Today was our last full day together in Detroit. And it was a very, very full day!
Our morning routine was pretty normal. The group was up at 7, ate breakfast at 8, and was on the road before 9.
This morning, the entire group went back to Gleaner’s, the area food bank. There we worked to package food packs that were going to be distributed to senior citizens who were homebound. Each food pack is designed to last them for a month.
Gleaner is actually a Biblical word. In those ancient days, farmers would harvest their crops, but would always leave some of the food on the edges of the fields, so that the widows and the poor could go there and select food to bring home that they needed. To collect this food was to “glean” it. Gleaners operates on basically the same principle.
We worked on a conveyor belt. Some in our group folded and stapled boxes. Others worked on filling the boxes. We had a crew taping them shut and another team assembling them on pallets for shipping. A final team worked to break down and move the used cardboard for recycling.
We worked at Gleaners from 9 am to 11:30 am. During that time, we put together 635 of these food packs. This totals 16,510 meals and 20,637 pounds of food, ready for shipping.
We returned to church for lunch and then broke into two teams. The first went back to the Downriver clothing distribution center to work, and the other team went to MetroLife Church in Detroit to help them with clearing some land on their property.
We all returned to church by 4 pm, where we participated in a “Grill Stroll.” Northline Church here does this every year before their VBS week. We walked through the neighborhood, accompanied by a large gas grill mounted on a trailer. On the trailer, Matt was busy grilling burgers and hot dogs. In groups of 3, members of our group went to the doors in the neighborhood, knocked, and asked the residents if they’d like free hot dogs and hamburgers.
After they got over their surprise, the residents were all very happy to be asked, and over 50 households took the food. We then also gave them flyers with information about the upcoming VBS week.
While our group was (understandably) a bit hesitant at first, they eventually realized how much fun they were having, and they really enjoyed the project.
We returned to church for a dinner of leftover hot dogs and hamburgers. Then, our young people were invited to the Northline church youth group. The adult leaders went to their adult Bible study, where Matt and Liam each had a chance to share about our experiences. The adults in the Bible study asked us questions about our work and about Trinity, and then we sat in on their Bible study.
After that, we met with the pastor from Northline who told us about their church and their ministry, and then we celebrated Anna’s 17th birthday with cake and a gift.
And then we went to bed because we’re pretty wiped out.
Tomorrow, we’ll get up, eat, clean up, pack, load the vans, and leave Northline, probably around 9 am. We’re going to Belle Isle for a bit to be tourists before the group begins its journey back to Chicago.
The group is tired. But they’re doing great. It’s fun to see them develop as a community together. We can all be really proud of them. Today is a day when they really reflected the love of God in all that we experienced together.
More tomorrow!
Pastor Todd
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