Since it is the first
semester of my freshmen year I decided to get involved with many different
clubs and organizations on campus.
I like meeting new people but I also have a passion for helping others and
volunteering in the community. One club I tried out was
Downtown Ministry, part of Intervarsity, a religious organization on campus.
This
was my own personal spiritual journey that I was not aware I was getting myself
into.
It
starts with meeting the group leader at their dorm at 6:45 am and preparing egg
and cheese bagel sandwiches. We then do an hour of
bible study before heading downtown in Newport News where there is a rec center
open for the homeless. This shelter provides
hot beverages, free showers, televisions, basketball courts, and just a place
to stay if you have nowhere to go.
With Downtown
Ministry, we go into this place and handout the breakfast sandwiches we made
earlier in the morning and have conversations with the people. Meeting all these new
people for the first time and hearing about their lives and background stories
really had an impact on me and gave me a sense of clarity that I was
desperately in need of. This reminded me what is out there, that life is not always perfect but
there are people who have nothing and still are thankful to God and see small
things that I normally would not notice as big things in the world. They notice the
small, detailed parts of life and are thankful for what they have. We also pray with
them, for instance I was praying with a man named William who was in his mid-fifties
and in need of a job. We prayed with him and that to me was spiritually refreshing and it did
have an impact on my life. I think my faith was strengthened through this day and that was the result
of joining this club.
No comments:
Post a Comment