Open Door

I loved today! We started the morning off with a little devotion/prayer before work. Because our office is in the church the staff gives the interns the opportunity to spend half a day once a week helping out with a ministry called Open Door. This takes place in the side room of the church where people who are homeless, struggling with addictions or who just feel alone come for coffee and biscuits, a welcoming environment, and community. I had the opportunity to sit with and listen to a few people who just needed someone to talk to. One really sweet older man that I talked with shared about how his family has abandoned him and the pain is still there, but he is so thankful for the family he has at Open Door and for all of those around him. It was really encouraging to take part in this ministry and get to meet people in a town that I will be living in for the next four months!

Later on in the evening my roommates and I went to a small group for college students and young adults. It was such a warm and fun environment. They were all excited to meet us because they had heard from a staff person that we were all from California so they liked calling us the California girls. They also persisted that one of us read the Bible passage for the evening because they really wanted to hear an American read.. apparently we have obvious accents to them haha. All in all, is was fun to exchange stories and culture as well as share with one another that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. I am really looking forward to this Bible study and excited to get involved.