Homeless Immersion Trip: Day 1

Wow. What a day. Travel was so smooth, but by the time we landed at 2:00pm (Oregon time) our day had really just begun. Part of our immersion experience is being restricted to public transit and walking. So, immediately following the baggage claim, the 14 of us purchased our 7 day passes and carried all of our belonging with us to the train (much like the homeless having to keep everything they have on them at all times). On the train ride, I was immediately impacted by how present the homeless community was. Under almost every underpass and in the thick brush on the hills were makeshift homeless communities. These are called "caves" and our guide at our agency tomorrow lived in one and he may take us to meet his community, which is very exciting, but the team wants to mindful of not "touring" homelessness. Either way, I am grateful for the exposure to any degree. Grocery shopping was on our itinerary for the evening as well. Our closest/cheapest option was a Safeway that was a 17 minute walk away. The neighborhood it was in was a drastic contrast to the place we are staying in and it is very interesting to me to see the change in community from only a few blocks. Our budget was $25/person for 6 breakfasts, 5 lunches, and 1 snack. I teamed up with 3 others to expand our budget a bit. It was incredibly stressful to plan the budget and coordinate the groceries with the meals to make sure I was getting exactly what I needed and nothing more so I wouldn't waste money on top of being completely exhausted from an early morning of traveling. I cannot possibly imagine how someone with the constant weight of worry about not having guaranteed shelter would have the mental capacity to plan the transportation and grocery shopping each week. My team came in $30 under budget, but that was only because we had a Safeway card to use, which some living in poverty may not have a telephone number for. Once we had 8 days worth of groceries for 14 people, we had to travel back to our home for the week. 20 minutes of waiting, 15 minutes on public transit, and 6 minutes of walking later we were finally home and able to debrief for the night. Tonight's journal was about fear and obstacles keeping us from being present during this trip. I fear offending a community that is foreign to me because of my lack of cultural competency. I fear the heavy presence of meth addiction and the addict's unpredictable behavior. Some obstacles I can foresee is the guilt I carry when my privilege is brought to my attention, coping with my exhaustion by distancing myself from the impact of this experience, the clash of personalities within the team, and the stress of what is on plate once I get home. I am so emotion lead and my empathy often leaves me feeling drained. I see a population that I want to reach so badly, that sometimes my empathy and my own feelings crash into each other. Tonight's heaviest feelings are anxiety and guilt and the desire to help these individuals in this city. I have a couple great girls on this trip with me that I can turn to for immediate support this week and I feel comfortable to take a short timeout during the day when I need it and those tools, along with prayer, will allow me to take in all that this experience is suppose to be. Friends, I would love to feel the power and comfort of prayer this week, so if you have the time, please email me back a short prayer that I can look to this week during those moments I need a quick break. I'm so exhausted I'm not going to proofread this message, so this content is raw and may be influenced by my lack of sleep. Take it as you will. :) I can't wait to update you as we begin the hands on experience!! You are loved, Jordyn P.s. I'm already sleeping on cement for 6 hours and this guy next to me is SNORING like he's sleeping in the penthouse suite at the Marriott... extra prayers plz & thx.

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