The Boston Project
I can't believe I'm actually attempting this: summarizing my experience with The Boston Project this spring break....
If you're already confused, take a deep breath. I can explain. This Spring Break, I participated in "Break for Change," an opportunity put on by my school that organizes short term missions trips for students over their Spring Breaks. You can guess by now, I went to Boston.
We left Friday.... oh wait, we didn't. We'd PLANNED on leaving Friday afternoon, but tornado weather kept us safe at home (or, in my case, the Sapienza's home!). That's another story in itself. Suffice to say, I tried Coffee Punch for the first time. Restart, we left Saturday; bright and early at 6-ish in the AM. Then we drove. The next 15 hours looked just about the same. We listened to some Chronicles of Narnia, Mumford & Sons, Frank Sinatra, and other classics. We finally stopped for the night in Mahwah, New Jersey.
Sunday, we drove. Only, this time, the story changed at around 2pm. WE WERE IN BOSTON!!! We stayed in a small, historic church (2nd church of the Nazarene) in the neighborhood of Boston. Once we arrived, we were greeted by some of the Boston Project staff and shown what was to be our home for the next week. I was pretty excited about the fact that we had beds... and showers. After lunch with the team and the staff of Boston Project, we embarked on what's called an "urban dip." We walked around different neighborhoods, talking to people and visiting key areas of the town, and learned about what made that neighborhood unique. The 11 members of my team were split into 3 groups. I went with 3 others to Mattapan, about 5 minutes from Dorchester. Here, my team walked into a Haitian/Creole church, completely underdressed! The members of this church (who didn't speak much English) were all in suits and such, my team was in road trip attire. It was eye opening being on the end of "judged" rather than "judge."
Monday, we began our first official "work day." We started the morning off painting. A hideous yellow to cover an atrocious green on the church walls. It was GREAT (or maybe it was just the paint fumes)! After lunch, we proceeded to our after school program placements. Again, the team was split into three groups. My group went to a Presbyterian church called "Greenwood Shalom." The supervisor, Ms. Pam, began asking me and the three others with me about ourselves. When she found out I was I psychology major, she said, "I have the PERFECT kid for you. Daryl has some major behavioral issues, but you'll get along great with him!" Nervous, but willing, I worked with Daryl that day. Ms. Pam was right about Daryl. It was a really hard day to be patient, but I did my best. I prayed hard for Daryl the rest of the week. What ended up happening was that another girl on my team (with a stronger personality) took a keen interest in Daryl and wanted to work with him. By the end of the week, Daryl asked the girl if she could come home with him and play Xbox! As for me, I tutored a 3rd grader named Kaitlyn. She was extremely intelligent, easily distracted; typical 8 year old. One of my favorite quotes from Kaitlyn is, "My dad doesn't bake by scratch, he bakes by heart!"
Also monday night, we had a team activity, called Star Power. I really don't have the energy to go into it now, so I'll have to make it a separate post (along with my devotions for the week). I can say that I almost cried and was challenged to think about the meaning of justice and treating everyone with the love of God.
Tuesday, half of the team continued painting (my half) and the other half went to a women's homeless center (called Rosie's place). The Rosie's Place team served homeless and impoverished women food and gave them necessary supplies (i.e., feminine products in case you wanted to know). Anyway, they gushed about their time there and just how great it was to see the smiles on women's faces, and to know they'd helped in putting them there. Tuesday afternoon it was back to Greenwood Shalom until dinner. Dinner that night was a "night on the town." Our team went to Antico Forno, an authentic Italian restaurant. I had Fusilli pasta with plum tomato sauce and goat cheese (oh yeah, and an espresso cannoli for dessert!). Delish!
Wednesday was probably my favorite day! It was a gorgeous 65 degrees outside, and sunny. I was invited to help with maintenance of The Boston Project's community learning garden (they have nutrition and green space classes there taught by the community adults to community children). I helped sift the compost and then distribute it into strawberry and lavender plots. I felt like the farmer from Harvest Moon (for those of you who know what that Role Play Game is)! I worked with Dana, a certified master urban gardener. She's great, just sayin'. After that my gardening experience turned a little more gruesome. I was put on trash duty. I picked up glass, garbage, beer bottles, baby diapers, and worse. Overall, we just cleaned up the space and had a ton of fun! It was great to be part of something I knew impacted community living so much and brought people together. Wednesday night, half of the team (my half this time!!!) went to downtown Boston. There, in a park called Boston Commons, we joined "Starlight ministries" in talking with homeless people and holding a prayer/worship circle with them. It was amazing! I talked with one man, Henry, for about an hour. His wife had died recently, and his oldest son had been crippled by a freight train... the pain was evident on Henry's face. He was searching. He literally carried a "world religions" book in his hands. He was searching. I was able to talk with him and just ask him questions about God, who he believes God is, and what specifically strikes him as good or bad about the God of the Bible. I just pray that God meets Henry on the streets, right where he's at. The second man I talked to was smashed: drunk. I couldn't understand much of what he said, and what I caught appalled me. This man, David, just had a really dirty mouth. Despite this, I tried to listen actively and at least give him a friend for a night. God only knows where these two men are now.
Thursday, half of the team stayed behind and painted, and my half went to Cradles to Crayons, a warehouse of children's supplies. Needy families can just come in and take out whatever their kid needs, free of charge! Our job was to organize and inventory some clothes, shoes, and toys. We were only there for 2 hours, but I think we got a lot done, and I know many kids will be blessed because of this organization.
Friday, it was time to say goodbye. I know, it came quickly didn't it? I was surprised, too. Whether I was ready or not, it was time to go. We cleaned our "house" and took one final team picture before heading out. We spent the afternoon in downtown Boston (we couldn't leave without being tourists for a bit, could we?). I visited the graveyard where Paul Revere and John Hancock are buried, I had lunch at Quincy market, and walked through a holocaust monument (which was really humbling, by the way). I also shopped (window and otherwise) and got coffee from Au Bon Pain (French for "Good bread"). Oh yeah, and I ate dinner at PANDA EXPRESS!!!
We left Boston at 6pm. We didn't stop for a hotel until 2am. I was exhausted! We continued our drive back to Bryan at 8am the next day. Finally, at 9pm, we made it back to campus. *sigh.
There is just so much more that happened between the lines of what I can share here. Please talk to me if you want to know more, I'd be happy to share!
Stay tuned for a summary of my morning devos and how faithful God was as a Teacher. We went through the book of Micah. Also, look forward to my explanation of our team activity: Star Power.
Keep calm and carry on.
If you're already confused, take a deep breath. I can explain. This Spring Break, I participated in "Break for Change," an opportunity put on by my school that organizes short term missions trips for students over their Spring Breaks. You can guess by now, I went to Boston.
We left Friday.... oh wait, we didn't. We'd PLANNED on leaving Friday afternoon, but tornado weather kept us safe at home (or, in my case, the Sapienza's home!). That's another story in itself. Suffice to say, I tried Coffee Punch for the first time. Restart, we left Saturday; bright and early at 6-ish in the AM. Then we drove. The next 15 hours looked just about the same. We listened to some Chronicles of Narnia, Mumford & Sons, Frank Sinatra, and other classics. We finally stopped for the night in Mahwah, New Jersey.
Sunday, we drove. Only, this time, the story changed at around 2pm. WE WERE IN BOSTON!!! We stayed in a small, historic church (2nd church of the Nazarene) in the neighborhood of Boston. Once we arrived, we were greeted by some of the Boston Project staff and shown what was to be our home for the next week. I was pretty excited about the fact that we had beds... and showers. After lunch with the team and the staff of Boston Project, we embarked on what's called an "urban dip." We walked around different neighborhoods, talking to people and visiting key areas of the town, and learned about what made that neighborhood unique. The 11 members of my team were split into 3 groups. I went with 3 others to Mattapan, about 5 minutes from Dorchester. Here, my team walked into a Haitian/Creole church, completely underdressed! The members of this church (who didn't speak much English) were all in suits and such, my team was in road trip attire. It was eye opening being on the end of "judged" rather than "judge."
Monday, we began our first official "work day." We started the morning off painting. A hideous yellow to cover an atrocious green on the church walls. It was GREAT (or maybe it was just the paint fumes)! After lunch, we proceeded to our after school program placements. Again, the team was split into three groups. My group went to a Presbyterian church called "Greenwood Shalom." The supervisor, Ms. Pam, began asking me and the three others with me about ourselves. When she found out I was I psychology major, she said, "I have the PERFECT kid for you. Daryl has some major behavioral issues, but you'll get along great with him!" Nervous, but willing, I worked with Daryl that day. Ms. Pam was right about Daryl. It was a really hard day to be patient, but I did my best. I prayed hard for Daryl the rest of the week. What ended up happening was that another girl on my team (with a stronger personality) took a keen interest in Daryl and wanted to work with him. By the end of the week, Daryl asked the girl if she could come home with him and play Xbox! As for me, I tutored a 3rd grader named Kaitlyn. She was extremely intelligent, easily distracted; typical 8 year old. One of my favorite quotes from Kaitlyn is, "My dad doesn't bake by scratch, he bakes by heart!"
Also monday night, we had a team activity, called Star Power. I really don't have the energy to go into it now, so I'll have to make it a separate post (along with my devotions for the week). I can say that I almost cried and was challenged to think about the meaning of justice and treating everyone with the love of God.
Tuesday, half of the team continued painting (my half) and the other half went to a women's homeless center (called Rosie's place). The Rosie's Place team served homeless and impoverished women food and gave them necessary supplies (i.e., feminine products in case you wanted to know). Anyway, they gushed about their time there and just how great it was to see the smiles on women's faces, and to know they'd helped in putting them there. Tuesday afternoon it was back to Greenwood Shalom until dinner. Dinner that night was a "night on the town." Our team went to Antico Forno, an authentic Italian restaurant. I had Fusilli pasta with plum tomato sauce and goat cheese (oh yeah, and an espresso cannoli for dessert!). Delish!
Wednesday was probably my favorite day! It was a gorgeous 65 degrees outside, and sunny. I was invited to help with maintenance of The Boston Project's community learning garden (they have nutrition and green space classes there taught by the community adults to community children). I helped sift the compost and then distribute it into strawberry and lavender plots. I felt like the farmer from Harvest Moon (for those of you who know what that Role Play Game is)! I worked with Dana, a certified master urban gardener. She's great, just sayin'. After that my gardening experience turned a little more gruesome. I was put on trash duty. I picked up glass, garbage, beer bottles, baby diapers, and worse. Overall, we just cleaned up the space and had a ton of fun! It was great to be part of something I knew impacted community living so much and brought people together. Wednesday night, half of the team (my half this time!!!) went to downtown Boston. There, in a park called Boston Commons, we joined "Starlight ministries" in talking with homeless people and holding a prayer/worship circle with them. It was amazing! I talked with one man, Henry, for about an hour. His wife had died recently, and his oldest son had been crippled by a freight train... the pain was evident on Henry's face. He was searching. He literally carried a "world religions" book in his hands. He was searching. I was able to talk with him and just ask him questions about God, who he believes God is, and what specifically strikes him as good or bad about the God of the Bible. I just pray that God meets Henry on the streets, right where he's at. The second man I talked to was smashed: drunk. I couldn't understand much of what he said, and what I caught appalled me. This man, David, just had a really dirty mouth. Despite this, I tried to listen actively and at least give him a friend for a night. God only knows where these two men are now.
Thursday, half of the team stayed behind and painted, and my half went to Cradles to Crayons, a warehouse of children's supplies. Needy families can just come in and take out whatever their kid needs, free of charge! Our job was to organize and inventory some clothes, shoes, and toys. We were only there for 2 hours, but I think we got a lot done, and I know many kids will be blessed because of this organization.
Friday, it was time to say goodbye. I know, it came quickly didn't it? I was surprised, too. Whether I was ready or not, it was time to go. We cleaned our "house" and took one final team picture before heading out. We spent the afternoon in downtown Boston (we couldn't leave without being tourists for a bit, could we?). I visited the graveyard where Paul Revere and John Hancock are buried, I had lunch at Quincy market, and walked through a holocaust monument (which was really humbling, by the way). I also shopped (window and otherwise) and got coffee from Au Bon Pain (French for "Good bread"). Oh yeah, and I ate dinner at PANDA EXPRESS!!!
We left Boston at 6pm. We didn't stop for a hotel until 2am. I was exhausted! We continued our drive back to Bryan at 8am the next day. Finally, at 9pm, we made it back to campus. *sigh.
There is just so much more that happened between the lines of what I can share here. Please talk to me if you want to know more, I'd be happy to share!
Stay tuned for a summary of my morning devos and how faithful God was as a Teacher. We went through the book of Micah. Also, look forward to my explanation of our team activity: Star Power.
Keep calm and carry on.
I'm so proud. What an experience. One you will never forget or outlive!
ReplyDelete