Today was the day we held the food drive for the migrant worker families, it was REALLY satisfying to see all the work we had done to collect the food finally going to the families. While we were doing our daily reflection, I realized that the work we had done this past week wasn't even close to comparing with what the migrant workers do in a single day!
This morning, the first thing we did today in order for us to set everything up was to transport all the food n clothes from the church basement to the farm where we would hold the food bank. After lifting most of the food into the vans, we realized we did not having enough car space for all of the things, so we had to pile it on top of our laps. The three of us who were in the backseat of the car ended up being neck deep in bread and tortillas, if there's one thing I learned about that drive its that bread makes an amazing pillow!
After we set up the tables and separated the food in the right categories (flour, snacks, canned meats, fresh produce, etc.) we all took our places at each category to help the migrant workers as they went through from table to table picking out what they wanted. I was placed at the condiments section, it was really difficult because after the common favorites were gone, nobody really wanted to take the leftovers. People walked past my table saying no. And at first I felt really downhearted at the fact that everyone was skipping me. But later on I realized that it wasn't about me, it was about them and what they wanted, because frankly, they deserved it, I was simply there to help. Many of the workers only spoke Spanish, so it was hard for me to talk llto them because the only other language I know besides English is French. So I asked the other volunteers who did speak Spanish to help me with some phrases to describe what was on the table. Some things we didn't know how to say like "Salad dressing" so we got creative and said "para insalada" (sp?).
Later in the day when the families coming in began slowing down, we saw some people who had just got off from work. Their hands were dark with dirt and raspberries stained their shirts, you could tell they were tired from a long day of hard work, and I felt bad for them because most of the good foods were gone, and they had to pick what was left over. We were able to give them extra foods, because we knew that not many more people were coming, but something that really struck me as amazing was the happiness you could see in their faces because they were glad to be there. Today's reflection was "clothing the naked" with its literal meaning as well as the meaning of giving dignity to those who have been wrongly refused of it. The funny thing is that the person who was without dignity was probably us volunteers (especially me) who had trouble pronouncing the Spanish words and were laughed at by the people who could speak well!
One story at the food bank that I would really like to mention is of a little boy I met. His family was the very last one to come, and we had just started to put things away. He was playing on some ramps at the end of the farm, when suddenly his shoe went flying off of his foot. He looked around and walked awkwardly on the wood and then looked at me with a confused face. I didn't want him to get any splinters so I took his shoe and motioned for him to put his foot in it (there was a language barrier because I couldn't speak Spanish.) He put his foot in and I fastened the strap, and then began to walk away, suddenly I looked behind me and he surprised me by giving me the most purest, innocent, and angelic smile. It really made my heart fill with joy, and I feel like I saw the face of Jesus in him. This is something that I wan't to cherish in my heart forever.
In truth, we leave wordly things behind, we might realize that deep down, we are not whole, and we can never truly be if we do not seek out God. And even then, we will never truly be satisfied until we enter the gates of God's heavenly kingdom. Without God, there is no joy, and I think that is how so many of the migrant workers are so happy even when they have to work so hard for so little!
One thing that I absolutely love about this mission trip is the community and the love that everyone has for everyone, even if its people we've never even met before! All the people I saw today were truly beautiful, from the volunteers, to the migrant workers and especially the children!
~*~Kellie Kralovic
Sacred Heart, Enumclaw.
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