Our Eventful First Day
Hey everybody!
Sunday,
we left a little late and had to stop at six atms before we finally got money
for the tolls. We were on our way after that. We listened to comedy specials,
music, and goats screaming and fainting. We got stuck in traffic for over an
hour and arrived a tad bit late. Through the car ride we had a lot of laughs
and got to know one another fairly well. Even though we hit traffic it was a
blessing in disguise. It was a catalyst for helping us starting to bond better
and starting new friendships. When we got their Ned greeted us and gave us a
tour of the Father McKenna center. He told us the story of Father McKenna and everything
he stood for.
- Tommy Tripodis
Good evening friends and family,
Our first day was very stressful. Besides being way off schedule, we had a jarring experience at Walmart. We were shopping for some of our meals and when we walked in we encountered a man yelling racial slurs. Immediately we removed ourselves from the area and completed our grocery shopping. On the way out of the store, we had another run in with the man. He stood behind Rachel and Kaitlyn in line and was continuing to escalate as he verbally attacked workers and shoppers. We watched as he was escorted out of the store and when he went to reenter, no one stopped him. The experience was scary, frustrating and shocking. We worked to process the experience in small groups and during our evening reflection. It was important for us to not only express our frustrations for the experience, but we also wanted to address the possible mental health issues that may have been in play. Despite the experience being negative in the moment, we were able to utilize it to begin our discussion about homelessness and that was priceless.
With love,
Mari Lohitai
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