Monday in CO

Our first day of service work was at the Grant Avenue Street Reach in downtown Denver. We helped prepare and wait on over 850 people, working for 8 hours straight and running constantly...we were so exhausted and it felt so good. It is amazing how quickly your attitude can change after serving. It is such a humbling and rewarding experience. The program and the volunteers we worked with were wonderful because they recognized how vital it is to treat the homeless and less privileged with respect, referring to them as 'sir or ma'am,' clearing their plates with a cheerful smile, and respecting as many of their requests as possible. It was amazing to get to be part of such an empowering atmosphere.

The other awesome part about our service that day was how easily conversations about faith and God can be started... So many people kept asking why we were here serving and my answer was, in a gist, because God first loved me. So simple but so true. And how exciting to get many an "Amen sister" in response! I had so many of the homeless thank me and say 'God bless you' as they were leaving the church basement that day...and at the end of the day I definitely felt more blessed than I have in a long time. Their blessings were working on me much more than mine on them...
Kelly