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.
What a valuable experience.
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