Taking Initiative

Taking initiative is one of those phrases that insinuates itself everywhere. For instance, yesterday, I was getting coffee with a local pastor who informed me that, if I took the initiative, I could be as involved there as I wanted…and then proceeded to sign me up to speak at the service on October 23 about Risk Taking Mission and Service. He also said that if I wanted to, during my time here, I could learn how to preach, which I admit would be a good skill to have (though I’m not sure when I’d put it into practice), but the thought of it kind of makes me nervous. I mean, who am I to get up in front of people and talk about faith journeys and Three Things You Can Do This Week To Be A Better Person? But I suppose I have enough initiative to try anything once.

Also, a big part of being in a new place and not knowing a soul is taking initiative to meet people and make friends. Though sometimes, I admit, the meeting people does not lead to friendship, as in the case of the interesting fellow known affectionately as The Wizard across from me at the coffee shop reading Tarot Cards for people. Always good to add some interest to an otherwise bland internet-mooching session! I also admit a little bit of jealousy at times for those of my fellow US-2s living or working with other people their age. But when that happens or when it feels particularly quiet in my apartment (or when I just have to watch the new episode of Glee!), that is when I head to the coffee shop around the corner and people watch. It may or may not have gotten to the point where I walk in and they ask “iced coffee with skim milk and splenda?” and I sheepishly nod yes. Somehow, even when I move two thirds of the way across the country, I am still predictable!

Anyways, work is going well. I’m feeling more and more like I might have a vague clue as to what is going on and what I am doing here, which, all in all, is a good thing. I like the time I get working in the pantry and meeting people and doing a little bit to help them. The variety of attitudes I get (sometimes within about 5 minutes) is astounding. There are some who come in kind of shellshocked because they’ve never gotten food from a food pantry before and the whole process is daunting, there are the old hats who have been coming to Crossroads for years and give the information we need to get them the food they need and are in and out in about 30 seconds, there are the women who come in with about ten kids, which usually ends with me being kind of shellshocked, especially in the few cases where they are still in the process of learning English, so we have to talk over the kids while trying to understand each other and be understood to get food and diapers lined up for them. Phew! Thankfully, I have not encountered too many angry people yet, but there have been one or two who have reached their quota for services or who forgot or don’t have identification or stuff like that to get food or what-have-you and so they leave rather cranky, which does make me feel bad, but policies are in place for a reason and there is only so much we can do with the resources we have. I just try to focus on the people we are able to help and that I am helping do concrete things like feeding the hungry and clothing the naked (thankfully I have not encountered any naked people, but we do have a thrift store that gives away many more clothes and household items than it sells and we can give out vouchers for that in the pantry).

I also went a couple of times to the State Capitol this week to sit in on Committee meetings about the Lake Powell Pipeline, which is something that we at Crossroads are concerned about, as funding for that might result in raised food taxes and less funding for other things like education and health and human services. I will probably be writing about that more later, but I just wanted to say that I was surprised at how…well…human the legislators were. There was one asleep, one obviously talking on his phone (but he covered it up with his hands, so it was ok…psh…), one with a bolo tie, and at least three texting. Gosh. I was also warned that on Valentines Day, they all wear red or pink ties and roll out a piano and break into such tunes as “Let Me Call You Sweetheart”, which, I will say, is not my favorite song of all time…

Well, this weekend, I am taking a roadtrip to Price, UT with my coworker to speak at a church there. Wish me luck on that and on taking the initiative!

 

Interfaith, Ecumenical and All that Jazz

In the last week, I have attended two Coalition of Religious Communities meetings, an Interfaith Roundtable lunch meeting and…er…well it’s been a lot of meetings. But it has been a great experience getting together with people from all different faiths and denominations.

The most memorable example of that was the Interfaith Roundtable Luncheon that I attended with my coworker a couple of days ago at the Beehive House, which was originally the home of Brigham Young. It was about forty representatives from every faith you could imagine: Quaker, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Methodist, United Church of Christ, Christian Scientist, Mormon, African Methodist Episcopal, Lutheran, Episcopalian and some I had never even heard of! This group formed before the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City to organize chaplains for the event and kept meeting in the spirit of fellowship (and free lunch on the Mormons!) and has organized an Interfaith Week which grew into a Month every year since then to celebrate and acknowledge the diversity in Salt Lake City. Also, it was a neat group of people and I am very glad I was able to tag along and meet a lot of them!

This week, I kept switching gears between the Mercy-type tasks and the Justice-type tasks. It was wonderful to see both sides of that, with one day being spent packing meals for clients and directly providing them with a three day emergency supply of food and then the next, exploring different denominations’ stances on immigration for our upcoming Las Posadas procession. A lot of them said wonderfully similar phrases about affirming the humanity of each individual and treating everyone with respect and love, regardless of what documents they have or don’t have. I also got to survey a good selection of our clients about current issues such as payday lenders, tickets for panhandlers, Medicaid, and finding housing and employment. This was for our Poverty Summit coming up on October 1. I also had my first trip to the State Capitol to attend a Rally for Medicaid. I did not realize until writing all of this down just how much has been going on the past couple of days. No wonder I feel like I need an IV full of espresso. Or just more prayer. Possibly a combination of both. Phew! Good stuff!

In other news, I am feeling slightly more settled in here. I have a bit of a routine and I now have more thoughts like “Man, I need coffee!” and fewer like “What in the Sam Hill am I doing?!” Now I need to focus on making those routines semiproductive things like blogging or emailing or exploring the city either by walking or public transport and perhaps fewer episodes of television shows. Of course, I could always say that television is self care and that some mindless entertainment is good for de-stressing! But I know what will be excellent for de-stressing: Sam Weller’s Bookstore! I encountered that Mecca for booklovers on my way back from turning a form into a City office. I had heard of it before, but I had no idea the wonders that awaited me: three floors of new, used and rare books on any topic imaginable, a coffee shop that had real Cafe au Lait (and called it by its proper French name!), those sliding ladders to get to the top shelves that you can actually climb on and move around, beaten up armchairs just waiting for a lazy Saturday afternoon! I cannot wait to return, especially after they move closer to my apartment! I definitely look forward to exploring more of Salt Lake City, especially since I heard that they have British style tea rooms with clotted cream and scones and everything!

 

Homesickness

Yes, it was bound to happen. And yes, I knew to expect it. But dadgum if it didn’t surprise me this evening! There I was, relaxing with my book after a reasonably pleasant day of work when the thought suddenly popped into my head “I’m reading my book alone. And then I will eat supper alone. And after that, I will go to sleep, wake up, and walk to work alone. And then, when I go out to eat, it will be alone. And I’ll go to the movies alone. And sit by myself at church. And I’ll sit by myself at coffee shops.” And it was just terrible! And that’s the problem with having an active imagination; I just had this vision of swaths of time spent alone, talking to myself occasionally just to hear someone’s voice.

Happily, I snapped out of that dismal train of thought fairly quickly (with the help of my wonderful sisters and friends)! I just need to find my niche here and get to where I have folks near my own age here that I can hang out with from time to time. Also, leaving my apartment and going to the library and then to the coffee shop nearby was a top notch idea! Even if I’m not talking to them, it’s still great to have people around clanking dishes and absentmindedly asking the world what a five letter word for tree, third letter T is. And I know I will have more days like this when I feel dreadfully alone, but I also know that those will pass and that even if they are a terribly long way away, I do have people there for me and praying for me.

But I have to say, I have a really wonderful job. Crossroads Urban Center is a top notch place dedicated to the combination of giving people direct services like food, clothing, and assistance with other necessities and advocacy work to make Utah a better place for the impoverished, minorities, and people with disabilities. And the best thing is that I get to help out with all of it. I spend some of my time working in the food pantry, all day yesterday, I was sorting clothes and such at the thrift store (they had some awesome denim shirts with embroidered squirrels and shoulder pads if anyone wants them! Or a sweet muumuu! Ha!). And I am also helping out with a Las Posadas procession around our downtown with area churches in memory of Mary and Joseph’s search for a room in the inn (donkey included!). But we are also emphasising a deeper meaning by tying it in with the rights of undocumented workers and those we are turning away. So I definitely feel that my work will be relevant not only as my position as a Young Adult Missionary, but also as a Christian, and I certainly hope that I will continue to feel that way even if I do get homesick or lonely or cranky along the way (which I certainly will!)

 

First Days at Crossroads!

It has been a whirlwind few days in Salt Lake City. I moved into my apartment Saturday and Sunday and toured the town a little and got everything I needed to start work Monday. It has been a great few days but I will admit I’m feeling a bit dazed at this point from all of the names and faces and alphabet soup of acronyms hitting me at warp speed! But everything I’ve heard so far and all of the people I’ve met and will be working with have been very patient about getting me up to speed, but are definitely keeping me busy, which is absolutely a great thing. The strangest thing is that people knew who I was even before I got there and were very ready for me! Now that was pretty cool! Odd, but cool.
I’ll try to remember a few of the things I learned the past few days, but I’m a little tired and there has been a plethora of new information bombarding me. So here goes: Crossroads Urban Center is a grassroots nonprofit that serves the homeless, the disabled, and other Utahns in need through a combination of direct services and advocacy. All of that lingo translates into Crossroads has an emergency food pantry that also does some other direct aid, and also has a thrift store to address clothing and more material needs (and is available for everyone to get some good stuff at unbeatable prices, not to mention free books for missionaries! Score!). Crossroads also has a Food Co Op that provides locally grown and natural/organic food and fresh baked bread and all kinds of goodies to the Salt Lake City area at below market costs. Today I worked at their mobile market and seriously wanted to buy everything! It all looked so dang good!
The other aspect of Crossroads that I will be working with is the alphabet soup of advocacy and community organizations that are run out of Crossroads. There is the Coalition of Religious Communities, the Anti Hunger Action Committee, and the Homeless Opportunity and Rights Network. They (well, we, I suppose) advocate on issues brought to their attention by the communities served by the direct services of Crossroads such as predatory payday lenders, residential needs, and others.
Of course, I have loads more to learn, but I am starting to recognize a few important names, dates, and events so it’s getting more comprehensible by the day! What continues to strike me is walking around and seeing these ginormous mountains everywhere! It is so pretty! And I will continue to update semi-regularly, so more to come!