San Francisco, Part 2

Wednesday

Wednesday we spent the entire day at the San Francisco Rescue Mission. It was definitely an interesting experience and probably the hardest day I experienced in San Francisco, simply because I do not like chaotic situations when I don't have control over them or I can't fix them. I spent most of my day helping clean up different areas of the Rescue Mission as well as stuffing envelopes with newsletters. I did get to attend the Celebration Service that afternoon, which is required for those that want to eat the meal that is served afterwards. We served the men and women in attendance a meal afterward and then cleaned up. I think what made the day a little difficult was that I didn't get to have much interaction with the people we served at all. I don't mind doing behind the scenes work and serving when no one else sees, but I really would have loved to have more interaction with those that were at the Rescue Mission that day. All in all, it was a long day of work and I was definitely glad when it was over, but it was a good experience and definitely a good reminder that just because I may know a better way to get something done, that isn't always the way things get done, if that makes sense). We had the evening off on Wednesday and we got to go to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39!! It was so much fun!! :) We ate at Bubba Gump's (yes, from the movie Forrest Gump) and shopped around for souvenirs. It was so much fun to just relax and hang out with the kids and get to see some of the sights of San Francisco...:)

Thursday
Thursday was my favorite day of the entire week! We went to the Haight-Ashbury Food Program on Thursday morning and it was AMAZING!!! I loved it!! Definitely my favorite place we went all week! :) The HAFP is located in Lower Haight-Ashbury and has no Christian affiliation whatsoever. They have a Food Pantry once a week and serve a very delicious lunch 4 or 5 days a week (I can't remember what they said) to those in need in the Haight-Ashbury District. We worked all morning at preparing the food for lunch. I chopped zuchini and potatoes until I thought my fingers might fall off, but it was all fun!! The volunteers there were just amazing and so much fun to work with. It was probably the happiest place we were at all week and definitely the most helpful as far as working with volunteers. The food there was amazing too! They have a chef-training program there and the food was so good, I would be willing to pay to eat there! :) We ate lunch and then served for almost two hours. It was the first time all week that I had had a lot of interaction with people (minus the afternoon at the day care place) and it was so much fun to talk with the men and women that came through the line. I hope and pray that I was able to small ray of sunshine in their lives that day. It was just so much fun, which I found to be amazing because there was never any formal mention of God or the Church or anything. The people there simply want to meet the needs of their neighborhood and do it with a smile. It was so cool!!!! I also got to talk to their Executive Director, Michael, for a little while during the morning and it was good to make that contact. We talked about funding and different social work type stuff. They don't have a social worker on staff, but hopefully will be able to afford one soon. Out of all of the places that we served at, that was the one that I would probably be the most willing to work at and I thought I would never say that because I don't really feel called to inner city ministry or anything like that. So, we'll see what happens with that. :) Thursday afternoon we did the "Meet a Need" Exercise, where our City Host gave us $20 and sent us out into the Haight-Ashbury District to try to meet someone's needs. It was an interesting experience and I found that when we were finished, I was overwhelmed with the amount of need that there was and how inadequate $20 was in meeting those needs. It was a good experience in realizing that anything can be used to help meet needs, even if we feel like it is inadequate. We bought a blanket for a couple of girls and bought a man something to eat with our money. It was really neat. Haight-Ashbury is definitely an interesting place. :) Thursday night was Burrito night and worship with the other groups @ CSM and then our final debriefing session.

Friday
We came home on Friday! Whoohoo!! We did stop by the Full House house before we left though and I took some pictures! It is supposedly the house that is seen in the credits part at the beginning of the show. :) Our trip home was good and pretty uneventful. I loved hanging out with the junior highers some more. They are definitely a very cool, very hard working group of kids!! :) I love 'em!

As I look back at my week in San Francisco, there are a few things that stick out in my mind (some spiritual, others not):
-We as the church need to work in finding a balance between meeting people's physical and emotional needs vs. spiritual needs. This is an area in my life that God is really working on me. I know that there is a delicate balance between the two, and to find that balance is so crucial.
-I don't like chaos when I'm not in control of it.
-I really liked the city of San Francisco, but I began to feel really claustrophobic by the end of the week. Tall buildings and lots of hills just aren't my thing for an extended period of time. :) I was definitely glad to be back where there is some sense of wide-open spaces by Friday.
-God is at work through a variety of agencies and organizations in San Francisco and I'm really glad I got to be a small part of that.

So, that was my week in San Francisco. I'm working at posting all of my pictures on the internet and I'll post a link as soon as I get them all up so that you can see them! :)

Kimberly :)