Stories From The Road: Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole, Monstro! Monstro!

Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá

This is the second installment of our "Stories from the Road" series on Project Serve Costa Rica. 


If you were to ask me the most exciting and most terrifying hour of my life was, I might just say the football game that we took in while we were in San Jose. It wasn't for any real threat to my life or anything, but simply the sheer energy of thousands of people shouting and screaming in a language I didn't understand. But let me back up...


We had a surprise for our Project Serve team late in the week. Even our leaders didn't know what it was until the last minute. Our hosts had arranged for us to go to a professional football game. Aaron and I are not huge soccer fans, especially to the degree of some of our friends back at home, but in our minds it was like watching a Canadian hockey game: something that had to be done in Costa Rica. What was even more ridiculous was that the ticket's were the price of a latte at Starbucks, which is completely unheard of here. 

Miraculously we managed to find 26 seats in the same section. Thankfully, our hosts told us which team to cheer for. We were a few minutes into the game by the time we found seats, but it didn't take long to find out whether or not the ref had made a good or a bad call, based on the reaction of the fans. At one point, the guy in front of me cracked his head off of my knee as he threw his hands and his head back in disbelief at a penalty. Our youth watched wide-eyed at the spectacle of the game and stadium, and then something interesting happened. 

We got into it. As the ball neared the opposing teams goal, all of the fans started to stand up. At first, we stood up because that was the only way we could see what was going on. But then, we started to stand to our feet with a similar excitement as everyone else (keep in mind that we had no idea what the Spanish-speaking announcer was saying). And we cheered. And we groaned when the shot missed. When a player was downed by a hit, we talked about it as if we'd been following the team for a long time. We loved it. 


It wasn't a great game by our host's standards. And to be honest, I didn't know that there could be a scoreless game (didn't there need to be at least ONE goal scored in overtime?). But wow, was it an experience. It was a nice surprise in the middle of our week, and the team buzzed about it all night. And, it may have just turned me into a soccer fan. 

Stories From The Road: Costa Rica & Tico Time

As promised, this is the beginning of a series of updates focusing on our recent missions and camp experiences, in Costa Rica and Florida respectively.

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Our Team

I will be honest, I was excited to go to Costa Rica at first, simply because it had been on my short list of travel destinations. We had looked at honeymooning there, and ever since, I've been itching to go. Of course, as Project Serve came together, my scope of interest became much wider, especially in the months leading into our trip as we got to know more about the country and the people we were going to work with. 

Some of our team had travelled quite extensively, others had never been out of the province, so there was an interesting mix of anticipation among our team. Once we landed in San Jose we drove straight to the YFC House, right in the middle of the city and identifiable to us only by a local restaurant called "The Spoon" that happened to be on the next corner. Stepping inside, however, was a different story. Once we entered, we were in a hub of ministry and community. Many people come through this house owned by YFC: some for ministry, some for missions experiences like ours, and others to volunteer with the staff. Though some had moved out for the week to accomodate us, normally a handful of YFC staff live at the house, and from there minister through a variety of outreach programs, including their new skate outreach called SK8M.

Costa Rican & Canadian YFC Staff

One of the elements of our morning was "Tico Time". Ticos are what Costa Ricans call themselves, and for our team, this time was a time for them to encourage and share their hearts with us. Of course this was only a small part of our tico experience. Our hosts did a fantastic job encouraging community in our team. Early into our trip, they set up "Facebag" for us, recognizing that we were unplugged from Facebook for the week (the horror!). Reminiscent of Valentines bags that we all put on our desks in elementary school, it ended up being a memorable and meaningful way for us to encourage others and be encouraged ourselves. 

One of many, many van rides

By far, one of the most significant highlights for me was the unity our team experienced on this trip. Definitely, some of this can be attributed to the fact that we were together all of the time, but it was also very genuine. We wanted to be together. Like many of our YFC experiences, we incorporated small group time into each day, where smaller teams could talk about the day, and also focus on why we were serving and how this experience was changing our own lives. I know for many, this had great impact on their life and experience in Costa Rica. We became good friends with our tico hosts, and I think we will continue to develop a partnership and relationship with them. 

This was the basis of everything we did during our week in Costa Rica. I will be sharing about the work projects and some other specific stories. If we did not have this foundation underneath us, I'm not sure they would have gone as well as they did. I am grateful for our team and for our new friends in Costa Rica, they were an important part of this journey for me.

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To find out more about Costa Rica YFC/Youth Unlimited check out the following:

http://cryfc.wordpress.com/ (you'll need to translate this page if you can't read Spanish)

http://cr.yfci.org/ - Youth For Christ International's Profile on Costa Rica

One Month To Go...

It's been a whirlwind few months, and maybe this is going to explain why. In 25 days we are bound for Costa Rica. It's been just over a year since I last posted about Project Serve, so some of you might wonder if it's been off the radar. Quite the opposite in fact, 2011 saw one team go to Toronto, one team (made up of a few Toronto teams) do a work weekend in Huntsville, and team training beginning for our international trip this year. Our small group from Collingwood will  be joining a larger group from other youth centres to make up a team of 20 youth and leaders. 


February 12th we will be heading to the community of Cartago, located about an hour and a half outside the capital of San Jose, Costa Rica. While Costa Rica is a very affluent nation, the gap between the rich and poor is wide, and poverty is a significant issue in the community that we are working in. Our team will be partnering with a local church to build a room onto their building, and it will be used for serving meals to the community, outreach programs, and a variety of other things. 


What makes this trip unique is not the work that we are doing, but the partnership that we will have with Youth For Christ Costa Rica while we are there. There is a team of Costa Rican youth that will be joining our youth and we'll be working as a team for the week that we are there. What an incredible experience! For many of our youth, Project Serve has challenged them to grow in their practical skills, leadership, teamwork, and life skills, and it has made lasting friendships. 


We will definitely keep you updated as we return from the trip. If you would like to join us by financially supporting us, please use canadahelps.org, and after selecting "Donate Now" use the drop down menu beside "Fund" to select "Project Serve Mission Trip", then in the box beside "Message" type "Collingwood". Or, you can send cash or a cheque made out to Highlands Youth For Christ to the following:


Highlands Youth For Christ
9 Centre St.
Orangeville, ON
L9W 2W9

Please include a note that says "Project Serve Collingwood", and know that 100% of the money you donate supports the Collingwood team. 

We are so grateful for your support! We are looking forward to seeing lives changed as we serve the world around us!

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Check out our Facebook page for this group at https://www.facebook.com/costarica2012

2011... A Look in the Review Mirror

Happy New Year everyone! After a busy close to the year, and some much needed time off, we are back in action today, looking forward to the year that lies ahead of us! But a brief look back, as we celebrate some of the things that left their mark in 2010.


The past year was the year that our youth really took ownership in the centre. This was the first time that many of them wanted to be involved in the operating of the centre. For some, it was as simple as taking on small volunteer roles during drop-in, such as equipment sign-out. For others, it was adding their mark to the walls of the centre with a painting or a sketch. Others still gave fantastic input into special events at the centre. One young guy actually spent a night as an acting shift supervisor (closely shadowed by the real supervisor) as an exercise in leadership and to better understand just what our staff do. As our volunteers and some youth who were in the know went out of their way to challenge him with cleverly disguised bottles of ginger beer (from a distance they look exactly like a bottle of beer), he commented, "This job is hard! There are so many things going on!" And in December, when we had to rearrange the centre to accomodate some new media equipment, one of our youth visioned and directed the whole layout, making the place truly their's.


This was also the year when Project Serve really became a part of our fibre at The Door. While we had run trips in 2009, this was the year when we saw youth participate in all three trips: Toronto, Huntsville, and Mississippi. We saw so much growth in the group of youth that participated in PS, and they blew us away by the time we had completed everything. The level of committment they had to complete Project Serve was incredible! Now we have youth who want to go through the whole process again, and youth who are constantly asking when the next trip is. It's now a part of who we are at The Door, and it continues to be a great experience.


2010 was a year where we saw our partnership with the town and community around us go to a whole new level. We had some high profile events (like the Canadian Idol concert), developed stronger relationships with local service clubs, and got some decent press on local radio and in papers and magazine. We hope to continue to build this even further. 


And of course, this past year was a year when we saw God work in the lives of our youth! We had record attendance to Soul Food, and more opportunities to serve youth in meeting their practical needs. We had opportunities to pray with youth, to encourage them, and to challenge them, and it was incredible!


So with 2010 behind us, now we open ourselves up to where God is leading The Door in 2011, and expecting great things!


 

Compassion & Justice

Things are a little off for me today. For one thing, my nails are painted, which if you know me, means that you probably can't remember a time in my life ever that my nails were painted metallic green and blue. But, they were painted this weekend by Melanie*, a young woman that I met at a shelter in downtown Toronto as we had a girl's night, painting each others nails, and watching chick flicks. 

Part of me is shaken, as I've been reflecting on my experience sitting with Connor, a young man that we met on the street who had overdosed twice last week. As he recounted the few moments in the week that he could remember, he looked up at us, eyebrows deeply creased, and asked, "What's wrong with everyone?" Our staff guide for the night explained that we were visitors, and that we'd had a really long day, not bringing any more light to the obvious shellshock that most of the youth had on their faces. "They're pretty tired," he said, "Connor, tell 'em how much sleep you got last night."  Pow. We had nothing to say. Suddenly, our few hours of restless sleep on a church floor didn't seem to matter. 

I'm also honoured to have the opportunity to be in the presence of so many incredible people in shelters, vans, and drop-ins. Sitting down with Barb, a crack addict and prostitute, and listening to her story of addiction and recovery in progress left a deep imprint on the youth I was with. Or talking with Mary, a woman suffering from mental illness, who in moments of lucidity, was able to ask the questions that everyone has deep inside. But I can't begin to imagine the suffering she has experienced. Or talking with Andy, who at 18 wants to leave the lifestyle of the "street youth who is always high", and get his life together. The staff and volunteers who operated these services are also incredible. Fostering community, holistic in their ministry to the poor and broken, they work tirelessly to serve their friends on the street with dignity, respect and love. It only takes a moment or two to realize their passion for the work that they are doing. And the youth and co-leaders on this trip from YFC served with great attitudes and maturity, and were deeply affected by their experiences. 

Each Project Serve trip I've taken has challenged me, rocked me, and opened my eyes to better understand God's Kingdom here on earth. One of our key verses this weekend was Isaiah 58:6-12. Consider this:

“No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
   Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
      lighten the burden of those who work for you.
   Let the oppressed go free,
      and remove the chains that bind people.
 ⁷ Share your food with the hungry,
      and give shelter to the homeless.
   Give clothes to those who need them,
      and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
 ⁸ “Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
      and your wounds will quickly heal.
   Your godliness will lead you forward,
      and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
 ⁹ Then when you call, the Lord will answer.
      ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.
   “Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
      Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
 ¹⁰ Feed the hungry,
      and help those in trouble.
   Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
      and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
 ¹¹ The Lord will guide you continually,
      giving you water when you are dry
      and restoring your strength.
   You will be like a well-watered garden,
      like an ever-flowing spring.
 ¹² Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.
      Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls
      and a restorer of homes.


For more information on the organizations I partnered with, check out The Salvation Army and St. John The Compassionate Mission.


*I've changed the names of those we met to protect their privacy.



 

Stories From The Road - Project Serve Mississippi Part II

As promised, here is the second installment of Aaron's blogs from our week in Mississippi.

Tuesday August 24 - Day 4

Jeremy, one of our more outgoing leaders who os sitting beside me is really bugging me for some kind of shoutout. So here you go jer- You are amazing!

This update will be quite short as today was a Work day similar to yesterday.
Today we painted and painted and painted with our group. Other groups were Building decks, gardening, and tiling.

Today it was hot! So hot that Alex and I (Aaron) got heat stroke...In an air conditioned home. We ended working together in the house and just after lunch we both realized that we had no energy, we both had headaches, which I still have tonight. So we sat and under a fan for a about 20mins then came to realize that we needed to cool down. So we filled our water bottles with ice cold water and poured it over oursleves. We soon felt 100% better being drenched in water. We got ourselves some gatoraide and rehydrated. Our group got to head back to the compound at 3 to shower up. Tonight we have mostly recovered. Everyone is feeling the heat tonight as there is only a handful of is awake at 9:30pm. Everyone has gone to bed...except I just looked over to see an eruption of laughter - Alex and Megan are playing a game.

On a side note. I mentoned yesterday that we took a tour of the town to look at the left over destruction. The foundations that were left behind had numbers on the proporty, on trees, and what not. We thought that they were house numbers but couldn't figure out how random they were. We were told today that those numbers were how many people were in that house when it was destroyed. The numbers are how many people had died. Weird how those numbers remain five years later.
Tomorrow we'll head back to jim's house for another day of painting.
LESM, the organization we are with will be closing ts doors for good this week. We are the last team to ever serve with them. We are trying our best to help finish all projects in three days. Let's hope we can!!!!

More tomorrow. Off to bed.


Wednesday August 25 - Day 5

Okay so my updates I think for the next two days will be reperative. Our days seem to be getting shorter and shorter with little time for any real exciting updates.
Our work site is coming along Nicely. We have graduated from painting to scraping floors to get ready for the tiles. Last night we attempted to go to the beach to swim but as we got there the water was infected with jellyfish, which most people did not feel comfortable swimming in. So we sat at the beach and just relaxed.
We seem to be going to bed earlier each night, I guess we are putting in a good hard days work. We head to New Orleans on Friday, I think everyone is looking forward to sleeping in a good comfy bed and swimming.
I'll try and make my last work update exciting- but no promises....

More tomorrow!


Thursday August 26 - Day 6

So today was great! Our work team graduated from painting to laying cement board in the kitchen of jim's house. After we leave some of the the staff will be sticking around to lay tile. Tomorrow is our las day so we are hoping to have all the cement board done. After work today we headed over the University is southen Mississippi to see a 500 year old oak tree called 'the friendship tree', it survived the hurricane. After that we came bak for dinner. Between being back and dinner one of our team members lost a toe nail in a basketball game. We are trying to avoid the US medical system to we have taped it down hoping we can make it back to Canada to get looked at.
After dinner we headed to walmart. Possibly a mistake... I am currently looking at hoards of pop and candy. Yikes!
Alex and I did buy some boiled peanuts and shared a southern treat. Not sure how we feel about them yet. They taste like a mixture of chick peas and kidney beans.
Well, bed time hopfully the sugar high won't keep people up for long.
Heading to new Orleans tomorrow to fly out on saturday.

More tomorrow!

The Friendship Oak

A campus building, abandoned after the storm

Left virtually untouched after Katrina

Saturday August 28 - Day 8

So our last was pretty good! We finished up our worksite and got some pictures of our team with Jim and his family. We we're the first team to finish early because we ran out of mortor, so after lunch we did a massive clean up of the house and said goodbye. The after was very relaxing at the compound.
Right before dinner he headed to Pass Christian (small coastal town) to find Mississippi's oldest tree. We found the 1000 year old oak tree that rivaled the friendship tree we saw the day before.
We left Bay St Louis in another storm. Although when we left it was just raining.
We're back in New Orleans now and will spend the morning by the pool. Perhaps some will head to the mall.
It's been a good although lots of people are tired and cranky, maybe a good night's sleep will help.

Our team at the 1,000 year old oak - enormous tree!

Danielle's work team with finished product at the house in Pass Christian

So there you have our updates throughout the week! Wrapping up the trip and coming home was an interesting experience - as we left, the Gulf was preparing to recognize the fifth anniversary of the storm. Seeing images on TV of incredible devastation in many of the areas that we worked in was a tough thing. We also closed out the ministry and incredible work of Mission on the Bay, who have been working on rebuilding homes and restoring hope since Katrina first devastated the coast. Our crew was featured on a couple of local news casts that you can see here and here. It was a bittersweet farewell; we were excited to return to our homes and towns, but left with a sense of helplessness, knowing that we had done all that we could, but that there was still an immense amount of work that needed to be done. We will be meeting with the Collingwood team later this week to debrief our experience, and preparing to share stories amongst our team and to their families, an exciting chance to see the impact that this trip has had on their lives. If we are able, I will hopefully post some stories and reaction from our youth team. An incredible experience, and one that blew me away in ways I wasn't expecting.

Stories From the Road - Project Serve, Mississippi

This summer has been extremely busy for us, and we definitely haven't kept up with our blog. Much of this summer was focused on our Project Serve trip. We returned Sunday morning at 4:30am from our trip to Bay St. Louis Mississippi. While we were there, Aaron kept a blog on Facebook for the youth and parent's to track our week. Here is our journal from the road, and some pictures.

The areas that we worked in were West of Gulfport, most of them too small to get on the map.

August 21 - Day 1 - Getting There
(sorry for any grammer or spelling errors - an iPod can only do so much)

Saturday august 21
Project serve Mississippi

As I write this we are airborne! Headed to new wark, new jersey. Last night we arrived in St. Catherines around 12:30am. We we're asleep, if you can actually call it sleep, before 1am. The team from orangeville ran into some delays through the night, which set us back almost an hour. We woke up at 4:30am, packed and headed to tim hortons to meet up with the team. We got ourselves situated around 6am and headed for the border crossing. We we're all a little nervous because the last Mississippi trip was delayed 7 hrs - needless to say a delay like that would certainly set us back. We arrived at the boarder in a good ol' fashioned convoy. Car one went ahead. It wasn't 30 seconds before they we're released. Thankfully we all made it through in under 5 minutes. As we headed to buffalo one of our leaders had to pull over. Cell phone missing. Thought to have dropped it in the tims in Ontario we knew we did not have the time to retrieve it as our flight was literally taking off in an hour.
We made it to the airport at 7:50am. By airline standerds we we're beyond late. We caused a frienzy at the gate and even annoyed the nice ladies who had to check us in. We should already be boarding. The lady got on the phone to the plane, all we could hear was, "we're not holding the flight". Well it must have been an empty threat or maybe pity over came the crew. The flight was held for us and our last team members got on the plane as the flight attendant was closing the door. Okay so we delayed our flight by 5 mins. But now flight the attendant is bringing some drinks around so it's likely time to pause...

...Back now. We've landed in new Orleans at 3pm. It's 34 degrees, feels like 46 with humidity. Resting up and going for dinner in the french quarter. More later.




Sunday august 22: Day 2

As i write this update we are surrounded by heavy rain, lightning and thunder so loud it's rattling the roof... But first....

Last night we got to spend some time sightseeing around New Orleans. First, we checked into our hotel, got a shower, a quick swim, and new clothes. We headed to the centre of town just in time for dinner which meant authentic Cajun and Louisiana cooking. We all split up so I can't vouch for anyone else but I, and many others got a taste of jambalaya. Yummm! After dinner some more sightseeing happened. What a town. We had to tell everyone what Mardi Gras was and that due to some innapropriate content Bourbon street was off limits.

This morning we got to sleep in! We ate together at an ihop, swam some more, really spoiled ourselves. We had one last stop sightseeing in New Orleans. Today most of the Collingwood crew checked out the New Orleans' aquarium. we spent most of the afternoon there before loading the vans to our work area, Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, which is just an hour drive from New Orleans. As we got closer to Bay saint Louis, Katrina damage began to surface. Huge casino halls, shopping malls, gas stations... Damaged. Even after five years roofs have not been replaced-People have essentially abandoned these places. As we arrived in Bay Saint Louis dark omminous clouds began to form and we all had a bizzaar sense of reverence for the area. We drove to the ocean to see the storm come in. The winds picked up, the rain began to teem. Before long we were in a pretty violent storm. We took refuge in a popeyes chicken and bisquits and had dinner and waited the storm out. We found our compound soon after dinner, unloaded and we're briefed on our week ahead. Butch, a worker here explained to us the slow response of the US government and then asked us if we knew who the first on the scene was. We all answerd in unicen the "US army, navy, police?". All wrong. To our amazement it was the RCMP with 13 helicopters. The american workers here expressed deep thanks to us and our help. We are the last group here for the year so we are ending on a very positive note for the Mission on the Bay organization. At the end of our brief thay said, "well, the RCMP we're first on the scene and you guys are last for the year - Canada is a such a huge part in this... More than you'll ever know".

It's 10pm now and we're off to bed - work starts at 7:45am. More tomorrow!!!

Oh by the way all your children are doing great and having the time of thier lives!!

Our team of 23

St. Louis Cathedral

First look at Louisiana cooking - Jambalaya and Muffuleta

The Superdome

Monday August 23 - Day 3

Today we worked! We all got sent out to our placements. Two groups per house. Yup that's where we were private residences. Today a few of us met Jim. He has been on disability since 2001 and has Been struggling with health problems since then. Jim we once a oil rig worker until cancer and heart problems began affecting his life. He re counted when Katrina hit. Although we aren't sure if he and his wife were home at the time or if he evacuated he said that three large trees simultanuously collapsed on his house destroying his kitchen area. He was able to to clean up the mess with the little insurance money he had. He was not able to rebuild, only clean. When I asked him what prevented him from continuing the rebuild he said that his medical bills were just too large. He told me today that his triple bi-pass surgery cost him $180,000. He was finacially ruined. The medial bills began to pile on that as his health need attention. We figure he is close to $300,000 in debt. He told me today that we fully expects to die before his debt is paid off. So, fove years after Katrina jim's house is almost 80% fixed. His kitchen is repaired, his house is near competion. Today our job was to prime his whole house because tomorrow we get paint and give his place some character again. Needless to say we are quite looking forward to painting and actually being a part of the finishing touch on a part of his place. Oddly, as we were leaving jim's place today a massive thunderstorm rolled in. Jim's house is not made of brick and shingles his house was a 4 room house trailer encased in wooden slats and a tin roof. It seems that everywhere we go we are greated by ominous storms, a slight picture of what it was like on the verge of Katrina.
We left jim's around 3:30pm to make it home in time for dinner. After dinner we all jumped into our vans to survey the remnants of Katrina on the coast. What we saw was eerie. Alot of stilts without homes. Most of the homes had been washed away leaving only their foundations. What we found interesting is that the remnants have been smothered in weeds and over growth. Many have just walked away and not looked back.
It's 10pm right now and we have 6am wake up so it's off to bed. Everyone Is still taking care of themselves in this heat - no heat stroke or sun burns at this point. Everyone is doing very well.
Good night!

Copy and paste the link below to see one of the sites we visited tonight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNemF5AA-mo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Working on the Hall House

Working in Pass Christian

Evidence of Katrina Damage 5 years later in Bay St. Louis. The storm surge came to the base of the cross.

Many properties were abandoned after the storm, reminders of what used to stand along the shoreline roads.

We've got more entries, and I will post a few each day.

Project Serve, Toronto, April 2010

Streets of Pain... And Hope

It's Friday night on Queen Street, the road is bustling with taxis, cyclists and shoppers, the restaurants are full. We dip into the shelter doors, and get ready to spend the evening sharing a meal and giving the women who call this shelter home manicures. For three hours, we sit and chat, talking about our hometowns, the weather, and listening to sometimes schizophrenic conversations. As we drive back to the church where we will crash on the floor for the night, I ask the girls what impressions were left on them after the night. "They're just regular people" they tell me, struck by the face of humanity that is so often overlooked when we think of those who experience poverty and homelessness.

I (Danielle) just returned Sunday from another Project Serve experience with three of our young women from Collingwood, and fourteen other youth and leaders from the Huntsville and Shelburne satellites. This is my third Project Serve trip to Toronto, the first for the majority of participants. During our 48 hours in the city we partnered with the Salvation Army in their shelters and their vans that serve hot breakfasts and reach out to youth on the street, we joined a number of churches in the downtown core who house shelters in their halls and basements, joined a group of Sisters who offer subsidized housing, community gardens, and adult drop-in programs, and we handed out sandwiches throughout the downtown streets.

Many of the youth who joined us this past weekend come from rural towns. They come from different socioeconomic and family backgrounds. Some of them have what we sometimes refer to as the 'R.W.K.', or rich white kid syndrome, and for them, this trip blows their world wide open. It isn't an easy trip, we give up our ipods and cell phones, relinquishing our money and debit cards, and sleeping on a floor instead of our pillow-top mattresses. On Sunday, I had an opportunity to ask the girls who came with me how this trip had impact on them. They wondered how they would integrate what they had experienced into life at home, knowing that the things we complain about and take for granted (perhaps a better word would be 'exploit' sometimes) were in a new light after this trip. They felt a need to become active in the issues of poverty and homelessness. And they understood the depths pain and of joy that many on the street experience. Pain from unimaginable circumstances and issues in life, and joy from simple things that allow them to get through the day, or from lives that don't have so much peripheral junk that the important things in life are lost.

The challenge that we left them was with the words 'justice' and 'compassion', and those begin in the lives of an individual who allows their gut to be torn apart so that they are moved to action. We've had ten youth from The Door Youth Centre in Collingwood participate in the Project Serve trip to Toronto. That is a pretty good starting point to instill change in our centre and our community, I think.