surprised how “chill” (as one of my teammates put it) the prisons were. the inmates weren’t hand cuffed, shackled, or anything. the prisoners totally out numbered the guards. it seemed like and uprising would be pretty easy but they’re actually pretty rare.

tomorrow we’re watching work crews work. they’re mostly made up of offenders who violated conditions of their parole. They’re given the option of working on a work crew or going to prison. it’s far more cost efficient for them to work on the crews and, some may argue, more effective. some people choose prison because they’re homeless and it provides 3 meals a day and a place to sleep.

oh- and Chris says i’m the funniest person on project … yay me

jamie’s birthday June 23, 2008

today we went to an inner city church. they fed us lunch. then we came back to campus and spent some time debriefing about the poverty simulation, churches we’ve visited, and our experiences with the homeless. all of this had to be done in the form of skits. i’m not sure why but it was fun. and hilarious.

the rest of the day was pretty quiet which we all needed. i got some laundry done, went shopping with our leader and a few other group members. apparently some of the girls in the group didn’t understand that when the department of corrections told us to bring “closed toe shoes” mean that the toe of the shoe can’t have an opening. difficult i know. so we went to payless. then we bought some chinese food and brought it back to campus for everyone.

tomorrow is our first day of our internship at the department of corrections. i’m not sure what to expect and am, quite frankly, nervous. culture shock.

i have some ironing to do then i’m going to bed.

speaking of seagulls… have you heard the four spiritual laws?            

One Week June 22, 2008

One Week: a great barenaked ladies song and the amount of time i’ve been in Seattle

friday and saturday were spent painting a house that a church bought to house homeless people while they get back on their feet. 9 guys live in this house. They’re between the ages of 20 and 55. While we painted, hung out, and sat on our butts, these guys fed us non-stop. It was great. Oh- and the house wasn’t hot pink. Which is good I guess because it would be a shame to cover up such a beautiful color.

      friday night the group began a homeless simulation. we were evicted from our dorms and spent the night in a parking garage (which we had the only key to, we were monitored by security camera so don’t go getting worried). we were given a certain amount of money for saturday to cover meals, bathing, and transportation. Of course it wasn’t enough money to cover all the expenses of the day so the group had to sacrifice a meal or a shower or whatever.

      its been a tough 24 hours. my heart is raw and i’m tired to my core. tomorrow is a new day. god’s mercies are new every morning.

     just to give you an idea of the hills/mountains in Seattle, our building is 6 floors high. the front of the building has ground level at the first floor. the back of the building has ground level at the sixth floor. the hill we walk up and down every day for breakfast is going to be the death of me.

strange and bizarre June 20, 2008

This is my friend Laura. She’s from Illinois and is pretty stinkin crazy. lots of fun. i’ve come close to peeing my pants several times and cried from laughing so hard at least twice.

dumpster diving June 20, 2008

As part of our scavenger hunt, we had to find one usable item in a dumpster. Who knew that trash  juice would smell so bad. I guess one year, some kids opened a dumpster and there was a guy inside reading a book. Now we knock first.

the team and the bus June 20, 2008

There are 18 students, 3 student-staff, and 4 staff. that’s 25. we all ride around in this bus and get lots of attention. i don’t know how the guys maneuver the bus around the city with all the tight corners, traffic, and ridiculously steep hills. not a job I’d ever want.