Piyali - Day 1

After a full Monday of some much needed R&R (and a couple of glasses of fresh lime soda) at the Gateway Hotel, our group of travelers woke up this morning ready to take down a plate of waffles and head to the Piyali Learning Center. The journey to the school took us through bustling streets of Calcutta, past the occasional cow road block, and along lengths of rice paddies, until finally, we found ourselves in the principal’s office—and we mean that in the best way. We enjoyed a welcoming cup of chai and took a tour through the school, led by three particularly tenacious sixth, ninth, and tenth graders. 

Every young student was eager to introduce herself, and to learn our names…and our mothers’ names, and our fathers’ names, and our siblings’ names, and our hobbies, and more. And they were especially glad to see their Didi Sonia back in their classrooms again—a cry of “THAT’S SONIA!” often sounded emphatically from the back of every room we passed. 

         

Though we had the privilege of sharing lunch with the teachers, and sitting in on various classes, most of us ended our day with the fourth graders. They gave us our first lessons in Bengali—which we have been promised to be quizzed on tomorrow—and performed one of their favorite dramas, complete with props and an impressive English translation.

After a final hour of learning to play their favorite games and sing their favorite songs, we parted ways with fervent promises to see them in the morning. As we left the school in our car, the girls piled into a group and waved us off the school grounds, calling goodbyes as we drove into the distance. The drive back to the hotel was shorter than our drive out…the driver didn’t need to stop for directions this time. Once returned, we quickly set about resting and eating dinner so that we could have time to plan our lessons for the rest of the week. We are so excited for waffles in the morning, but mostly to share with the girls the stories and lessons we’ve prepared, and to watch them learn. 

Lots of love, 

                                                                                  

Libby and Maria….but we go by Didi now. 

DOOR Story - Day 4

LA Food Bank
On the morning of Day 4, we went to the Food Bank. When we arrived, there were two other volunteer groups visiting California. The three groups split off into separate operations. Our group was sorting bread based on expiration dates, then packaging boxes with the bread that wasn't  expired.

In total we filled up 5 pallets each with 45 packaged bread boxes. At the end, we moved around 20,000 pounds of bread, which was a big help to the organization, and to the people who are in need of food. Going to the Food Bank was a great experience.
Cameron

Our final evening ended with worship.  All four youth groups joined together to close out a terrific week.  We heard from speakers about immigration and what God is calling us to do.  Some or our youth helped to lead the worship music - and did a wonderful job!  We are eager to get back home and share more details of our experiences.  If you have time, stop us at church and ask us to tell you more. We have stories to share and hope you will hear them some day.

DOOR Story - Day 3

Serving at The Lighthouse
The Lighthouse is a ministry of First Presbyterian Church N Hollywood, our host church.  It feeds the homeless in the area twice a week.  They also provide parish nurses to help with medical needs.  We prepared and served the guests their noontime meal.  We also had the privilege of visiting with some of them.  The stories we heard will stay with us.  

Homeboy Industries
This program is incredible for people who want to turn their lives around for the better. We went on a tour of the facility and our guide was very nice and knowledgable and welcoming. He clearly was a man of great faith, but we found out later that he had run away from home at 16, been in prison for 23 years and had only been out for 6 months. But the opportunities he was given at homeboy to take classes, learn skills, and gain job experience had really given him a new perspective on life. Homeboy was full of these amazing stories of people who were given a second chance: whether it be through painful tattoo removal, opportunity to finish school, or the ability to be hired with a criminal record. Everyone that comes there for help, leaves with references or a plan for their future and it was a privilege to see. After a day of incredible experiences, we decided to take our night off and do something fun.
Karli

Our "free" night at DOOR
We went out and got some great burgers at a place near the church called Shake Shack. After that and some sightseeing, we got to the main attraction: an escape room! The basic premise was that an archeologist had used our help to steal the constitution, and then framed us for the crime. We had 60 minutes to find the stolen document and make it out before the Feds burst in the room and took us prisoner. The room was full of puzzles for us to solve and it took a lot of deliberation and teamwork. We were ecstatic when we escaped the room with only 8 seconds to spare. All in all, our Wednesday night was a lot of fun and definitely one to remember.
Max

DOOR reflections from Tuesday, July 25

Our second day at D.O.O.R. consisted of us traveling to MEND which means, Meeting Each Need with Dignity. Our supervisor Art, has volunteered at MEND for 6 years. The jobs they had us do, consisted of packaging meals for single people and for families.

The meals had multiple cans of food, rice, beans, soda, pasta, and fresh produce. While, others removed canned foods from palettes and put them on shelves. After a lot of work, 68 man-hours we were told, Art took us on a tour of MEND. MEND was started in the early 70's in someone's garage. It provided food and clothes to the needy. Along with providing food and clothing, they branched out to providing computer training, gardening, sewing, English learning, eye care, dental care, medical care, portable showers, and help people earn jobs. They feed anywhere from 300-400 homeless per week. As well as, 300-400 families per week. After, our tour we ate lunch at MEND. Which was very good! After lunch and our tour we returned to our stations, and continued working for another hour.

When we got back to the church, we all walked down to 7-11 to get Slurpees. After our Slurpee trip, we played cards for 2 hours with some of the other youth groups.

For dinner, we did an exercise called a solidarity walk. Which meant they weren't giving us dinner but we had to feed ourselves, without any money. We were split up into 2 groups, girls and boys, and we walked the streets asking for money. Some of us were given money but other were turned down. It was uncomfortable to ask people for money and when they said no because it was very discouraging. Some of us came back to the church with food and others didn't. Everyone thought this was a difficult to approach people. After this activity, we had a guest speaker named Dion Ramos come and talk to us about homelessness. He talked to us about the myths and the stats of homelessness. He shared many stories of helping the homeless. Our second day was filled with up's and down's but overall an amazing day.
Sarah 

DOOR Los Angeles - Monday reflections

Out first night in Los Angeles was followed up by a pleasant morning and a day of service. Today, we went to the Alexandria House, a non-profit organization that provides daycare and summer camps for children from pre-k to fourth grade.

As volunteers for this program, we played with and took care of the children as part of their summer camp program. Seeing the kids enjoying themselves was simply beautiful for all of the volunteers there. Watching them warm up to us throughout the day was meaningful to us as humans; it was nice to know that we were considered friends in the kids' eyes.
Some of the highlights of the day included the large game of Apples-to-Apples with a few of the children and the craft time later in the day when the kids constructed "mouths" by gluing marshmallow "teeth" into a paper mouth. After the program, half of our group went to Home Depot to pick up the things they needed to fix a broken fan in the guys' sleeping area while we went straight back to the church. On the way back to the church, we had time to reflect on what we'd just experienced. Looking out the window on the cityscape of L.A., we wished that everyone could have the chance to have fun and not worry about their problems, knowing they are safe and cared for, as we helped the kids to do today. This deep reflection was followed up by a Slurpie betrayal: the half of our group going to Home Depot had stopped by 7-11 afterwards and gotten Slurpies without us.

At the evening program today, we had discussions about how every one has a different story. Even if multiple people are in similar situations, they may or may not have come from the same background or had the same experiences. We did an activity with all of the different groups participating in DOOR: a guest speaker had us step forward when she read a statement that was true for us. The statements included some funny ones, like "Take a step forward if you have really cool pants," and some were more uncomfortable, like "Take a step forward if you or someone you know has ever been incarcerated." As the activity went on, we observed who was standing with us. It was interesting to see the similarities and differences in people who looked or seemed totally different. The activity helped us to bond while also giving us an example of just how diverse even a single room can be.
Anna, Sarah, and Leo

A Brief Note From the Africa Team...

This is the church that we worked on three years ago.

We went to two services and Pastor Luther spoke at both. This is where we sanded, painted and built chairs. I also made the church's cross with Phil, the old station manager and friend.
~~ Stefan

Closing Thoughts from the Youth Minister

Yesterday, Thursday, was a long, hot, fun, tiring day.  We all arrived home safely very late last night.  Some of us arrived to church later than others, and therefore I missed the opportunity to say some goodbyes and greet all the parents whom I am certain were curious about their student’s experience on this trip.  I want to take this opportunity to share, collectively, with parents and all who wish to read on, some trip highlights from my perspective.  

Eighteen youth came together (along with two spectacular adult volunteers, Lisa and Elias) and spent four and a half days being a community.  The ages of the students ranged from 13 to 18 years old.  For some, it was their first time on a youth trip because they finally turned 13. For some, Incarnation is not their home church, but they joined in as friends or family to our members.  

I saw all of them working together on the farm splitting logs, collecting eggs, cleaning animal pens, trimming trees, and laying concrete forms.  They also worked together in paired dodge ball, crossing an imaginary river, and trying to count flawlessly to the number ten.  They stepped out of their comfort zones to help at Central City Lutheran Mission (CCLM) prepping meals, cleaning pantries, and playing water games with the elementary kids.   I was witness to their patience, cooperation, teamwork, and compassion over the last four days.  

Were efforts made to make new friends, to include the new students, to grow in their faith, to be Jesus’ hands and feet in the world? Were harsh words spoken to one another on occasion?  Were there times we didn’t live up to our own expectations?  The answer to all of those questions is a resounding YES. 

We are not perfect (I am including myself here too!) But I witnessed each of our group connecting to one another and growing as a community.  I witnessed laughter when we all messed up the Labyrinth in our first attempt.  I witnessed joy for the baby goats, excitement in seeing a mama bear and her cubs in our midst, pain in Tanner’s bee stings, and concern for the people of CCLM.  

These young men and women made connections with one another, the LRCC camp staff, and the community at CCLM. These are relationships that have the potential to influence their futures.  Despite how the future may look when we watch the evening news, I see our future as hope-filled and blessed because I had the joy and privilege to spend the last four days with a small community who know Jesus and who know how to love their neighbors. 

Thank you to all who offered their prayers for us over these last few days.  

Thank you to all who made this trip possible with your financial support.  

THANK YOU to Elias Symons and Lisa Dorn for giving of their personal time, talents, and their hearts to this trip. 

  

Thank you to the youth: Luke, Nick, Tanner, Tori, Max, Aidan, Lizzie, Logan, Erica, Karli, Brynna, Brandon, Anna, Eli, Sarah T., Will, Sarah P., and Cameron.  You are terrific!   

Looking forward to next summer, 

Mindy