None of us knew anything ahead of time. The only directions were: dress warm, bring a sleeping bag, toothbrush, $5 in ones, and $1 in quarters, and meet at the church at 3 PM. We were in for a full 24 hours on the Spokane streets.
Our internship team, under the direction of our fearless leader, Russ (who’s also our pastor), set out over that time all across Spokane to many different urban ministries that are making a difference in the lives of the impoverished and overlooked. We had some amazing experiences. At Second Harvest we learned that $1 donated produces six pounds of food that can feed four people. We found lots of crazy items in the piles of donated goods when we helped organize for the Global Neighborhood thrift store. We fasted until lunch the second day, but bought lunches for people on the streets and served breakfast to the homeless at the House of Charity. We stayed the night beneath all the crazy wall art that street youth had drawn on the walls of the Cup of Cool Water drop-in center. We got a peek into the missions of Christ Kitchen and YFC. We walked a lot.
Here were some of the most important lessons I learned about being incarnational:
- Every city has lines: There are lines between the rich and the poor. The latter see them every day, while the former rarely know they exist. In order to seek out the poor, you have to cross those lines.
- Time is worth more than money: People without homes, without any control over their lives, oftentimes don’t need your money or your food—what they want more than anything is relationships. They’re sad. They’re lonely. Jesus was compassionate; he knows their story and he wants you to know it too.
- Don’t fail to do something just because you can’t do everything: We all have something to give. You don’t have to change the world… start with something simple. Obviously there are lots of opportunities to try if you look for them.
I didn’t get to go into all the details and lessons here, but if you’re interested in reading more you can visit www.breanne-thebranch.blogspot.com and feel free to let me know what you think.
Thanks,
Breanne
The greatest thing I got from that was “don’t fail to do something just because you can’t do everything.” That’s one of the biggest traps I get stuck in. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed with wanting to change the world, that we forget how we change the world in small ways.
Sounds like an awesome experience! I’m glad we were in the same group today and got to talk more about it. #3 is a really good point. People often times forget that they don’t have to impact thousands of people to actually make a difference in the world. Thank you for your post and encouraging words!
Growing up in Spokane, it still unnerves me every time I notice the lines that I’ve missed up until now. I bet that everybody learned a lot in those 24 hours.
Great insights. I look forward to hearing more.
Sounds like an amazing experience. Thank you for reflecting on it for us. I love the lessons you put at the end. Great encouragement.