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My Street Retreat ExperienceWhat an interesting day I had walking the streets, smelling the aroma of food and incense, watching the people, eating lunch at the Institute of Human Services Homeless Shelter, hearing the sounds of buses and people bustling in the streets, and feeling the mud squish under my shoes in Aala Park. My feet are tired and I am feeling hot and uncomfortable, but I know that I will be able to rest my feet and relax in comfort when I return home this evening. Most of the people whom I saw today on the streets cannot look forward to those same comforts.
Today, I also felt more spiritually connected handing out at Aala Park than I did during two brief visits today to two church cathedrals. Today, during my five hours walking the streets, I hung out three times at Aala Park where I was able to meditate on my present thoughts and feelings. In contrast, the first cathedral I visited, I was distracted due to the tuning of the organ. The second cathedral I visited had only some of the doors unlocked, but what appeared to be the main front doors were locked shut. I found it difficult to concentrate knowing that some of the doors were locked, so I left after only a brief visit and booked on over to Aala Park for a third visit there. At Aala Park, there were no physical barriers to prevent anyone from being welcomed—you could choose whether you wanted to reflect quietly alone, or engage in friendly conversation with others sitting in the park. I really enjoyed my full day experience on the streets and the fellowship I
shared with the other participants both at the beginning and the end of the day.
Thank you, Laura, for coordinating our Street Retreat! — Lisa Wong Jacobs |
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Copyright © 2000-2008 Faithful Fools Street Ministry |
I had a particularly unique experience because today I had lunch at the
Institute of Human Services Women’s and Children’s Homeless Shelter, where,
exactly one week ago, Nan, Laura and I had prepared and served dinner with
members of our Youth Group, their parents, and members of the Religious
Education Committee. Today, I recognized many of the same faces, both the
providers of the recipients of the meal services, but this time I was a
recipient of the service rather than a provider, so it was interesting to get a
different perspective compared to my previous experiences volunteering at IHS.