Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Living in Poverty: Guestwriter Kayla Carpenter


Today over 1.4 Billion people live
in absolute poverty and many
have never heard the Good News
of Jesus


This year, (my freshman year at Baylor) I am enrolled in a class called Poverty in Developing Countries. Requirements for achieving an A are as follows: attend class, read the text book (When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . .and Ourselves)* complete 30 hours of community service, and attend Mission Waco’s Poverty Simulation. So naturally, on the coldest and wettest weekend of the year, I packed up my things and headed to the city streets (or rather Mission Waco’s training center).


When we arrived we were told to pick four items to keep for the weekend and everything else would be locked upstairs until Sunday afternoon. I chose my sleeping bag, sweatshirt, rain jacket, and toothbrush. Choosing those things was harder than you would think… you try picking four items to live off of for days. We were then lead to Mission Waco’s thrift shop where we relinquished our clothes and changed into whatever outfits we could find there. I found a lovely pair of off-brand white leather Keds for my feet, a pair of almost white khaki pants that only fit if I wore them about three inches above my belly button, and a blue t-shirt supporting SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design). With the white matching shoes and pants I looked about ready to head off for rounds at a mental hospital.


We then arrived back at the training center and told that we were being given 40 fake dollars to support ourselves and our imaginary children (I think I had two… yikes!) Meals were $6 and a night inside the shelter was $20. So the first night, we braved the cold and slept in the backyard of the training center. I found a spot beneath a picnic table on the paved ground under the covered porch. At about 5 AM the freezing rain began pouring and all those not already beneath the porch ran and grabbed a spot. The ground flooded so for the next four hours I sat on the picnic table wrapped in a soaked sleeping bag trying to block the wind and rain from my face.


Those who paid for breakfast were allowed inside at 9 while the rest of us stayed outside. We then walked about six blocks in the rain to another building where we were finally let inside. We played interactive group games and watched a documentary on the work that Mission Waco founders Jimmy and Janet Dorrell have been doing in Haiti for years.


We split into groups of six or seven and were then sent on a scavenger hunt through the streets of Waco. Items on the list were things such as, “interview a homeless person”, “collect 100 aluminum cans”, “find a reusable item on the street”, “find lunch”. That’s right people, we had to find our own lunch (assuming local restaurants wouldn’t accept monopoly money). So we swung a free basket of fries at D’s Mediterranean Grill and with $10 donated to us by someone who took pity on us we bought a taco for everybody in the group. At 4 PM we headed back to the training center where we had a multicultural dinner.


I, of course, was sent to the India table where we were served curried pork and rice. The US table on the other hand was served salad, steak, baked potatoes, and ice cream sundaes. After dinner we talked about our experiences and headed to bed (INSIDE!).


Sunday morning we walked about 20 blocks to attend Church Under the Bridge (literally it is under I-35 across from Baylor’s campus). Jimmy Dorrell, the executive director of Mission Waco, and my professor, is the pastor and his wife, along with some church members, leads music. For a couple hours we served with, worshipped with, and fellowshipped with the homeless of our Waco community. It was actually a pretty amazing experience. We then walked back to the training center for a free lunch and were sent packing. For the first time in two days I took a shower and changed my clothes.


What did I learn? Well first of all, to be more thankful. Second of all, spending a weekend “in poverty” is NO comparison to what homeless people experience every day. The entire weekend I thought, “I can make it till Sunday, I can make it till Sunday,” but people who actually live without a place to sleep at night can’t say that. I don’t claim to understand, but how could I begin to talk about their needs if I don’t even attempt to learn what they are. Would I encourage you to participate? Absolutely. This description is only a little of what my weekend entailed. All in all, it was a great experience that opened my eyes to the many needs that the impoverished have and the challenges they face.
If you are interested in participating in Mission Waco’s Poverty Simulation go to http://www.missionwaco.org/povsimhtml.html


Want to learn more about Church Under the Bridge? Visit: http://www.churchunderthebridge.org/index.html


*I highly recommend this book, it’s not actually a text book; it’s a small paperback and it actually really good.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

How To Have A Happy Easter

Step #1 :Wear Goggles!

Between the amount of sun, pollen, and construction dust, the only way to keep all those things out of our eyes would be to strap on a pair of goggles...we don't have goggles, so we'll just squint!  The construction is moving along though and it looks like the new dorms will actually open on time.  The closer they are to finishing the dorms, they closer they are to our front door.  I actually woke up the other morning because I heard this awful CRASH!  I felt like I was living the "Night Before Christmas" because I actually did spring from my bed to see what was the matter...away to the window I flew like a flash...and then I opened the blinds to see what the damage was.  All I heard was the sound of crumbling rock, and I was convinced that the crew had run into the building.  I was wrong, they were just dumping an entire truck load of rocks right outside our window.  And today, they've moved so close, I think we can actually read each other's lips if the blinds are open.  This closeness also means that Tyler's worst fear has come true...they have taken away our sidewalk that leads to our porch...luckily for us, they have created an alternate route to our porch by replacing the sidewalk with stepping stones construction materials (boxes, rocks, plastic).  It's actually very creative on their part...Tyler hasn't seen it yet, he will not be a happy camper!

Other than nasty construction dust (and stinky porta-potties), the pollen here has been crazy.  It is everywhere: all over the cars, the windows, the sidewalk boxes, rocks, and plastic, and all over my bike...which brings me to my next step...

Step #2: Ride Your Bike

I went on a bike ride (8.6 miles to be exact) the other day, and as I was feeling very good about myself, I think my bike was feeling otherwise.  The next morning, I woke up and found my bike in the following condition:

That's right...flattest flat tire ever!  This obviously was how my bike told me that I was acting crazy the other day...is this a sign that working out is a bad idea?  I don't think so, because I got another bike tube and you better believe I'll be back out on the road again.

Step #3: Admire Your New Homemade Wreath


Thank you Jana White for the fabulous idea!  When I saw this on her blog, I just had to have one for myself.  So, I made this one and I'm very pleased at how it turned out.  Little sis, Kayla, also made one, and we both love them. 

Step #4: Eat Good Food

I wouldn't exactly say we had a fancy Easter dinner.  This whole "living on a budget" thing meant burgers and hot dogs for us on Easter Sunday, and even though it wasn't fancy, it was delicious!  We had some friends over for lunch (including brother Ryan) and finished everything off with homemade ice cream and strawberries...YUM! 

Step #5: Take Pictures

Easter Sunday means picture time!  Here are a couple of the ones we got...by the way, trying to get Tyler to take any kind of series of pictures is very difficult (Lynley, Nikki, and Lindsey can attest to that).  He usually has to be told how many pictures he is expected to smile in...so this is what we ended up with (besides the one at the top of the post).


Step #6: Discover the True Meaning of "Spring Cleaning"

I have never actually practiced the art of Spring Cleaning...until this weekend.  This is not to say that I've never cleaned anything, but rather that I've never extreme cleaned anything.  On Saturday morning (after eating breakfast in bed!), we decided it was time to give the apartment the once over and do a bit of cleaning.  This proposed 1-2 hour cleaning spree turned into an all day affair.  What was accomplished?

* Vacuuming * Dusting * Sweeping * Shaking out the rugs * Swiffer Mop * Bathtub * Toilet * Mirrors * Dishes * Laundry * Sheets * Porch * Windows *

The windows were a nightmare...but I will say that all of our hard work payed off and the apartment looks GREAT!  Now it's time to have company...Jeremy comes into town today, and we can't wait to hang out. 

Update from his visit to come!  Until then, Happy Easter, hope it was a good one for all!