Day 3

First off, let me just apologize for not posting until after my trip! I didn't have Wifi in the church we were in, so I stopped blogging during the trip and now I'm going back to *try* and describe each day!

Today (Tuesday) was the first day we were getting to serve and I was sooo excited! This is what I was waiting for. I don't know why, but I love, love, love to volunteer and serve others! It's by far my favorite part of mission trips, no matter how small the part we play is.

This morning, after riding the crowded subway and experiencing a bus ride in NY for the first time, we helped at a clothing bank! Basically, clothing stores are supposed to donate a certain percentage of their clothing, and so this clothing bank was absolutely fullll of all sorts of clothes! Every June/August they have a huge giveaway where people in need can come and get all the clothes they need for themselves and their families! Awesome! So while there, we folded and sorted many boxes. It was kind of sad, because most stores, while being forced to donate, chose to tear or cut holes in the clothes they donated. It's all about technicality I suppose. At first I thought it was just them giving a "ha!" to the needy, but then I was told it was so no one would turn around and sell their clothes. Still. It made me really sad. We threw away anything with a hole in it, even if it was tiny. I think that company recycled the clothes, but I'm not sure. I was really disappointed particularly in Macy's, Aeropostale, and American Eagle. While Macy's just cut wholes in it, Aeropostale and American Eagle donate clothes that they shredded. Shredded. Ouch. Overall, I was totally impressed with that clothing bank and had a fun time getting to know my teammates whilst folding and throwing away!

After a quick lunch, we hopped on the subway and traveled for nearly an hour and a half to Graffiti 2, an after-school program in the Bronx. We learned about the program before the kids got out of school, and met the first Missionary Dog! Trained by a prisoner, this sweet, sweet dog was given to Graffiti 2 where the leader then took her to be certified as a dog that can lead a blind person. So, he can take the dog on planes, subways, wherever. She has been a comfort and helped break through to many of the children at Graffiti 2, which is so cool!

Anyways. About an hour later, around 3:30, I went with one of the leaders at Graffiti 2 to go to one of the schools to pick up a few kids! As a future teacher, I was so intrigued with the whole experience! The schools there had little to no security (as it seemed), because I could just walk in without checking in at an office or anything. Crazy.

We picked up to the kids and went back to the site Graffiti 2 is located. More kids arrived, and high schoolers weaved in and out of the program. After a good 30 minutes to an hour of games, the middle/high schoolers (besides the few homework helpers) split off to go to another room, and all of the elementary schoolers went to their assigned seats for snack and devotion. I sat with two cuuute fourth graders. I had a blast talking to them and helping with homework (even though they didn't need much help). Graffiti 2 does an awards system where the kid's middle/high school helper fills out a form and gives them a score of 7 points (meaning you finished all your homework, participated, were respectful, etc.). Well, the boy I sat next to received a score of 6, because he didn't finish his *mound* of homework in less than an hour. This meant that 1) he didn't have a perfect score and 2) he didn't get a piece of candy. So he sat there and cried...and cried and cried some more, and was completely unresponsive to me for the last 10 minutes. His head was down, his hood was up, and he was shaking with his little whimpers. I felt so bad that I couldn't make him feel any better, and he went home in tears :O(. But, from working at the Y for years, I know his whole life wasn't in ruins because of his barely imperfect score. But still. I felt kind of bad!

After saying our goodbyes and all the kids were walked home, we headed to an Indian restaurant. Let's just say it was not my favorite....maybe even my least favorite??? Nevertheless, a Starbucks (yes, coffee at 9 PM) made me feel mounds better as we started our journey back and got a good night's sleep (: