Ypsilanti, MI and Toledo, OH

As I mentioned in my last post, last Wednesday night when I went to bed, I had no place to stay the next day in Michigan. When I woke up, I had a text from the FOCUS missionaries working at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan. After packing my bags and thanking Father Kohrman, I headed to meet the FOCUS missionaries, Corey and Andy. On my way to Michigan, I pulled over to do a phone interview with the Winona Daily News (published on August 31st). Once I got to Ypsilanti, I spent some time getting to know Corey and Andy, then I researched volunteer opportunities in the area.

The next day, I went to a local thrift shop asking if I could help out with anything. Feeling as if they didn’t need additional help for the day, the ladies at the thrift shop gave me a list of other thrift shops in the area that I could check with. From that list, I called the St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop in Ann Arbor, who said they could use my help. As I was pulling into the area, a guy who was clearly down on his luck came up to my window and asked me to roll it down. He said he needed a new pair of pants and didn’t have enough to buy them. Headed to the thrift shop anyways, I invited him to meet me at the entrance to see if we could find a pair that he liked. Ten minutes later, the man had himself a new pair of pants and shoes for his journey. After helping him out, I introduced myself to the thrift shop staff and they put me to work. I spent the next couple hours helping to the clean the thrift shop, sharing my story with employees and customers throughout the process.

The next day was used to continue to plan for my trip. While the front half of my trip is shaping up nicely, the back half needs some work. After several hours of planning, I called it a day and headed back the apartment. The rest of the night was spent having meaningful conversation with Corey and Andy.

The next morning, I packed up, thanked the guys and headed to The Historic Church of St. Patrick in Toledo, Ohio. Unaware that there were two celebrations taking place that weekend, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that they needed some extra help setting up for the events. While I was helping to bring the desserts from the kitchen to the tent area for that evening's firemen’s dinner, I started talking to another volunteer named Lonnie. He told me the story of how he was shot five times in the lower body while he was riding his bike in the area one night. He told me about how the experience strengthened his relationship with God. Knowing full well that the gun shots could have killed him, he decided not to take his second chance for granted. The minute the doctor cleared him for rehab, he grabbed his walker and was ready to start working his way back to walking on his own again. Rather than starting out with the recommended 10 steps, he amazed the doctor by taking 60 instead. He is currently walking with no problems and is continuing to work his way towards running again. He is a great example for all of us to realize that each day is a gift that we should not take for granted.

After finishing my conversation with him, I went back to the kitchen to help clean up. While I was in the kitchen, I started talking to another volunteer named Sheila. Hearing my story and knowing that I was not from the area, her and her sister, Connie, welcomed me to hang out with them during the dinner. After talking for a couple hours, they headed out for the night and I stayed to listen to the band that was playing. Seeing that I was now sitting by myself, a kind couple named Bill and Angie asked me if I was new to the parish. That small act of kindness (reaching out to someone who was sitting alone) turned in to an hour and a half long conversation!

On Sunday, the church put on a neighborhood get together that included a free meal. Keep in mind that the church is located in is one of the rougher parts of Toledo. For many of the people that showed up to the get together, the free meal was much needed. My job at the event was to be the greeter and hand out nametags at the entrance. It was nice to be able to interact with everyone who showed up and to welcome them with a smile! Once the event wrapped up, I was able to help take down tables and chairs and return things to where they needed to go.

After a Monday morning full of planning, I spent the early part of the afternoon working at the food pantry helping to unload the delivery truck. After the truck was unloaded, the items were sorted through and put in their proper places. Following my work at the food pantry, Monsignor Vasko treated me to dinner, capping off a weekend full of friendly encounters with the people of The Historic Church of St. Patrick!

Thank you to Lonnie, Sheila, Connie, Bill, and Angie for the conversations that we shared and the kindness that you showed me. Thank you to Monsignor Vasko for your generous hospitality. Thank you to all the staff and volunteers at The Historic Church of St. Patrick for the work that you do for the community. And thank you to all of you who continue to pray for me and support me. You are the reason that this trip is possible!