St. Paul's Mission Trip 2009

Filled Up

2009-07-24T19:15:00.005-06:00

In the end, our group decided to avoid the Pioneer Day parade and festivities downtown altogether and drove to Park City (about thirty minutes east) to shop for souvenirs and have a picnic lunch before coming back to Salt Lake to finish our work at the UMCOR depot.

The depot was closed this morning for the parade; after that Brian made his way through the traffic to the depot. We met him there about 1:00. At mid-afternoon we stopped for a "cake break" and ate the rest of Scott's birthday cake, which we had left in the staff fridge. We shared with Jaime, the volunteer coordinator, and Brian. Then we spent another hour assembling kits and finished the afternoon by hauling out the trash and recycling. Brian walked us out to our cars and led us in a prayer, and then we bid him good-bye. We were so blessed to work with Linda, from Crossroads, and Brian and Jaime, who kept us busy and taught us so much and made the work go smoothly. Also, it is inspiring to meet people who have devoted their whole work to mercy and social justice. Not everyone is called to the ministry or non-profit work, but I want to find ways in my own life to live out Jesus's call to mercy and justice. Then the kingdom of God will break through.

After leaving the UMCOR depot, we headed back to the church. Coincidentally, Jackie's brother and his family were traveling through Salt Lake City today, and they were able to come to the church and join us for dinner. We had hot dogs and brats and macaroni and a smorgasbord of leftovers. There was plenty for everyone.

Jackie, Lance, and Jessica were also able this week to reconnect with old friends from Louisville who moved to Salt Lake four years ago. Jordan, a friend Lance's age, joined us on our expedition to Park City this morning and helped us work in the depot. He is in our group photo.

Tonight we are doing laundry and packing our bags so that we can leave tomorrow after the food distribution. Jackie will pack up whatever food is left and feed it to us for lunch on the road tomorrow. We have been filled up--on Jackie's good food and on God's good food, kindness and goodness and generosity and love. As I prepare to head back to Boulder, I am listening carefully to hear what God is calling me to do next at and through and with St. Paul's. In that sense, the trip is not over, and our work is just beginning.

--Rebecca

Downtown

2009-07-23T22:41:00.004-06:00

Today is Scott's birthday, and Jackie arranged to have cake with candles and ice cream at lunch. She baked the cake late last night, God bless her, and went for ice cream early this morning before we left for work. Then she hid the treats in the staff fridge at the UMCOR depot.

We packed more school kits and flood buckets (they call them cleaning buckets now) this morning and again for an hour after lunch. Then we took off early to meet Linda at the Crossroads Thrift store. This spun off from the Crossroads Urban Center. Anyone can shop there, naturally, but it really functions as a mission in two ways: first, people who come to the urban center can receive vouchers for clothing at the thrift store, and second, needy people identified by other agencies, including schools, can send people to the thrift store for free underwear, blankets, towels, dishes, and other very basic items. These items, when donated, are never sold, but always put in the "free room," which is opened to people with vouchers. Linda says that about eleven times as much stuff is given away as is sold. The store does not operate for profit. It was inspiring to learn about the way this operation serves the needs of the poor.

Then Linda took us to the Salt Lake City public library, which is a phenomenal modern building with a panoramic view of the city from the roof garden. Then we said good-bye to Linda, who we will not see again this week, and went back to the church to change for an evening on the town.

We wanted to see Temple Square, the heart of the Latter Day Saints church, and to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearse, which they do on Thursday nights. We also planned to have dinner downtown. We stopped into the genealogical library and the LDS history museum, had dinner, and then went to Temple Square. We found out that the choir had changed their rehearsal time at the last minute, unannounced, and we missed them. That was a disappointment. But it was amazing to see the Assembly Hall, the Tabernacle, and the Temple (from the outside). They are all beautiful buildings.

Tomorrow is the big Pioneer Day parade. Many things are closed. We have been encouraged to see the parade, but we do not want to get up at 5:00 a.m. to stake out a spot along the parade route. Instead we will sleep in and watch the parade on t.v., which is what Linda recommended. After lunch we will go back to the UMCOR depot for a few more hours work. (Brian, the director at the depot, will be watching his church's float in the parade and will not be at work until 12:30 p.m.) In the evening we will pack up and be ready to leave on Saturday. Of course before then we will help with the food co-op's food distribution. Many of the usual volunteers will be out of town for the holiday weekend, so the director is very, very glad to have our help. It does take a lot of labor to do the work we've seen being done here this week, from the food pantry to the food bank to the food co-op and at UMCOR, and we feel like we have made a real contribution. Also, we have learned a lot about differents ways that mercy and social justice are done. We are feeling like we've accomplished a lot this week--and that we deserve to sleep late tomorrow!

--Rebecca

The Circle is Complete

2009-07-23T22:25:00.003-06:00

Thursday morning...

Yesterday we arrived at the UMCOR depot at 9:00 a.m. and met Jaime, the volunteer coordinator, who is a US2 missionary. (She is completing two years of service within the United States for the United Methodist Church.) She brought us to the (air-conditioned!) conference room and told us about the Salt Lake City Depot, which opened in May. Then she conducted a workshop for us that challenged us to think about the relationship between projects like mission trips and food drives and larger social injustices, like why people are hungry and cold and unable to get medical care.

Then we went back to the food co-op (which is right next door) to finish the meat sorting project we'd begun the day before. We had to fill partial orders, in which recipients ask for less than a case of something. For each order, we had to count out the appropriate amount of each kind of meat (chicken, pork, ribs, ground beef, sausage), box it up, and label the boxes. Lance, Jessica, and John worked most of the morning bringing cases out of the freezer for us to fill orders and then bringing packed orders back into the freezer, where they will be stored until distribution on Saturday. We're not done with this meat yet!

After lunch, which we ate in UMCOR's air-conditioned conference room, we went to work at the UMCOR depot, in the not air-conditioned warehouse. We were assembling flood buckets and school kits. We also delivered our donation of school kits. They were very welcome. Because the depot has just been opened, their first priority is to build up an inventory, so that they have supplies to deliver when there is an emergency. Lance, Jessica, Jackie, and I did two pallets of flood buckets, and Scott, John, and Ruth did a gross of school kits. This was a lot accomplished, and yet we know that these supplies go out in orders of five or six thousand when a community is in need, so there is still a lot to be done. We will go back this morning to do a little more.

In the evening, after dinner, Linda from Crossroads came to the church to do a workshop for us that shows us what kind of choices low-income families have to make to keep a roof over their heads, to eat, to get medical care, to have transportation, and to meet emergency expenses. We pretended to be a family of four with two small children. Both parents work at a minimum wage full-time job. Even at the barest minimum, with the cheapest place they could rent and not really enough food, they were barely making it. This helped us understand the people that Crossroads serves. Linda also told us some inspirational stories about people and families that Crossroads has been able to help thanks to the on-going support of its donors.

Ruth arrived safely at the UMCOR depot just as we finished lunch. We were very happy to have her join us at last. Now we are off to another day's work in the depot and a surprise birthday party for Scott.

--Rebecca

2009-07-23T21:56:00.002-06:00

Today we saw the public library. There was a hanging sculpture of a face made out of mini books. [It hung from the ceiling in the lobby, five stories above the main floor. --Rebecca] We met RAINMAN!!!!![Kim something] and held his Academy Award, it was heavy. We even got a card. He is a Savant. It was so much FUN!!!!!!!! Well, bye. --Jessica

Spaghetti, Spaghetti, You're Wonderful Stuff!

2009-07-21T20:57:00.005-06:00

This morning we reported to duty at the food co-op. The food co-op spun off from the Crossroads Urban Center several years ago. Families can buy a share or shares, and the co-op purchases food on their behalf from local and regional growers, bakers, and farmers. The food is distributed from the co-op to neighborhood sites around the city. Saturday is food distribution day, and we will help with that. Today, though, we were helping get ready for Saturday. Frozen meat can be sorted in advance and counted for each distribution site. The kids in the freezer were helping with that. (We had been asked to bring parkas and mittens, and they needed them!) Others of us did some office work, collating and counting fliers and order slips.

Then, after eating our brown bag lunches at the food co-op, we drove up the road to the Utah Food Bank. It is just two blocks away. The food bank is the central location for food donations in the city. They get donations from local food drives by local groups, from local businesses, from grocery stores, and the government. Then they distribute the food among local food pantries, including Crossroads, where we worked yesterday. Food pantries may also sponsor their own food drives, especially in recent months, as demand has increased. No family or individual collects their food from the food bank directly.

It was very interesting to learn about the entire food distribution system, from the food bank to the food pantry and the food co-op, which is another opportunity for individuals and families to get food at a very low price. Also, the food bank sponsors hot meals for kids after school and a "backpack" program in which kids were receive free lunches are given food to take home with them for the weekend (in a backpack). We were all impressed with the creative ways that these caring people are trying to meet the needs of the hungry in the community.

The food back is a huge operation. We did our small part by helping weigh and bag spaghetti--hundreds of pounds of it--that had been donated in bulk and needed to be broken down into family-size portions (two pounds). We worked with a youth group from Arvada on this project. Later we helped a girls' group from a local church sort canned and boxed goods. The quanity of food we handled seemed overwhelming, and yet we know that it only meets a few families' needs for a few days. We got a good idea of the scale on which this kind of assistance needs to take place.

Tomorrow we will visit the UMCOR depot, which is right beside the food co-op. We will deliver our school kits, donated by St. Paul's, and we will also do more work at the food co-op, possibly in the freezer again. In the evening we will have a workshop about living in poverty, which should help us understand better the needs of the people these agencies serve. We are learning so much here.

--Rebecca

2009-07-21T20:28:00.002-06:00

This is the big frezer we worked in. It was 10 degrees below 0. I got to go in and so did Lance, Jackie, and John. [Scott and Rebeca did not go in.] There was another Church working with us. We did an assembly line passing boxes of meat--heavy meat-I almost dropped it.

This is what the assembly line looks like and the boxes. --Jessica

Social Justice

2009-07-20T20:30:00.003-06:00

This morning we reported for work at Crossroads Urban Center in downtown Salt Lake City. When we drove up at 8:45, there was already a line of people at the door, waiting for the building to open. Crossroads is a emergency food pantry; individuals or families receive three days of food and can only come six times a year. The food and diapers and other resources are intended to be a stop-gap measure for people, between a job loss and receiving unemployment benefits, for example. Crossroads have seen a 60% increase in need in the past two years. They distribute between one and two tons of food each day.

In addition to the food pantry, Crossroads is a place where people can use the bathroom, get a drink of water, come in out of the sun or cold, and find resources describing other agencies in the city that can help them meet other needs. In another location, they also run a thrift store. Also, Crossroads considers itself an advocate for poor people, and they have established various groups to work for change in the community and at government levels.

Linda, the volunteer coordinator, put us to work first water-sealing the wheelchair ramp. We cut back the weeds all around it first and then painted on the sealant. We finished this project in time for lunch.

For lunch, Linda took us a few blocks over to the One World Cafe. This is a "social justice" cafe. You pay for just as much as you think you'll eat, a $3 plate, a $5 plate, or more. People who can't pay anything are given a simple dish of dal and rice, or they can volunteer in exchange for their food, helping prep food or wash dishes or doing maintenance. Linda challenged us not to leave any food on our plates, to take only what we needed and no more. She pointed out that at so many restaurants food is wasted. We are even served food we don't want. Denise, the owner of the One World Cafe, believes that everybody can have enough if we all only use what we need. She puts this into practice in her restaurant. Also, she uses produce from her garden and other local growers and makes dishes with whatever she has available. There is no set menu, only a selection of things to choose from. If something runs out, she will replace it with something else. I appreciated the way she is rethinking the business model of a restaurant and reminding us that, even when we eat in a restaurant, we can act responsibly. Also, the food was delicious!

After lunch, we got to work in the food pantry, restocking supplies that had been depleted in the morning. Scott and I went with Linda to pick up a pick-up truck load of food collected by a local Catholic church. (Crossroads is supported by many groups of all faiths.)

After returning to Crossroads, we worked at sorting the food donations. Whatever can be stocked in the pantry is, and surpluses are stored in the basement. Lance operated the dumbwaiter and unloaded the crates downstairs. Linda says they have about a week's worth of supplies in the basement. They rely on a steady stream of donations to keep them operating. The church where we are staying, Christ UMC, had a food drive on Sunday to support Crossroads.

While we were sorting the donations from the Catholic church, another church group dropped off more supplies--1400 pounds of food between the two loads. We got boxed into the sorting room but eventually cleared a path and then, finally, got everything put away. Jackie was quick to learn the system and helped us gut everything in the right place. Jessica even got to help fill orders for some clients.

We left Crossroads in time to beat rush hour traffic. Back at the church, we were able to shower and put on clean clothes, and then Jackie made dinner. After dinner, Scott led us in a group devotional again.

Tomorrow we will go the food co-op, another food sharing program in Salt Lake. We will work in the big drive-through freezer. We all packed parkas for this job!

-- Rebecca

Attack of the Flies!

2009-07-20T20:07:00.004-06:00

Sunday evening

We were warned, when we mentioned to our host that we planned to drive out to see the Great Salt Lake, that we should bring bug spray. And, in fact, after emerging from our cars on Antelope Island, we were immediately swarmed with brine flies. We applied bug spray right away, and that repelled them. We learned that brine flies (and also brine shrimp) feed on the algae that thrive in the salty water of the lake. Huge numbers of gulls and other water birds eat the brine flies and brine shrimp.

After our picnic, Jessica and Lance changed into their swimming suits. They wanted to swim in the Great Salt Lake. Scott and Jackie and I brought swimsuits, too, but decided not to swim. We all walked down to the lake, and the adults thought we might wade in the water. However, we were driven back by the huge swarms of brine flies. They rest on the water's surface and look from a distance like sandbars. When you walk into the water among them, they swarm up like a cloud. If you stand back, you can see them rise up around people's feet. Lance and I and Jackie retreated, but Jessica was determined to get in the water. She braved the flies and went out a short way into the water, but she soon gave up. To go further out, she would have to brave even more flies, and she didn't want to go alone. Scott and John took some pictures at the shore, and then we all went back up to the picnic area, where Jessica and Lance changed back into day clothes.

Then we drove further along to a trailhead, and we walked along the trail admiring the scenery and watching a pronghorn (the antelopes of Antelope Island) making his way through the scrub. He even crossed our path. When we returned to the car, we drove up to the snack stand for ice cream.

When we got back to the church, Jackie made Charlie Gibson's Tex-Mex casserole for dinner. Jessica made brownies--to be eaten warm with ice cream and hot fudge--for dessert. After dinner, while we waited for the brownies to cool, Scott led us in a group devotion. Tomorrow we will report to Crossroads Urban Center for our first day of work.

-- Rebecca

...Go!

2009-07-20T19:45:00.003-06:00

Sunday morning....

At 8:15 on Saturday morning, my parents came from their hotel to our apartment to assume their grandparent duties. They will stay with Ben and Josie while Scott and I are here in Utah. Also, we are using their van, which they drove out from Indiana. Our little Honda Civic can't haul much luggage, certainly not the 35 school kits we assembled at St. Paul's!

After loading our bags into the van, we said good-bye to the kids, who were so excited about grandma and grandpa coming that I think they didn't even notice we left. We picked up John and drove toward Louisville to rendezvous with Jackie, Lance, and Jessica. (Ruth is driving out later this week.)

It was a beautiful and easy drive. Jessica rode with me and Scott, and John rode with Jackie and Lance and took turns driving Jackie's car. Lance thought he had a sweet deal with the back seat all to himself. We enjoyed Jessica's company, and Lance reported that John has some of the coolest stories he's ever heard. (You might remember that John had just returned from a mission trip to Kenya.)

The space here at the church in which mission groups stay is very comfortable. During the winter, when mission groups are not using it, the church offers refuge to homeless families, probably one or two at a time. This is an incredibly generous thing for a church to do, and the well-stocked kitchen and linen cupboard and supplies of toiletries demonstrate the thoughtfulness and hospitality of the church community. What a blessing it would be for a family to find shelter here in a time of need!

Jackie made a lovely breakfast casserole for us this Sunday morning and has packed a generous picnic lunch with homemade potato salad, macaroni salad, chicken, and deviled eggs. I helped her shop for groceries last night, and she plans to spoil us this week. Soon we will go up to worship (at the latest of the three services...we were not up early today!) and then we will change into our swimming suits, grab our cooler, and drive to Antelope Island for the afternoon. Jessica will take pictures of the Great Salt Lake, and we will post some this evening.

-- Rebecca

Arrived in Salt Lake

2009-07-18T21:46:00.004-06:00

This evening we have finally arrived in Salt Lake City. We got a late start, mostly because of my bad navigation to John's house and confusion about where I was supposed to meet Jackie, Lance, and Jessica. We had no trouble driving with plenty of people to share driving shifts for our two vehicles. I had never driven this route on interstate 80. I was surprised by how beautiful the landscape was with green rolling hills and rocky mesas in southern Wyoming and northern Utah. We stopped for a long lunch at a quaint cafe in Elk Mountain, Wyoming. Lance ate a hamburger that was so large I thought he would have to unhinge his jaw like a snake. The food was great, and so was the decor, which even featured a preserved jackalope. [Firefox doesn't think jackalope is a real word. How foolish!]

Dinner was just a quick top at a gas-station Pizza Hut.

We checked in to our lodging at Christ United Methodist Church of Salt Lake. The church is big and beautiful, and so our our accommodations in the basement. They have five bedrooms, two showers, kitchen, laundry, and even cable TV! It almost seems like cheating to sleep in such luxury on a mission trip. However, it is free, so I could hardly pass it up.

The women have gone grocery shopping. When they return, everyone will probably want to sleep, but I'm going to try to convince them to have a little devotion time before bed.

Tomorrow we will go to worship here at Christ UMC. Then we plan a picnic lunch, swimming, and hiking at Antelope Island State Park.

-- Scott

Comissioned

2009-07-13T23:21:00.004-06:00

Yesterday we were officially commissioned by the congregation of St. Paul's. Our pastor Dr. Scott led a prayer over our work next week. It was touching to be blessed and supported by our friends. Of course, they have also been very generous in supporting our trip financially and by making many (more than 20 last time I counted!) of the UMCOR school kits that we will deliver to the depot in Salt Lake.

Here is a picture of the commissioning.From left to right: Dr. Scott, Scott, Rebecca, Ruth, Lance, and Jessica. (Jackie and John couldn't make it to church that day.)

-- Scott

Ready, set...

2009-07-10T14:30:00.005-06:00

After a final team meeting last Thursday at our apartment, we are set. Jackie, Lance, and Jessica Bishop, John Cross, and Scott and I will leave at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 18, for Salt Lake City, Utah. This is the furthest west I will ever have been. Ruth Campisi will drive out to join us on Wednesday for the remainder of the week.

Linda from Crossroads Urban Center has sent us our itinerary. On Sunday morning we will worship at Christ United Methodist Church. (That is the church where we are staying.) In the afternoon, we will go to Antelope Island State Park to see the Great Salt Lake. Very little else is open, apparently. They are serious about honoring the Sabbath! Anyway, after a day in the car, it will be nice to hike and swim and enjoy the outdoors.

On Monday we will work at Crossroads Urban Center. Our work will include distributing food and maintenance projects. We will also learn a little about Crossroads's mission and the people they serve. Linda will coordinate a "social justice" lunch for us. We will see what that is.

On Tuesday we will work at the food bank and the food co-op. On Wednesday morning we will work at Crossroads delivering food, and in the afternoon we will work at the UMCOR depot. We will go back to the depot on Thursday morning, and on Thursday afternoon we will have some free time. We will tour Temple Square and sit in on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's open rehearsal. Thursday is also Scott's birthday!

Friday is a big holiday in Salt Lake City. We will help out at the food co-op and will also enjoy the parade (one of the longest in the world), fireworks, and other festivities. On Saturday morning we will help at the food co-op with food distribution, and we will leave after lunch.

At our meeting, we agreed that Jackie would be our head chef, with Jessica as sous-chef, and the rest of us as line cooks and dishwashers. We will be able to prepare most of our meals at the church and will bring brown-bag lunches to the work site. Jackie will prepare a menu and shopping list. We hope Jessica will bake us some of her gooey triple-fudge brownies!

I am very excited about doing hands-on work to help hungry people and learning more about social justice in action. I am also looking forward to visiting a new place, to learning new things and seeing new sites. I always like to travel, and this is a trip with a purpose--not just to help needy people for a week, but to grow in faith and in understanding of the different ways to help and serve others.

Now I just need to get some laundry done and pack my bags....
-- Rebecca