Day 5-Churning Away

Thursday marked a time of where we all started to realize that our time to make an impact in Seattle was almost over. Over time, the team has become more acclimated with the different serving sites, such as YWCA Angeline and Neighborhood House. With this also comes sadness because the group has felt the need to continue to serve, by making it a long-term priority.  As the week has gone on, the team has become only stronger by challenging their respective morals and values.

Volunteering at Neighborhood House was a bittersweet experience. We were excited to finish off our service experience strong but was also aware that many of us would not see these exact kids again. It also did not help that some students were encouraging team members to come back to help the school and attend extracurricular activities that they are involved in.

With the trying circumstances, the team pledged to continue being of help to the students. At this point, most of the team has one or two students that they have built a strong rapport with, so tackling homework turned out to be an easy success. And as a whole, students were more willing to finish their work as soon as possible,knowing the circumstances.

After tutoring, students partook in an Olympics that we helped the faculty set up. Some of the activities were a football toss, cup shuttle run, jump rope contest, etc. This activity highlights our presence in Seola Gardens, as the kids were running, jumping, screaming, and all the more. The kids seemed to be so relieved and free of any sort of possible stress that could have been built up from pressures at school. And by the time we left, students did not want us to leave as they were pledging us to be part of a Henna dye contest, watching them prepare Somali cake, etc.

For the team social activities, we went to the downtown Seattle Underground Tours and also had a ride on the ferry. The Underground Tours provided an 'alternative' perspective to the history of Seattle, as much of this history is disregarded. Walking in underground tunnels, looking at relics, and hearing about history was like being in a history class. Our ferry ride was enjoyable as we trekked to Bainbridge Island, which is a 30 minute ride from downtown. On the way back to Seattle, we were able to see the illuminated skyline front & center, and without fog no less.

As the journey has gone on, the amount of high points in each day has greatly outweighed the low points. It is to the point that many of our members had to really dig for 'low points', even though they were not necessarily low. Having the chance to explore downtown, Pikes Place, and tutor for the last time

were definite high points and low points were very basic, such as being sleep deprived. This is a tribute to the tenacity our team has but also the value that service has on us as a whole.

Day 4: Life Experiences and Lessons Learned

It has been pretty hard keeping up with these blog posts as every night ends with all of us experiencing pure exhaustion. Wednesday kept with the same pace as all the other days thus far on the trip. We would be serving at Operation Night-watch, the YWCA and Neighborhood House.We were all tired but in very high spirits we would say goodbye to all the women at the YWCA. Many of our favorite parts of the day were serving these women. Tears were shed as many of us connected on a deeper level with the women. For me I had the privilege of meeting a woman that reminded me of my mom. The two lines that showed on each side of her face reminded me of the marks on my mom's face, and her chocolate skin, and familiar demeanor reminded me of home. Nervously I sat across from her sparingly looking over wanting to ask her where she was from. Little did I know that her and I would have more in common than what I thought I knew at first glance. In time I got the courage to say, "Ma'am, where are you from?"

Surprised she paused looked at me and said that she lived in Portland, but was originally from Nigeria.

Both of my parents are from Nigeria.

What I would later find out was that she was also from the exact same tribe as my mom. I was instantly captivated by her strength and her resiliency. We talked about her life, my life, the expectations that come with being Nigerian and even her desires to make a better life for her and her children. In time I felt moved by her story. It brought me to tears. So I simply asked her, "Are you happy?" 

She paused and said, "Yes, I am".

Despite all she had been through she was happy, and in no similar way has my life been as hard, and yet there were many things I'm not happy with. 

In time our discussion faded, I said a few words of encouragement to her and we said goodbye.

I don't know why I met her but I think it to be a God thing. It isn't everyday you meet a random stranger that has so much in common down to her life story lining up with you or someone you know. Maybe I met her because I needed to be encouraged in who I am. Maybe the woman needed me. I do not know, but all I know is that my encounter with her touched me. Changed me, and reminded me of how much I love my mom and my family. It also reminded me of how precious life is, and how easily my parents story could have been very similar to hers, and more specifically why I have every reason to take pride in my culture. 

Many of the students shared similar stories of those they met on Wednesday. One student talked about meeting an elderly 89 year old robust and yet youthful looking woman named Estelle. Estelle talked about her passion and love for writing. Even opening up to the point of letting our student read portions of her life story she had written. Another student talked about similar experienceswith another   woman at the shelter.

Overall the day was a great day. After finishing up from the YWCA the group headed to Neighborhood House to tutor. As always tutoring the kids was a pleasant and wonderful time. We are on the straightaway now of this week, and getting ready to head back home. I think I speak for the entire team when I say it has been a life changing and great experience!

Day 2 & 3: Can't Stop, Won't Stop

This post comes a day later than expected. On this trip, hours seem to fly by so fast and yet the days seem to pass slowly. However, we are enjoying every minute of each day. Tuesday was the busiest day of our trip yet. We woke up around 8am and we were out of the house well before 9:30pm. We would spend our morning serving food to the women of YWCA and from there head over to Neighborhood house in order to assist in the tutoring elementary school children, followed by a search and rescue project with interns from Serve Seattle. For many of us these experiences were very new. Some of us were nervous about serving meals to the women at the shelter while others looked forward to tutoring kids later that day. Nobody really knew what to expect going into the search and rescue that evening, but at the end of the day we we were all pleased and excited about how everything went. The day took everything out of us and for many of us we didn't have much time to reenergize or just relax. Yet on a positive note, that did not stop us.


Tuesday was very refreshing and rewarding. To start the day off,we served at Operation Night Watch,whose main goals are to provide food and short-term shelter for senior citizens in need of support. Our team helped clean rooms of four individuals that are residents at the shelter. Groups of two students per room helped residents by vacuuming floors, sanitizing dressers,cleaning windows,etc. After this was complete,we took a brief break and then cleaned bathrooms and kitchen equipment. This experience had a cleaning component to it but the group was satisfied to have a direct impact on those we served. Throughout our morning and early afternoon,we were able to all build good rapport with the residents. From here,we went to the Neighborhood House to tutor the elementary students, the same that we helped yesterday. The students seemed to be very excited for us to be in their presence as they are now used to us being there. Towards the end,we also played with the kids in the park after the tutoring session,which was quite memorable for us all. From our group debrief,most if not all of the team did not have specific complaints on the day. The only main issue was with scheduling dinner in Pikes Place market was that all of the restaurants were closed,so we had to change plans. With this said,the team took the challenge in stride and was willing to consider other options for dinner. So overall,a satisfying day on all fronts.

More pics

Day 1: Starting Line

The first day of our trip marked the first time that we were able to spend time outside of class for an extended period of time, which turned out to be a great experience. Our van ride was filled laughter, head bobbling (from being asleep), and a group CD that was eaten by the CD player.

This did not mark a day of strictly service work but we were able to get a good feel for our surroundings. We met with Owen Sallee, who works at Seattle Pacific University doing community outreach work. His message was essentially about gaging the work that we do and also summing up critical issues in Seattle, as it pertains to racial/ethnic differences. From here, we had some downtime to explore downtown Seattle along with some areas that we will be serving, most specifically the YWCA Angeline's Center. After, we headed to the SonShine Inn to meet with Serve Seattle interns, which turned out to give us all a good perspective on what to expect moving forward. What was a twist was that we also met students from Western Washington University, who have a similar agenda as us. So essentially we were all getting to know one another as we get ready to tackle a common goal. 

High and low points from the day (from a team perspective):

Highs

• Leaving school on time
• Laughter
• Getting to hang out with the team outside of the classroom
• Meeting and interacting with the Serve Seattle interns and members from WWU 
• Seeing Seattle as a city as well as what it has to offer. 
• Encouraging words from Owen Sallee, as in he likes the work that CU does and that he wants to replicate a similar model at SPU and work with us in the future.
• Team members being ready to get out and serve!

Lows

• Personal preferences are still commonplace (biases, preferences, etc.)
• That said, this is the first day of the trip and it takes time to completely get out of your comfort zone.
• Unexpected raucous of being in such an occupied lodging area where lots people are sharing relatively small spaces.
• This could prove to be a conflict when trying to build a team camaraderie but it serves as an opportunity to get and give perspective.
• Lack of not knowing how religious Serve Seattle is as some members on the team are not religious.
• This difference can be of good use as there are various ways in which to help alleviate
  
  
  
  
  poverty and injustice.