Where Do I Begin? (Week 6)
June 14, 2011
Remember that just because Mission Training is over it does not mean that we are done reading or blogging. 
Thank you all for your thoughtful answers over the past few weeks!
Here’s a few questions for this week:
What story stuck out the most to you this week? Why?
One of the reasons why do service projects throughout the year in Flipd is because of what’s described in “Two Stones.” We want our faith to rub against injustice. Do you have an idea for a service project Flipd could do next year as a youth group? What’s an area of injustice that you see in our city that Flipd could do something about?
How can you “start small” like suggested in “Friend With Money”? What are some small changes that you’re thinking about now as a result of the reading we’ve been doing in the last couple months?
See you all on Sunday when we get back from Boston with the 7th Graders
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The story that stuck out to me most was ” Hope vs. Cynicism.” Mostly because of how I could relate to the ideas even though I experience none of the things the author experiences. He says “..or the fact that so many of my brothers are in jail.” In no way do I know what it is like to know someone who is in jail, but I understand what the author is talking about. I feel the struggle for positivity even through all the negativity. I really liked the part that said ” The truth is that cynicism works like a poison, destroying your spirit. It consumes your eyes, your mind, and your heart with your problems.” I came to a realization that cynicism is of the devil. Hope is Godly. We must always hope.
Hm. Well, I see a lot of injustice in our city. But I think that a service project that could be done next year is not one that many students would consider a service project. I think that a bunch of people in our community are just lonely. They need someone who cares about them and who will have a genuine interest in what is going on in their lives. Maybe just going out and engaging in conversation could unleash our faith.
I’ve noticed that in almost every story, the writers have taken their love for God and shared it with anyone and everyone around them. Just by being there for someone in the smallest ways can really change lives. I think that I will try being more intentional with all those around me. I will love in the same way I long to be loved. I will cater to the needs of others with a whole heart.
Canton is coming soon! Can’t wait
I understand what you said about people just need someone who cares because in Boston the people were so happy to see and talk to us and at the nursing home at the service project all the old people were happy to play the wii with us.
I liked that you said “I will love like I long to be loved.”
It goes back to Sunday school when we were taught the golden rule. “Treat others as you want to be treated.”
The story that stuck out to me this week was”Brownies.” I think that it is great that they can have a friendship like that, just because of a plate of brownies. Because someone gave their time to hand out brownies, they now have the blessing of great friends. I think that sometimes we hold back from great friendships, because we don’t have the courage to take the step and befriend someone in a tiny way like the people in the story did.
I see injustice downtown, but I also see it in torn apart neighborhoods. My cousin lives in the suburbs of Akron, and it seems unfair that he has to live in this terrible torn apart house, when he is devoting his life to missons work. We who live better think that he has it terrible, but really he is so happy with his life because he is completely hung up in his work with after school children. that is all he cares about. so I think that one of theservice projuects that we could do is kinda like the cool project. We could go to peoples house and just help the re-build missonary’s houses. We could help with outside and inside work, but we would be blessing these people, because they don’t have enoguh time to do it themselves.
Some changes that I will make is going to a park or something and just hanging out with people. I feel like sometimes that’s all that people want. they just want friends. kinda what Leah said. but sometimes when I have free time, or don’t know what to do with myself, I could just go downtown and visit with people and make their day just a little bit better.
The story that stood out to me was “Friend With Money”. In the beginning of the story, it reminded me of how much we value money. I believe that we are wealthy if we have the love of God. You could have lots of money and be poor in spirit. You could have next to no money and be very wealthy in faith and knowledge.
I see a lot of injustice around cities and the neighborhoods with less money. These people can serve God and love Him, but they could live in some of the worst places. Like Emily said, a great service project would be to rebuild these neighborhoods and the missionary’s houses. Also, we could clean up the cities and downtown areas to help the people that live there.
I think that a way I could make a small start would be just being a good neighbor to the people that I’m aound a lot already. It’s good practice to be a good neighbor to the people that we might not see all of the time and to the people that we are going to help on the mission trip.
I think if the cities were cleaner most people would be more respectful to it and more considerate.
The story that stuck out to me the most would be Hope vs. Cynicism. The reason this story stuck out was because it made look further into the story to understand and it was very interesting. I like how Leroy said that hope connects to life and is always there and cynicism makes you look at your community and how many people may be falling apart and crushing your spirit.
A service project flipd could do next year could be Erving people food at a soup kitchen or at refuge of hope because in downtown canton there are a lot of homeless people and hungry people in need.
Some ways we could start small could be by not viewing people by looks, race, or any other factors that may be racist. Then we could start taking advantage of opportunities we see instead of passing them up and may regret later. Like maybe helping at a service project or community event or maybe by just acknowledging people in need on the street by giving them change or something helpful.
I have to agree with you. If we did those things we could definaly show God’s light to others
The story that most stuck out to me was Two Stones, because I know that sometimes I feel horrible about some messed up thing in the world and then I do nothing to change it, even if it’s something small.
I know this isn’t in our city, but I think it would be great if flipd did 30 Hr. Famine next year. It raises money for hungry kids and helps you realize what it really is to be hungry. We did it at school and it was amazing.
I think that I will try to get to know my neighbors more. I know their names, but with most of them I know nothing about their lives. I think it’s really important to share that kind of stuff with people near you.
Katie,
I agree that it is important to share your story with those around you. It feels good to know that the people around you can understand and help you in any way they know how.
I liked the story called rebuilding. It reminded me of a song called beautiful things. The story reminded me that no matter what suffering I go though and how much trial anyone faces if we don’t give up and still have hope that God can use that trial for something amazing.
For my service project it’s kinda like what Leah so I guess if two of us thought of the idea it’s a good one. We could have a night where we get to know the new people in our church. We could go out into a community and have a game night with all the families. Maybe we could even baby sit for a family.
Ever since starting to read the book, I’ve noticed that people around me are going though the same things as I am. I’ve stopped thinking of people as lower than me and I have tried to help out anyone God puts in my path.
Jess,
I know what you mean when you say that you’ve noticed that people around you are going through the same things you are. It really opens your eyes and makes life easier when you know that other people have been through it & made it out okay.
The section that affected me the most was Hope vs. Cynicism. The author’s observations are a good assessment of my own life. I know that I resort to cynicism too often. I usually justify my reactions by claiming that I am being realistic, but I know that God would rather me to have more faith (hope).
There are a lot of opportunities for us to get involved in new projects. I think organizing a community fun day in a city park would be a great way to connect with people and offer something to bring people together.
I want to try to continue to support local businesses as much as possible. My wife and I try to support local restaurants and shops, but I know we could do better. My wife is really good at shopping at consignment shops and thrift stores, but I don’t always think about going to those places when I go shopping.
I never thought about going to local buisnesses as a way to help others.
I am usually more negative also, and I think it is just easier because if there is no hope there is no reason for you to try to help.
The story that stuck out to me the most would be Hope vs. Cynicism. I have a tenancy to be hyper-critical of everything, and this story really reminded me of myself. I’ve gotten better(or at least I’ve tried), but like they say, old habits die hard. I also tend to be over analytical of situations, always looking for an explanation of everything. I am normally an optimist, although, I can be a little bit of a pessimist at times.
I liked the story “Friend with Money.” I liked it because it says that we should be treated equally no matter how much money we have. It says that we are all created in the image of the Creator and that money does not matter if you look at it that way.
I think that a service project Flipd could go to a soup kitchen next year as a service project. Last year on the Boston trip we went to a soup kitchen and it was a great experience knowing that we gave people who might not have a meal to eat that day, a nice hot meal to satisfy their hunger.
what? there was more to that, but i guess it got cut off
the story that stuck out to me the most was Two Stones because every once and a while i will feel bad about the people who fight in the army for US
a service project we could do is mabey going to a soup kitchen and hanging out with the people there and then we could do like we did in boston were we would get some homeless people and go and buy them some stuff
some small changes i have been trying to make is stop being mean to people
The story that stuck out to me the most was brownies once again it’s the little things that matter most. You can gain amazing friends just by spending a couple hours making brownies and passing them out to your neighbors.
A service project we could do as a youth group Is take a bunch of homeless people and take them out to dinner and something fun afterwards maybe once or twice a month and just take the time to be with them and love them. I know when I was reading under the overpass mike said that it his and other homeless people’s day when people just spent time with them
I agree that it’s the little things that matter most. Just by doing small things, we can make a big impact.
A lot of people are saying that they think it’s cool that somebody could make friends just by passing out brownies. I just wanted to point out that you need to do more to make a friend than pass out brownies. That’s a great way to start, but you have to put more into it.
The story that stuck out to me the most was Friend with Money. I dont think it is fair that we place people on a ladder of importance based on how much money they have. There are a lot of people that are very intelligent but do not have a lot of money. There are also a lot of people who are extremely wealthy but arent very smart.
I think a Flipd project that could be done is BAM. I think it would be useful because it exposes us to the homelessness and allows us to interect with them on a one-on-one basis.
I think you can start small by shopping locally. It supports the local community and allows those shops that make your neighborhood unique to stay open.
The story that stuck out to me the most, would have to be “Rebuilding.” I chose this story because it reminds me of all the devastation that happened in the southern states with tornadoes, that left thousands of people homeless, and the flooding in North Dakota, where people had to evacuate their homes and will most likely come back to nothing. After devastation like this happens, communities come together and bond like a family to help bring their city back together. People love on another without question and are there ready to help. I like the quote in the story too of, “Every instance of destruction comes with an opportunity for rebuilding.” This is exactly what all these cities are going through. For some reason, I feel God puts people in these situations so people who might be considered bitter, will be able to show love to others that they most likely wouldn’t.
Something our youth group could do is, gather up basic necessities such as toothbrushes, shampoo, etc. and then donate it to places such as the Refuge of Hope. We could also collect things in our house our parents don’t need like blankets, and older microwaves and such, because the Refuge of Hope also gives to people that want to start a life of their own but don’t necessarily have the money to do so.
Something I could do, would be being nicer to people that wouldn’t usually like me. Such as people at my school. I don’t like being disliked by people, so my main goal throughout school, since the beginning of seventh grade, is to be nice to everyone. This means that I could be on a civil level with everyone, without having to become buddy-buddy with them. Even though it would be cool to become friends with people you normally wouldn’t be friends with.
I think that injustice in our city is crime. Next year i think that flipd should walk the toens of canton with the police department. This would help lower the crime ranks and get crimanls off the street. Also to show flipd how you get arrested and spend a night in an actual jail stale. This would help prevet crime
The story “Friend with Money” stuck out to me the most because I never realized how much we valued money. Also, I do not think its fair to judge a person by their amount of money they have and to put them in a higher position because of their wealth. I also think that wealth should not interfere with the knowledge that someone has. I like when the author says ” A renter in a subsidized housing apartment may have a voice, but very little power. A neighbor store owner has some power. But if Wal-Mart sends a representative, everyone is listening” and I agree because it also seems that if you have a higher position or more wealth, more people will listen to you.
A service project for Flipd could be to have a clothing drive to gather unwanted or clothes that don’t fit anymore to give to others who need them.
I think I could start small by volunteering to help others like, for example, volunteering in a soup kitchen.