As I began this year of service, I was put alongside another volunteer, Leanne, at the breakfast coffee stop. We stand side by side behind the table covered in upturned mugs awaiting the next order. Requests vary from “Two sugars and some of that pumpkin creamer!” to “Black, please.” Served with a smile as sweet as the teaspoons of sugar in their cup, I began to recognize the faces of regulars. It reinforced the way I see the importance of Living Waters – it emphasizes a community centered on God and provides a safe place to be with others committed to the community. This coffee stop is a part of that community where I can get a read on the consistent guests’ day or facilitate an introduction to a new face.
Living Waters Center for Hope opens at 9 am every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday to allow guests into the hall for breakfast. But, before the doors are ready to be opened, a lot goes into the preparation of the center: Cooks arrive at 7:30am to begin on the eggs and by 8:30, eight tables are set up with black & white checkered tablecloths, flowers in vases, and place settings – reminiscent of a café or restaurant. This set up is intended to show our intentionality in welcoming guests into the hall for a meal together. Even though I have an early commute to Lowell, MA it only gets me to Living Waters around 8:20am. I don’t have much of a hand in the breakfast on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I do get to the center in time to help Leanne, with the coffee setup. We operate an industrial coffee percolator that fills the large coffee urn from which we fill the guest cups. We have two trays each of mugs on our side of the serving table along with containers of sugar, powdered creamer, and sometimes hot cocoa (if we’re lucky!). When Living Waters opens at 9am, the guests sign in and find a place to sit. Once settled, some will approach the coffee area. Leanne and I meet them one by one, filling coffee orders and checking in with the guest on how they’re doing. This coffee station is another place where I am able to interact one on one with the guests. One such guest, Matthew Tuck, has become a sincere friend. He is getting up there in terms of age, but his spirit and compassion are still quite lively. This isn’t to say he’s without troubles. He has to deal with the weather affecting his arthritis and is battling liver cancer. In the moments I get to see Tuck from across the coffee stop table, I meet him where he’s at and listen to what’s been going on in his day-to-day life. Sharing joys, concerns, and even reminders to each other to stay warm in the coming weeks. It was Tuck, too, who alerted the center to some disturbing news from the Lowell shelter. Near the beginning of Fall, the shelter in Lowell stopped giving breakfast to folks who were not living in the shelter. This drove our numbers one chilly morning from the usual 35-40 guests to over 80 folks coming in from the cold. The room was abuzz with conversation heavy with the news of the shelter’s closed doors. Since I don’t entirely know the area or the resources well enough, my first thought was, “Where can the guests get meals when we’re closed?” This question was promptly answered by a small group of folks who stood in front of the coffee stop: “You can’t go hungry in Lowell," they said. This was in reference to the many opportunities to eat at various non-profits such as Living Waters in the area. But the shelter was one of these meal providers! I couldn’t fathom why the shelter was deciding to close its doors to those in need, especially in the steadily decreasing temperatures. To me, this was an injustice that seemed unbelievable. I was in awe of those who took the news in stride and were able to rethink how they will get something to eat elsewhere. I had not experienced a greater example of how God grants resilience and in turn, how folks praised God for what they did have. Not only am I learning resiliency from the people around me, but I am also learning to deepen my faith in trusting in God the great Provider. I have had some trouble distancing myself from the problems many of the folks I interact with recount to me. It isn’t alcoholism in the homeless population, it’s Tuck being sick just outside. It isn’t a shelter closing for political reasons, it’s Jame being told he can’t get lunch at the closest and least expensive place to his construction job. While I cannot help with the shelter situation or the widespread issue of alcoholism, I am able to uplift the individuals I've encountered. God the Provider knows their names and I can only trust in God goodness. In wrestling with my own inadequacies to fix these issues affecting the guests, I have seen how they are able to carry on praising God for the places still open. I want to close this blog with a prayer from Thomas Merton for those who feel lost but trust in our great Provider. My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that, if I do this, You will lead me by the right road, Though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death I will not fear, for You are ever with me, And You will never leave me to face my perils alone.
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AuthorHi, I'm Sierra! I will be serving in Boston, MA as a Boston Food Justice Young Adult Volunteer for the 2019-2020 academic year. I graduated college with a major in Philosophy and minored in Classical Studies. Archives
July 2020
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