Day 5 - Last Day

Today, before we went out we prepared around 200 lunches to give out and we also brought the rest of our donations. We went on one route and made three stops. Our first stop was at a tent city that we went to on the first day. There weren’t as many people there as the first time, but there were still a couple people that we gave food and other items to keep them warm. Our second stop was under the same highway that we went to everyday. Here, we saw many of the same people that we saw every time we went there. And our last stop was at the trailer park we went to on the first day. While we were walking through the trailer park, many kids came running up to us for new jackets and gloves and hats, and a lot if kids came up to me because I was holding a bag full of candy and some things to draw with. When we got back to the church we ate lunch and had a debrief where everyone answered the questions of where did you see God? And what impacted you the most? For me, I saw God every time we went on route through how some of the people reacted to the prayer they received. And what impacted me the most was just seeing how a small lunch and some prayer changed people’s facial expressions and also their body language.

~ Noah Atkinson

The Atlanta trip impacted me tremendously. Before I came on this trip I always believed that homeless people must always be sad and that they couldn’t be happy. But now after this trip I realized that all the people we met were so joyful considering their situation. I wasn't expecting them to be so receptive and talkative to us. It also taught me to be thankful for everything that I have and that even just a toilet  is a huge blessing. While on one of the routes I met a guy named Bryan. He asked for a lunch and then I asked if I could pray for him. He then opened up to me and told me his name and said that he wants this year to be a spiritual journey for him and that he wanted me to pray for his battle with alcoholism. He said that he didn’t do drugs or any of that but he knew that drinking was just as bad. He started to have tears in his eyes when he told me that I was a huge blessing for him and that he prayed I could help other people. After I met him I realized that so many people on the streets are way more thankful for the prayer than the actual lunch. 

~ Haley DeMaster

We all woke up for our last route of the trip. Lunches were made as usual and even the stops were ones that were ones that we have been to before. However, I couldn’t help but notice something different about the trailer park that we visited. It was the second time we had been there and we had clothing donations and candy this time. For me it was hard to notice some things on the first day because there were nerves that I had not gotten rid of. This time, it was clear to see that God was present in the trailer park. Every single family we visited were happy and willing to accept whatever they were given. I was even shocked by a little boy I met named Mateo. I offered him a pair of gloves that he could keep but he refused them and said I should give them to someone else. Even though he may have not realized it, he showed me an example of a servant heart. And it was a good reminder for me to keep in mind and bring back home. We should recognize the blessings we are given but also keep in mind what others might not have and do the best we can to help.

~ Liam O'Keefe

Morning stretches

Making more pizza lunches

Who needs a basket when you have a shirt:)

Making lunches for our group. Today we ate the same lunches we were handing out

Clean up after packing all the lunches

Several time while on route our lead van would stop and hand out lunches or items of clothing to people on the roadside.

Praying us in at our first stop

We hardly got out of the vehicle and we had people coming over to find items of clothing

Jackson praying with the person in the tent and Liam and Conor praying for the man in the chair.

This lady was staying on a concrete median between two lanes under a bridge

We saw this dog each of the days we went on route. He's chained to a tree and belongs to one of the people staying in the tent

Elliot offering prayer

Getting ready to walk through the trailer park

We handed out a lot of clothes here.  One of the trailers caught fire Saturday night and there was a family that lost everything. Some of the neighbors were trying to find clothing they could give to them.

These two boys loved looking through the candy bag our guys brought along

Madelyne found the perfect jacket for this little girl

Debrief time. Each of us talked about our experience and how we were impacted while serving in Atlanta

In the afternoon we helped unload a truck of produce, bread, cookies and pastries that came in from Costco

Of course we had to make room in the freezer so we volunteered to eat a bunch of the ice-cream bars

A little b-ball between serving and meal time

We happened to run into one of the men we met 11 years ago on our first trip to 7 Bridges.  He has since moved on from the ministry at 7 Bridges and is now married with kids.

After supper we bagged 230 + bags of cheezits to be used on the route on Saturday

Just like that it's Wednesday morning!

It's hard to believe our trip is over already. It sure seems to have gone by very fast. I am thankful for the time our group could spend down serving and learning together.  My hope is we never forget the work we did and that we continue to look for opportunities to serve the poor in our own community.  In our prayer time before we left our host, John (one of the men in the ministry) challenged us to "never turn away from our own flesh" (Isaiah 58:7) and to continue to be in the Word and let it direct our lives.