Cities experiences

Well, here I am guest blogging. I was asked to earlier after a weekend trip to Kansas City and one of the more interesting church experiences of my life, but that weekend I never did serve with Latreia. Now that I officially have, I thought I would fill you in on my experiences.

First off, let me say that all year I have been jealous of the girls. The experiences they have had, the people they have met, and the work they have done is amazing. It was a pleasure then for me this week to help out. On Monday (the 18th) I met the gang at Sharing and Caring Hands near downtown Minneapolis. There we served breakfast/brunch to the homeless and needy. We also got entertained by a nameless fellow who could really impress with his impersonations. One key thing caught me there. As many of the men and women went through the line they said “Thank you.” I wondered as I dished out goulash and soup, why? Why are they thanking me? I don’t need to be thanked for doing a job that many more of us should do. They should be thanked for showing up at a place like Sharing and Caring and receiving some help, and more importantly the message of God.

In the afternoon, we went to Mary’s Place, an assisted/transitional living center. There we played (and played, and played) with the youth of Mary’s Place. I was WORN OUT at the end of those three hours. While shooting hoops, throwing the football, etc. I thought about how lucky and blessed I’ve been. I’ve always had someone to throw the football around with me. I’ve always had coaches who cared enough to teach me and classmates the fundamental skills of basketball. I thank God for that, and I also thank God for the kids there at Mary’s Place. They all have special gifts and they are all have such opportunities that lie ahead of them. One of the gifts they gave me was some perspective on what I have and what I need to give back. They gave me some perspective on how God works miracles big and small every day. They made me think and hope that they learned just a little from Latreia about love and giving, because they taught me a lot.

Christian Grandgenett