Las Vegas, NV and San Francisco, CA

On the 19th, after working at the Catholic Thrift Store, I left St. George and headed to Las Vegas, Nevada, to meet up with my college roommates. I arrived at 3:00pm to check in and had some time to relax before their flight landed. At 12:30am, I picked the guys up and our night began. . . It ended when the sun came up. The next couple days were filled with a trip to the Hoover Dam, lots of laughs, great company, and bad luck gambling (unless specifically designated for “fun activities”, no donations were harmed in the making of these memories).

On the 22nd, we went to Mass in the morning. Later in the day, it was time to do some service. I set out to find someone in need so that I could treat them to a meal and some conversation. After walking for a bit, I saw a woman with two small children holding a cardboard sign. I panicked, walked into a souvenir shop and tried to devise a plan. The only plan that I could come up with was to walk up to her and ask how I could help. Simple, yet daring. After asking how I could help, she told me that she had just arrived from Arkansas and was now stranded. With the sun going down, it was getting dark and she didn’t want her kids outside. Rather than asking for money, she was asking where the nearest shelter was. Unfamiliar with the area, I asked her to stay in one spot while I checked with the front desk staff at my hotel. That was Plan A. I quickly moved to Plan B once I saw the hour long wait in the lobby. Knowing that this woman desperately needed help and completely unwilling to let two kids sleep on the streets, I grabbed some money from my room and met the woman outside again. From there, I walked with them to the motel across the street to set them up with a room for the night. After getting them all checked in, I gave them some money for dinner, gave the woman a hug, and headed back to my room. The woman’s name is Kim. Please pray for her and her kids.

The next morning, I woke up at 4:15am, brought the guys to the airport and started my nine hour drive to San Francisco. Somewhere near the middle of nowhere, I needed gas. I got off the interstate and headed to the first gas station that I saw. When I was close enough to see that the price of gas was $4.69 per gallon, I decided that I would rather take my chances of getting stranded than succumb to that type of savagery. Fortunately, before my tank was empty, I found a gas station that offered gas for a dollar cheaper.

Once I got to San Francisco, my friend, Kacie, gave me a tour and introduced me to the Christian Brothers and the other Lasallian Volunteer who lives there. Shortly after that, we headed to Concord to stay with the Brothers and Lasallian Volunteers there. The next morning, we went to De La Salle Academy to spend the day helping out at the school. After the school day was done, we went back to San Francisco for an early Thanksgiving celebration with the Brothers.

On Wednesday, Kacie and I drove across the Golden Gate Bridge to the Muir Woods National Monument to see the Redwoods. We had time to hike, get lost, find our way back, and leave before the park got too busy. The size of those trees are ridiculous! Later that afternoon, we headed to the Fisherman’s Wharf to walk around.

On Thanksgiving, one of Kacie’s coworkers invited us to celebrate with her family since we were both halfway across the country from our own families. As Kacie and I were buying my train ticket, a homeless man approached us. Shy, nervous, and embarrassed to ask for help, he eventually got around to asking for a bowl of soup. Not money, but a bowl of soup. He even offered to contribute the little change that he had left. As we walked toward the restaurant, we continued to talk with him. As we got closer, we could see that it was closed. Having to catch our train, we gave him some money to go find a place that was open. Before we left he said, “Thank you for the money. But more importantly, thank you for acknowledging me. Thank you for looking me in the eye and treating me like I matter. That’s something that doesn’t happen too much.” We hugged him and said goodbye. The smile on his face and the bounce in his step as he walked away was incredible! Again, I was reminded that some of the smallest things can make the biggest differences!

After the train ride, we made it to South San Francisco to celebrate with the Osborne family. I had never met any of them before, yet they were still willing to take me in and treat me like I was a part of their family. Once again, I found myself inspired by the kindness of others! It was definitely nice to be with a family on Thanksgiving!

On Friday, I packed my things up and headed to Ashland, Oregon!

Thank you to my roommates for flying to Las Vegas to meet me. Thank you to Kacie, the Lasallian Volunteers, and the Christian Brothers for hosting me. Thank you to everyone at De La Salle Academy for letting me help out and for the work that you do for those young men. Thank you to the Osborne family for inviting me to celebrate Thanksgiving with your family. And thank you to all of you who continue to support me and pray for me!