Agape 2012, Day 5: Thursday

Tonight we answered the question, "What are you going to take home with you and remember about this experience?"  The following responses were some that were shared with the whole group in our large group:

"You have to know what someone's need is before you can attempt to fulfill it."
"Giving is not giving if it is done only to quench your own thirst."
-Dyllan Freeburg

In our small group today,  I felt that I could sum up what we have learned this week when Caitlin reflected that "We should learn to live simply since others simply live."
- Jenn Hogan

Service and charity are actually rather simple and can turn into fun tasks that are extremely rewarding to the soul, music can make anything better, the ties I have made to friends and my painfully acquired sunburn.
-Jeffery Dahlquist

After a week full of service, the thing I can remember from this experience is the joy of being around the people who you love and the importance of unity. Migrant workers would work 10 hour shifts a day and not only is it the father or mother working, but the kids tag along too; if they were old enough too. Also they would send half of their paycheck to help out their family. Basically what I'm trying to point out is that family means the world to these migrant workers, they always try to help and support each other and that's something that we can all take and learn from. Also I learned that migrant workers aren't 'miserable people', they are hardworking joyful people who have as much to offer to us as we do to them, and people shouldn't downgrade or make assumptions about the workers because of  the category or occupation they have.

-Wesley Castro

The answer to the question above was, 1: that the kids working on the fields have a really hard time working trying to make enough money for them and their family, but their life here is way better than making 60 cents an hour compare to 16 cents a pound. I was able to talk to a kid name William who him and his family of four pick over 2000 pounds of strawberries in 3 days. For the 2000 pounds they got over 1500 dollars so their opportunity here is way better than in Mexico or Peru where they have very little to no chance for a good life. The family almost always send money back to their families back home. 2: The second part I answer the question was that life is precious and that you should never judge people because of the group they are put in by our society. These migrant workers are just like you and I who some even have degrees in many fields but have to work in the fields just to put food on the table. If my kid came up to me and ask for some food, I would battle zones just to get my child a better chance at life.
-Brent Leffers

Agape 2012, Day 4: Wednesday

Well.... today was dominic's birthday! That was just the start of a long successful food drive. Over all, the food drive was a big success feeding 148 families in the end. Seeing everybody with smiles on their faces while serving people that are in need gave me a good feeling inside. We really pulled together to please every person who showed up. As the people would come through the lines it was obvious who just got of work and who didn't. It really showed me how easy I have it when I saw a 12 year old boy who just got done working 10 hours in the fields.  On another note my spanish has definitely gotten worse over this trip. I felt like we gave spanish speakers a good laugh whenever we attempted to speak spanish as they came through our stations. Anyways we're doin work over here and goin hard while doin it!
                                                                  Adam Cosgrove out

Agape 2012, Day 3: Tuesday

Got Thirst?

It has been said that each person we encounter has a different thirst and we have been called upon by God to quench these various thirsts. Today we were sent out to work the fields of farms in Lynden, Washington. First, waking up at 5:30 in the morning was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Waking up knowing I was going to be working tedious hours out in the scolding sun did not make this morning any easier. When we arrived on the farm we were directed to pluck the peas off the vines. We worked and worked and worked. Just picture this.. my hands covered in dirt, knees aching in pain, back permanently stiff in the most uncomfortable position, head pulsing almost audibly and forehead dripping of sweat. The drive to go on was almost diminished as the last half an hour rolled around. The pea-picking finally ended just as the realization that the labor work for the day was not over came to surface. When we arrived on the next farm all the strength I had in the morning was nearly depleted. I weeded and weeded till I could not weed anymore and luckily it was lunch time by then. After lunch my smile could not have any bigger; not because the delicious sandwich had ended my hunger but because I knew that I was minutes away from finally taking a shower. After the refreshing, rejuvenating shower had come to an end so had my trembling for the next activity. My family and I had the opportunity to buy and make our dinner with money we earned from working on the farm. To my surprise, I did not get paid minimum wage. All five of us only earned a total of seven dollars and fifty cents! Ludicrous..I know! Well this was enough to make ourselves a nice spaghetti dinner. After dinner we were right off to go visit the camps. At the camps I came across several migrant children. They ranged from two to seventeen years old. My friend, Bubba, and I met this little girl named Maribel. She was sitting in the grass watching over her younger sister and brother. Let me tell you.. they were adorable! Maribel sat there gazing at the other children playing games in her group. Bubba and I noticed this and we offered to take care of her children. She handed them over and went off to play with the others. Bubba and I spent a few hours with the babies and throughout this time exuberant smiles were put on many faces including ours. I had a blast and loved the whole experience. As the day came to a close it was time to reflect on the day. I was sent out by God to give drink to the thirsty. I did this in many ways and some include creating friendships, involving everyone in every activity, sustaining a positive attitude, providing support and sharing my love with all of God's people. By doing this I quenched the thirst for community, assistance, love and acceptance. Living a couple of hours in the life of a migrant worker showed me that there are people out there that work ten times harder and longer than I do in this country receiving the same thing I am in the end and sometimes even less. It has taught me to never take anything for granted because life is harder for many others so always find the good in everything. I need to always find the strength to do even the most unpleasant things in life because I will always have it easier than many others. I hope that others can come to a similar realization.
Angela Lindsey

Agape Pictures from Day 2 & 3

We are in the middle of a break so I thought I would upload some photos from yesterday (Monday) and today (Tuesday).

Lots of donations!!!

Collecting food at the local grocery stores.

Working on the farm! Early wake up call of 5:30am.

 

Learning about organic farming!

Stepping into the shoes of a migrant by working on a farm.

Group number 1 after 4 hours of work. :)

Group number 2. :)

Agape 2012, Day 2: Monday

It was a busy day of food collection, activities, and reflection!
We started with a walking food drive, going door to door asking for food.
Then we stood outside grocery stores for 3 hours asking for people to donate as well.
We participated in a multi-hour activity that opened our eyes to the experiences of people who may be discriminated or excluded for being 'different'.
It was a busy day and a very early wake up call of 5:30am tomorrow as we try to step into the shoes of a migrant worker.

Hopefully we will have some time tomorrow for students to reflect on our first day of service.  Today we fulfilled the Corporal Work of Mercy: Feed the Hungry.
Check out the Agape Service Project for nightly reflections and reflections from previous youth groups: www.agapeserviceproject.blogspot.com

I'll leave you with a photo of our early morning running crew.  These kids wanted to wake up an hour early to go for a morning run down by the bay.  It was a beautiful morning for a run!

God bless from Bellingham.

Agape 2012, Day 1, Sunday

Hello readers,
We made it safely to Bellingham on this beautiful Sunday! We got unpacked, made this new church our home, and started to get to know each other a little better. We also reflected on why each of us is here, what we hope to get out of this week, and more importantly what we hope to give this week.
We have AMAZING students with us this week and I'm so excited to witness their growth and the love they have for everyone around them; especially to see that love in action as the Corporal Works of Mercy call us to do!
Hope you will check back daily to read reflections and see some pictures!
I will leave you with an amazing reflection from one of our students.
God bless,
Kelsey


Agape day one,
     Yo readers it's blogger B. Today was one of those lovely sunny days in summer where we all hop in a car and get ready for a road trip, this wasn't just any road trip though. It was one meant to make an impact and meaningful moment in our lives. The two plus hour drive built the thrill and excitement, or maybe made us snooze and dream about the wonderful mission. Either way we couldn't have been any more happy to hop on out and finally arrive at Agape. Although this first day doesn't involve helping the migrant workers or going out yet to be the hands of God, it's just as important as any of the up coming days. Today was the day we all made a bond with our friends and new faces, the day in which we start seeing each other as one big Agape family. We share simple things about ourselves, we laugh, we smile, we bond without even having to pull out our phones or Facebook one another. Most importantly we reflect on questions we normally would never ponder, they're the type of questions that can lead to action and open our hearts to the world, to God.
     One of the questions tonight was, What has brought you here? What are you seeking from this week/this experience? Well we all have different reasons and responses. Mine was the calling of helping  more then just my community; I love volunteering at Northwest Harvest, being a Sunday school teacher, and just helping at simple church activities. But this was an opportunity to help strangers that God calls my brothers and sisters. I'm seeking love, happiness, and change. And by change I mean something in my life that I can express to others as meaningful, unforgettable, and the reason I wake up happy, with a smile to share to everyone.
     Now i am a huge fan of quotes and the one I'll be living off of this week is "Serve one another through love". In fact all of us here will be. In different ways we'll all experience it and be sharing the love we spread through out the day. Blogger B is out.
                                              
                                              Dueces, Bubba Barrera (Sacred Heart Enumclaw)