City Sights and People

Today, we started the day with a fun ice breaker and a reflection on the power of empathy. We wanted to be intentional throughout the day about what empathy is and how we can best express it to the people we serve.

Since we had a free morning, we did a lot of sightseeing! First, we went to the Columbia Center. From the 70th floor, we had a great view of the city!! We also went to the Seattle Public library.
Pikes Place Market was super fun as well. We shopped and ate lots of good food!

After the morning, we headed over to Seattle Night Watch. Some of us made PB&J's and others sorted various toiletries. We then had the opportunity to cook a spaghetti dinner for low income senior citizens. Our whole team used our individual skills and passions to make the dinner possible.

A great part of this experience, was getting to know the supervisor who runs the senior center. She was full of wisdom and great stories. Serving here was a great illustration of community
After day two of service, we are all building upon our "whys" and learning more about what it means to truly serve others.

-Jasmine & Kylie 

the view from the 70th floor 

Columbia Center Group Picture 

Gum Wall & Search for Crepes!!

Seattle Night Watch

Making PB&Js

Day 2: First day of service!

This morning we started off our day with thinking/ reflecting on our whys like;

Why do I serve?, Why am I here? and Why is serving with "Eyes wide open" important?

We also reflected on the quote below as we entered into our first day of service. 

Today we went to YWCA (young women's christian association) Angeline's house & Neighborhood house. 

At Angeline's house we prepared lunch for 100 women, and at Neighborhood house we helped

kids from K-5th grade and middle school to high school with their spring showcase projects focusing on water. 

We also had the opportunity to to stop at a pretty spot right off of Alki beach to take pictures and enjoy the view during our lunch, and then after we finished our evening service at Neighborhood house we went out to dinner at the El Salvadorean Bakery which came highly recommended by the coordinator at Neighborhood House! So GOOD! 

We're back at home with full bellies, full hearts, and ready to explore Seattle in the morning ! 

-Emily & McKenna 

Just 5 Days to Go!

Our amazing Seattle Team is anxiously anticipating their departure!  They will be heading out on Sunday morning for the not so long driver to our neighboring city of Seattle where they will be serving alongside some amazing community partners (YWCA Angeline's House, Urban Rest Stop, Seattle Night Watch, and Neighborhood House) all week long.  Please be keeping these amazing students and staff in your thoughts and prayers as they prepare and all week long... plus... stop back by the blog, our CU Service Leadership facebook page, and the CUPDXOSL instagram all week long for updates!

Beyond the Borders

This morning, our team, a little tired, met for an early morning breakfast filled with smiles and laughter. After, we packed the van and were on our way to Seattle. We were all ready to go beyond the borders of Concordia and sing "Hello Seattle." During the van ride, some of us took a short nap, read, or did some cross word puzzles, but mostly, we all jammed to our #CUPDXSEA playlist.

The last half hour of our road trip, we were able to see downtown Seattle on our way to Pikes Place Market for lunch. From there, we headed to DubSea Coffee to meet with Owen Sallee from Seattle Pacific University.

Meeting with Owen, we talked about the eight components of Christian Community Development. We had a great conversation about what all eight meant, where we may have seen one of these eight components in our lives, and also talked about who we are and we want out of this experience. We also were able to learn more about the organizations we will be working with this week.

On our way back, Dylan saw a woman who was walking her pig, on a leash down the road. None of us were able to see her and Dylan refused to turn around just for us to see the pig.  Next, we drove towards Sammamish and the house we will call home for this week.  After unloading our bags and claiming rooms, we did a family trip to the store for groceries for meals this week.  As a team, we cooked and ate spaghetti for dinner. 

During our reflection tonight, we discussed our first surprising thoughts about Seattle. People expressed beings surprised by how industrial the city was and the difference between downtown Seattle and King County.  We were all surprised by the change of scenery during our drive, and also by the number of '12' flags we saw.  Today was an adventurous day full of dancing, singing, laughter, and sharing. I can't wait to see what this week has in store for us. 

We're (Almost) Off!

Welcome to the Seattle Alternative Break Leadership Experience Blog!

Below, you will find posts and pictures from previous teams' trips to Seattle. Soon, you will find posts and pictures from our time serving in Seattle! Last year was Concordia University's first year sending students to serve in Seattle, so we're excited to build on the tradition of service to this community. We're pumped to travel, serve, and fill up this blog with memories and experiences from our week -- and beyond!

We hope you'll follow along our journey, keeping us and the communities we will serve in your thoughts and prayers. We are excited for the adventure -- and can't wait to begin!

With love,
The Seattle Alternative Break Team

Photo Album

Interested in seeing additional photos from the Seattle Alternative Break Experience?  Check out the photo album below for more!

Post by CU Service Leadership.