Moveable Feast in the Rain!

On Friday the 25th of September, Emma Edgar and I volunteered at Moveable Feast.  Interestingly enough, this volunteering experience was unexpectedly my most touching and valuable experience so far at this organization.

Actual footage that Emma took of me as we first started walking
towards my car. Via http://thenosebleeds.com

In the rain, Emma and I (clad in our rain jackets) trekked out to my car, about a half mile away from our dorm.  I was already frustrated as I got into my car and water had completely saturated my shoes, soaking all the way through to my socks.

We commenced over to Moveable Feast and picked up the multitude of hot meals we would be delivering that evening.

Upon seeing the long list of names and according directions that took us all around the east side of Lexington, we knew we were in for a long night of driving in the rain and scurrying through the torrents as we ran food to the doors of those to whom we were delivering dinner.

Delivering meals in the rain around Lexington as evening approached.

Thereupon our first few deliveries, I quickly realized the meaning of the experience I was going through at the moment.  I was selfishly upset that I was having to spend four hours of my evening following difficult directions around Lexington and getting wet.  Yet, when I saw the value of what I was doing, when I saw the joy and love that the people who we were serving felt, I realized how null my own concerns were.

I questioned myself and realized that despite the sacrifice of time and comfort I had to make for a mere four hours of my Friday evening, it was trivial and incomparable to what these people were going through.  The people we served were condemned to death by a debilitating disease, and often lived in very decrepit and derelict housing.  Very early on, I was able to embody the sentiment of “service above self” and put these people’s needs of their daily bread over my own selfish concerns.

This is such a profound part of service, and this has been the most valuable thing I have learned as part of my “service learning experience” thus far.  Service is not always easy.  It is not always convenient.  It is not always comfortable.  But you continue to serve notwithstanding.

This is something that will reverberate and resonate with me through any service experience in my life: volunteering, work, family life, etc.  Putting aside your own selfish interest and pouring into the interests of those you serve is incumbent to truly personify the mindset of a true servant.

Four hours later, we returned: wet, cold, the rain still enduring.

Four hours later, over fifteen families were able to go to bed with full stomachs that evening.