Seattle Outreach
Dave working at the food bank
We left for Seattle at the early hour of 6:50 AM last Sunday morning to go on our first local outreach. My parents had agreed to watch the kids for the week and arrived the night before. Rising at the early hour of 5 AM we double checked our luggage and prepared for a long day ahead. We were excited to be in a city close to our hearts and to our new home in Puyallup at New Beginnings. That first evening in Seattle we experienced our initial interactions with the homeless population and served them hot cocoa. On Monday morning we woke up early to head downtown. Our purpose was to meet and talk with those who were homeless. We came across a young man named Daniel who explained that he would crash on people’s couches or in their cars when he was able but that he had no roof of his own to sleep under. He was unsure about life and God but allowed us to pray with him. We were able to spend about an hour sharing God’s love with him. As it neared 10:45 AM we headed for Northwest Harvest, a local food bank, to hand out food to people in need. It was amazing to see all the people come through the line and to be a part of such an instrumental ministry in Seattle. On Tuesday we cleaned and painted the church that was hosting us for the week. We were blessed by an area church and were able to sleep on their floor, use their showers, and the kitchen for the whole week. On Wednesday we arrived to the Union Gospel Mission by 6:45 AM to help serve breakfast. After arriving they asked if we would be able to sing while the people ate. Heather, David (one of our leaders) and Amanda (another student) sang worship music as folks made their way through the breakfast line and ate. Along with a couple of the other students I was assigned to serve the grits and other accompanying breakfast items. It was an amazing experience and we all had time to talk with and listen to the stories of the people’s pain, hardships and sometimes bad decisions. After leaving there we went back to Northwest Harvest to serve again. Thursday we finished up the projects began on Tuesday at the church we were staying at. We ended a little early so we could go and serve at The Bread of Life Mission. This is a Christ centered mission that provides food, beds and showers for those homeless who remain clean and sober. We arrived in time to eat dinner with the staff and to our pleasant surprise we were served steak, mashed potatoes and eggnog, my first of the year! After eating we spent some time cleaning the kitchen. Lastly, we had the privilege of serving steak to all the homeless people that came in that night. There was even enough food for them to have a second helping. It was a great thing to be a part of. The people were so happy to receive steak and their smiles warmed our souls. On Friday we left the familiar city; one we had visited often to shop and drink coffee, with a new perspective. Not only is the Emerald city one of the coolest places to shop, it was now on my map as one that needs people to go and serve the homeless population. To me, Seattle has now become a richer place than I previously viewed it as. It is rich with my new friends who sleep under the stars.
-Dave
