2019 - St. Louis Trip!

Day 5- Carnival, Groceries and Bonding  (June 20, 2019)

This morning started out by going to Life Wise STL (Kingdom House) to have breakfast with the kids. We got to hang out with them and do Harambee as usual and featured the read aloud done by Haley, Madeline, Macy, Jenna, and Ally reading the book titled Press Here. After Harambee the children headed off to their classrooms and we started setting up our stations for the early childs carnival. This went amazingly! All of the kids liked the stations that we set up. After this event finished we donated the rest of the supplies that were left from the carnival to Life Wise STL(Kingdom House) for their summer school classrooms.

Then we headed back to the house for some lunch. Subsequently, we had a lesson about what people have to do in order to submit a form for SNAP’s, also known as food stamps. After knowing how much money a person would get from food stamps per meal we split into two groups and made a list of what our “family” would have for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for the week. When we finished writing the lists we read many quotes from people stating how or why they got the SNAPs and how it affected them.
After reading this we reflected for a bit about what we noticed while reading the quotes and how people were expressing themselves in the quotes. After the discussion, our groups went into two different stores. One store had more fresh, organic foods, and the other had mostly processed foods that were off brand. We wrote down unit prices for all of our meals and added up totals. We learned that if buying a weeks amount of food the organic store was about $200.00 more that the off-brand store. Unfortunately for many of the families we’ve been servicing, the more expensive store is considerably closer to where they live.

Right after this we headed off to the famous Saint Louis Gateway Arch National Park. When we got to the arch there was an entrance but it went underground because there was no opening in the arch itself. We then went up a tram that takes 4 minutes to go up and 3 minutes to come down. We went to the gift shop and then took the best pictures in front of the arch. They all turned out snazzy.
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We also played in Running Pictionary after we were done cleaning the house. This was a really fun game for us to end the trip playing together. Mrs. Verhagen and Mr. Knights team were the winners! Overall, St. Louis was a real fun experience for all of us and we enjoyed interacting with the kids. We will miss them! This is Jordan and Ally signing off.

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Day 4- Bridging the Gap   (June 19, 2019)

Similar to the previous two days, we started off our day by going to LifeWise STL (Kingdom House). We enjoyed breakfast with the kids and talked with them about the presidential campaign that they were participating in. After this, our readers Grant, Alex, and Chris, read a book to the kids called Say Something.

We then continued to serve around the community by putting bags with food and other items on the doors in a senior living center. We also put signs and flyers up around the neighborhood to inform people about a cookout that is happening on Saturday at LifeWise STL.

Afterwards we went to Bridge Bread, a bakery created to help people transition out of homelessness. While there, we were able to spend time with some of the bakers who have personal experiences related to the hardships of homelessness. They taught us a lot about how people find themselves in such positions and they ways we can enact real change. We cooked lunch for them and then enjoyed pastries and bread from the bakery.

In the evening we hosted a Family Fun Night at LifeWise STL. Families in the community could join us for dinner. We provided a barbeque dinner for all community members that came and we prepared games for the children. In the end, we served over 125 meals and had a blast interacting with the area families. Overall, today was a great day of learning and serving. We can’t believe tomorrow is already our last full day in Saint Louis.
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Over the span of the week we’ve built relationships and memories together. This was highlighted in a fun group game we played this evening called Salad Bowl. The game is a combination of Taboo, Buzzword, and Charades. Many inside jokes and memories were brought out in this game.

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Day 3- Public Transit and Further Learning   (June 18, 2019)

Today we had a busy day, which included breakfast at Life Wise STL (Kingdom House). We talked and interacted with the kids while eating breakfast and afterwards we enjoyed Harambee, which included many cheers and dances and a read aloud starring Jordan and Lauren. After finishing our morning at Life Wise STL (Kingdom House) we headed off to Walmart to gather our supplies for the family fun night and the early childhood carnival, both of which are taking place later in the week.

After we were done shopping, we used the public transportation on our way back to see how it feels to have to rely on public transportation. We started by going onto the metro bus, which took us to a stop at the Amtrak station. After this we went onto the train all the way to another station where we got off and took one more bus to get us by the apartment. We had to walk from the bus stop back. Because of all of the switches and walking to separate places, it took way longer than when we drove to Walmart. In fact it took almost an hour longer on public transit.

After reflecting on our experience and eating lunch, we then took off to the St. Louis Zoo. While there we saw animals while enjoying ICEES with friends. The zoo included a lot of activities including a train system, stingray petting area, and a normal petting zoo. After the zoo we headed back to the house and ate dinner prepared by Jordan and Lauren. Later we created an assembly line to create kits for families with babies, including baby wipes and three different sizes of diapers.

Later we did a simulation that gave us choices about whether or not to make certain financial decisions that raises or lessens our financial status. In the long run we learned more about how certain people's lives are affected by every single decision they choose to make, bad or good. All in all, it was another great day in Saint Louis. We’re looking forward to another day of service tomorrow. ​

Day 2- Service and Exploration (June 17, 2019)
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This morning we started our day by hanging out and getting to know some of the children at LifeWise STL (Kingdom house) during their summer school program. After this we did Harambee, which a few of our members knew from coming on this trip the previous year, and the rest had to learn by following along with the children and teachers.     

Afterwards we played Monopoly, but not just normal Monopoly. This form of the game was meant to be a simulation of poverty and represented how it can be cyclical. The rules were different for everyone. Each player had a different set of rules showing different incomes people have which ranged from low end incomes to higher end incomes. In addition, the rules also had people start with different amounts of money, which would represent how much money the parents left for their child. We also learned more about how different levels of education affects people’s lives and income rates, and how people can be affected by the schooling that they get and where they live as children.    

Later we started to plan two events that will take place later this week, one of which is family night. Family night is where kids can bring their families in and we can all interact, and all play games. The second event we planned was for some of the smaller children we will meet at the early childhood center. The children can play games and win prizes at the event we are planning, which we all think they will enjoy. Lastly, we set out on an adventure to The City Museum. But this museum was a little something else…the City Museum is fun for all ages, for example they have a variety of cave tunnels that almost everyone seems to enjoy. Another attraction that was open was the ferris wheel on the roof of the museum. Other than the ferris wheel, there was a huge bird cage that you could climb into. Because of these exhilarating activities, anyone could get lost in the fun.

Ten students and four teachers took off to St. Louis for a week of service learning. Here is hoping they learn a lot, make some new friends, and create awesome memories! Make us proud!

*Also - parents in case your child didn't text you... they have arrived safely and are getting situated : ).