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Reflections on being a SOOPer in Phoenix, ArizonaI just got back from a SOOP trip, but this was different than any other SOOP experience that I have made since being the Canadian SOOP coordinator for the past 8 years. I decided that I would like to become a SOOP volunteer. I know that I was only going to be a volunteer for one week, so what was I thinking that I would get anything out of this experience in such a short time? Little did I know that I would receive so much more than I could have imagined and in this short time receive invaluable insights into what the SOOPers experience. SOOP has become known by the phrase “vacation with a purpose” and I promoted the SOOP program with that phrase. But what I have experienced is not the emphasis on vacation, but the purpose and meaning of my time spent with others in serving and sharing and to be served. (As one volunteer has so clearly stated: “I have come to believe that, in part, God graces us with enjoyment as an affirmation of our gifts and as a way to encourage us to continue using them”.) So what are the stories behind the words that have changed me? One of my first places to experience a SOOP assignment was the St Mary’s/Westside Food Bank. I did not come with any agenda of what my day would be like or what I would be doing. I did assume that I would be putting food (it so happen to be squash and grapefruit) in bags to be given out later to some needy families. It sounds pretty straight forward until I started talking with other folks who were volunteering as part of their community service requirements. Amanda (not her real name), was married with children, but was paying for a crime 9 years earlier, in which she was involved with guns and drugs. Her past caught up with her and now she needed to serve her time, during the week at the food bank and on weekends in ‘tent city’, which is an outdoor prison that has created much concern. During the day she would spend in the heat of the sun and at night given one thin blanket to cover herself and if at night she would leave her bed to go to the washroom the guards would take away her only warmth because they felt she did not need it because she left her bed. She began to survive the weekends by not eating or drinking so that she did not have to go to the washroom at night and loose her blanket. Another SOOP volunteer and I took the time to listen to her story and at the end of the day said we would be praying for her. I did not go back to the food bank, but the other SOOP volunteer did and Amanda came up to him and said, “thanks, after talking with you, I had a much better weekend”. I also met Sam, a young man with 2 very young children, at the food bank. He was articulate, but appeared to me to have little emotion. As the morning went on, he began to share about his time in the US army in Afghanistan and the young boys, around 15 years old that were trained and carrying guns for the war. In the same sentence he looked at me and said, “and I killed them”. It took me by surprise, but once my mind was able to wrap itself around this comment, I asked him gently, “how he felt doing that”? His response, “rather him than me, I did not want to come home in a box”. How do I as a Christian respond to this young man? With anger, shock, disbelief, convincing him he is wrong. In my more reactive state, I would have, but I took a deep breath and said a silent prayer for him. Two very moving experiences, one short week, these experiences have given me a close-up look at the SOOP program and has helped me reaffirm the benefits for the SOOPers and the people they meet. Top |
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