November has come and gone so quickly. We started the month
by driving eight hours each way to the JVC Northwest fall retreat in Loon Lake,
Washington. The retreat was centered on community and featured a lot of good
knowledge about how to live better in and appreciate community. The retreat was
on a beautiful lake, as pictured, and we had a lot of time to relax after about
three months of service.
The weekend after retreat, my dad visited Boise for the
weekend. We got to do touristy things downtown, then we went to Cascade, ID for
a day. Pictures can’t do justice to the beauty of the drive and of the lake
once we arrived. On his last day here, my dad came to service with me and I got
to show him around the shelter and introduce him to guests who were there that
day. It was nice to see the shelter through his eyes and to get a fresh
perspective on what I’ve been doing for the past few months. Sharing Boise with
him was definitely a highlight this month!
At the shelter, we have been preparing for colder weather and
for Thanksgiving. Donations of warmer clothes, hand warmers, and lots of food
have been coming in regularly. We are having an extremely warm fall here, which
I am grateful for because it means that the guests got another month or so of
warmer weather to stay outside in, if that is what they have to do. Shelters in
the area are filling up as the weather changes and the day shelter I serve at
fills up every morning with people wanting to get out of the cold. When the
shelter is so full with people that many have to stand as they cannot find a
seat, people get hostile and agitated with one another. This means there are
sometimes arguments and fights that break out when people cannot get enough
space from one another. This doesn’t happen too often, but it’s why de-escalation
is so important. I am always learning so much from the volunteers and staff I
have the privilege to serve with each day who have been volunteering for years.
Something I can’t help taking away from this experience is that one never stops
learning and that many situations don’t have a clear-cut solution, which makes
things difficult but worth taking time to help with.
Thanksgiving at the shelter was like any other day, but with
lots of food and a few more decorations. One volunteer worked all week to make
seven turkeys and a lot of sides to feed about one hundred guests. The rest of
my community came to help set up and serve the meal, as they had the day off
from service. The day went well, but it felt like any other day. This is not
surprising, as for the guests it was like any other day. My community and I had
Thanksgiving dinner with one of our support families, which was really nice.
The next day we went to the Christmas Tree Lighting in downtown Boise. This
event of coming together with others was much needed after a busy couple of
weeks. I am grateful for so much during this holiday season and I hope that everyone
else can experience some joy at this time of the year.
This blog does not reflect
the views and beliefs of JVC Northwest or my service site.
