Monday- The Work Begins (Street Sweep and City Gate)

Pictures from our first day at work in DC. Last night we arrived at TeamEffort and soon realized it is not in the best neighborhood. We soon then realized when we got in our room that there was only one shower for about two-dozen girls! We were thankful when we learned we have air conditioning. In Washington D.C it will be about 90 and humid almost everyday. When we finished our IHOP breakfast and packed our lunches, we went out to the street to pick up garbage. We found many interesting things along the way like a wig, dentures, a takeout box with earwigs in it, an old Team Effort sign, old cups, tons of tiny bottles of alcohol, and many more. We picked up garbage for about an hour then we went to City Gate, which is a place for kids to go after school and get snacks and help with their homework. They are currently preparing for their Father’s Day family day and their VBS program. We got the chance to meet with Miss Vix, the head of City Gate, today and find out about her ministry and help her sort food for her food ministry. We found her to be a very energetic woman who has a passion for her Lord. She wakes up at five everyday and gets her kids ready for school then spends about two hours in devotion and prayer. It was very evident to us she has an impact on her community. After we got to know her better, she took us to see her orchard the kids helped her make. When we went there, a few kids had recess and saw Miss Vix and came running over to say hi. We then went to a house where Miss Vix prepares bags of food to distribute to the community and helped sort food. There were boxes in the house we had to carry out. There were cockroaches and other bugs under the boxes and in the boxes as well. We had to take the food out of boxes and containers and throw some broken or open containers away. We put the rest on tables in categories and counted each food item. While we sorted the food, there were clothes that needed to be sorted, and because of the bugs on the floor in the house, Jenny and Brittney sorted the clothes outside. After we had all the food categorized and counted, we put assorted things into bags for the people that lived in the government housing in the community. After we put the bags in boxes, we carried them inside so they could be put away in storage. We were sad when we had to leave Miss Vix. She’s such an awesome lady. She was clearly appreciative for our efforts. When we were heading back to the Team Effort building, our leader Holly, got us lost on the way back and we got an unexpected tour of the inner city. When we got back, we took showers and played games ‘til supper. We had supper duty and set up plates and forks for pizza and salad. After supper, we had free time and we played Ninja☺ We met other groups and had fun with them. We then had chapel, followed by small group time. This was a nice time of sharing about our experiences of the day. We learned a lot about the culture here. We are surely not in Oostburg anymore! - Hannah Wieskamp - Emily Wieskamp