I was awoken from a combination of the sun in my face, a rooster crowing and my stomach growling. Everyone who bought a breakfast ticket lined up and went inside to eat. I was so thankful Matt bought my breakfast because I can't start my day without it. Little did I know, we would be eating the typical breakfast of someone living in poverty in America: a handful of chips and small cup of soda. Janet said this is what would typically be left at the end of the week. Surprisingly, this small amount of food satisfied me.
After breakfast, we went outside where Janet told us to get in a circle. All 53 of us made a giant circle and Janet taught us new games. Today we were going to a low income apartment complex for King's Club, a play time that involves games, a skit, songs and snack with the kids living there. Janet taught us a few games before we split up into small groups. Our task was to create three songs with hand movements. It was still super early and I was the only one in my group who had "breakfast," so the energy level was low. It didn't matter because we all got a laugh out of our songs and the songs other groups made up.
At 9am we set off for King's Club. This started a day of walking around Waco that didn't end until 4pm. I can't tell you how many city blocks we covered, but King's Club wasn't too far. My group's skit was about Joseph and his coat of many colors. We all sang "The Lord's Army" too. King's Club was somewhat of a disappointment for me, personally, because the weather was cloudy which kept a lot of kids inside. There were more adults than children so I didn't really get to connect with any children.
Following King's Club we had to meet Janet at a nearby park.
At this point the sun had come out and it was getting really hot. There was a fountain at the park that resembled a shower head and had a button to the side that turned on the water. A few people turned on the water and were washing their face, arms and drinking the water. Some were even washing their hair! I ran over and joined them. It was so refreshing just to feel clean, even though I didn't have soap. When Janet arrived she was laughing because we were using that just as the city of Waco had intended. The fountain was supposed to be used as a shower for people who didn't have access to water and the homeless. This was the first "woah" moment for me. Was this how the homeless felt? My mouth was parched and I was so desperate to feel cool water on my skin that I didn't care who saw.
After our "shower," Janet gave us our next assignment: a scavenger hunt through the city of Waco. We weren't allowed to beg, tell people we were in a simulation or ride in a car. Some of the items on the hunt were: interview a homeless person, interview a poor elderly person, collect 100 aluminum cans and see how much they're worth, find a quarter on the street, find lunch, ask a random person how much the average Christian should give to the poor, write a poem as if one of my children died in the night from hunger and write a letter to a member of church under the bridge who was in jail. My favorite item on the list was to analyze Matthew 25:31-46!!!
My group set off and we killed two birds with one stone when we came upon an elderly homeless man in the park. He was a 70-year-old midget and was enjoying a beer at one of the picnic tables. He gave us a few good laughs then we were off on an important mission: find lunch. We knew The Salvation Army was serving food, but didn't know what time it was. We were also on the other side of Waco, so we spotted the Alico building and headed that way. On our way, we kept an eye open for cans and a quarter. We stopped a woman in a parking lot and asked her how much Christians should give to the poor. Her answer shocked me! 35-40%! Imagine if we all gave that much. Poverty wouldn't be such a big problem. Did you know American Christians make over $2.5 TRILLION annually? If we gave 35-40% of our money, time or possessions, we could make a huge dent in poverty.
When we finally made it to The Salvation Army, they had already finished serving lunch. Everyone in my group started pounding on the window until the manager finally came to the door. We weren't allowed to say we were in the simulation, but he knew and let us in. Before this man was the manager, he was homeless for a year and a half. He offered us breakfast burritos and pulled up a chair. I've never learned so much as I did in that short time with him. He helped us with most of the things on the scavenger hunt and gave us lots of information on emergency shelter and help. In Waco, 28% of the population lives under the poverty line so the need is over twice as great as the state (12%).
After lunch, we began our trek back across Waco. In the middle of the downtown area, we came upon a bush that had quite a few aluminum cans sticking out of the bottom. When I pulled back branches, I noticed a homeless person had made this his/her den. This person had cut away branches in order to make a sitting area. This person also had a drinking problem. There were at least 20 beer cans and bottles in the den. My competitive nature appeared and I climbed into the bush and started picking up the cans, totally disregarding the prickly leaves and random thorns scratching my arms and legs. After collecting the cans, we all sat on some stairs and reflected on what we just saw. Could you imagine sleeping in a bush every night in the middle of a city street? Just....WOW!
Janet told us to be back at Mission Waco when the sun was right above the tree line, so we started walking back across town. At this point we had almost given up on finding a quarter. We were two blocks away and decided to walk through a gas station. One of the girls in my group, Leslie, saw something shiny on the ground a few feet away and ran to it. "A QUARTER," she shouted. We all ran over, shouted and raised our arms and high fived each other. This was my second "woah" moment of the day. Is this how a homeless person feels every time they find something other than a penny on the street? We were celebrating as if we'd found $20 on the street when it was only a quarter.
When we got back to the mobilization building, all of us participated in a world dinner. The people chosen to be homeless for the weekend got to go first. I was seated at a table with a fancy tablecloth, place setting and a waiter. My dinner was sausage, potato salad, coleslaw, a roll and a strawberry pastry for dessert. Many of my other friends ate on the ground, had no utensils and were served from a community platter. This is where the events of the weekend all came together and pained my heart. This is how it would be in Heaven! When Jesus talks about the least of these being first in Heaven and inheriting the Kingdom, this is what it would be like! I just sat there and stared at my food as this hit me. There were three girls who were served even better. They represented Americans and were served a three course meal including; salad, steak and potato and a sundae. One of the girls started crying and refused to eat the dessert because she felt so bad. This weekend was full of lots of tears from almost everyone. The tears hit me in the debriefing and the videos we watched.
One thing I've often struggled with is why I was chosen to be here in America while others are hungry and dying. Why was I blessed with so much while children were dying before their lives truly began? It just isn't fair!! Why is God so good TO ME?! His sovereignty, grace and mercy is so good. The only thing the leader could do was point me to Matthew 25:31-46. This dried my tears quickly and made me smile because these verses is how I try to live my life daily. What a powerful reminder!
After the debriefing, we drew sticks with medical emergencies on them. This made me nervous because I had three kids and no money. Luckily my emergency was minimal and only cost $2, which Leslie gave to me. There was also the option to sleep inside for $20. About half of the people decided to pay and sleep inside. Again, I was surprised by the compassion and kindness from these strangers in the simulation. Many of the men started gathering their money so I could sleep inside. I refused the money saying I would prefer to sleep outside to get the most from this experience. Plus it was a gorgeous night! It was a little colder and a chance of rain, so I found a spot under the porch and laid down. I was knocked out by 9pm! Since it was colder, Ton, Leslie and I slept a lot closer than the night before. This time, it was a peaceful night and I slept until 7am.
Check back later for the final day of the poverty simulation! :)
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