Day 77: Justice Projects

Today was all about Be the Change; the first year students were split up into different groups that were heading into various parts of Sydney. I was originally part of a group called Graffiti Blitz, but it turned out there wasn't really a team called Graffiti Blitz, so those of us in that group were allocated to other groups. I was reallocated to Response Teams/Street Teams (so excited about that), and this specific group of teams were going to Maroubra. So we packed up some cleaning supplies and headed out to the Maroubra beach area. I was with 3 other friends and we were sent to Lexington Place to ask for any help with cleaning. In the end, we didn't clean anything, but we had many good chats with the residents. Since most of the men were working, it was all women that answered the doors; such precious women, I'd say. There was so much life that came from them all. One particular friend we made was a dog that was in the front yard; he was howling for such a long time, and it made us curious and worried. We probably spent the most time with him than with anyone else; such a nice, wonderful dog those people had. As soon as we arrived, he was jumping for joy, his tail wagging like no tomorrow. He was so happy to see new people, and it made us wonder if he got enough attention from his owners. Overall, it was nice to share the love of Christ even to His most adorable of creations. I also got to practice more of my Spanish-speaking skills with a lady from Peru; it just so happened that I was the only one that spoke "fluent" Spanish, so I became the main communicator. Fortunately, Lee is from Brazil, so she could speak some Spanish too, but not as fluent. I'm sure if my mom is reading this, she'd be very surprised about that haha. For lunch we had Australian Domino's Pizza, which was most excellent compared to the U.S. version (no offense to the States). When lunch was done, we split up again to clean up the streets of garbage and other little things that would help make the area cleaner. I witnessed the largest amount of cigarette butts I've ever seen in my life; I'm sure I picked up around 60 to 70 in just one block. It was lots of fun, and our great leader Gary even got us some ice cream near the end. After the first bus left to drop off most of the team, the rest of us decided to play some soccer; so much fun, yet SO exhausting. I'm happy the sun wasn't any hotter than it was then, because I was in serious need of water when we finished. That pretty much summed up our day, and it was most excellent. Can't wait for day 2!

God bless,
Steven