Wordle

Several people have recommended to try this thing called Wordle, which basically takes a big block of text and creates a word cloud out of it, based on the occurances of the words in the block of text.

After seeing it recommended so many times, I thought I'd give it a whirl, and it is pretty neat...

Here is the wordle, created from the text of my last blog post.



(ht to Marko, Gavin, and others all via blogs).

Mission Trip Redux - St. Francis Table

While in Toronto with Youthworks, my work crew spent three of our four days on site at a ministry in Parkdale called St. Francis Table.

From their website:

St. Francis Table is a restaurant dedicated to providing meals and a welcoming environment for the needy of our community. Patrons receive full restaurant service while seated at tables. For one dollar, they are presented with a meal, a hot and cold beverage, and a desert.

St. Francis Table is run by Brother John Frampton, a Franciscan Monk of the Capucin Order, and also has two employees, Dominic and Sam, who are both cooks at the restaurant. All of the other "staff" are volunteers who come in to help prepare the meals, wait tables, carry dishes, work in the kitchen, and clean up afterwards.

It takes at least twelve people to make one meal service possible, and Brother John keeps a running list of volunteers who come in to make sure the restaurant is able to maintain the nine meals per week served at St. Francis Table.

In the event that there aren't enough volunteers to make a meal service possible, then the food is prepared and passed out at the door ("to go" style) for $1.

Brother John explained to us, that the one dollar donation for the meal is not only to help the restaurant recoup some of it's expenses, but also to give the patrons a sense of dignity in that they have come to the restaurant and are purchasing their lunch as opposed to going to a soup kitchen or shelter and begging for lunch.

While my group was at St. Francis as part of our Youthworks trip, we arrived every day around 10 AM to help prepare, serve, and clean up after lunch.

Our day typically started by helping Sam and Dominic sort and prep the food for lunch, which typically included making a salad (in large quantity), making french fries, preparing the main dish (Italian sausage, pork chops, baked chicken, roasted pork loin, tuna fish sandwiches, etc), and prepping coffee and tea stations so that we could get hot drinks out to the patrons quickly.

While Sarah mastered the art of making fresh cut french fries en-mass, the rest of us became experts at chopping carrots, celery, onions, and lettuce for salads.



One day we packaged pork chops, pork loin, and chicken legs for going it the freezer, which turned out to be lots of fun. (Hey! Some folks just don't get to play with raw meat very often).







After lunch was prepped and ready, we divided up into group to either wait tables, bus dirty dishes, or prepare plates (to be taken out to the patrons). Brother John rotated us through these duties on a daily basis, so that everyone would get the experience of working in a certain place.

Just before noon, Brother John would gather us together for a group prayer after which he would give us the following pre-lunch pep talk...

May the Lord bless you for your service. Any problems, I'm the problem solver. You're here for a good time, I'm here for a long time. This is a recording. Beep.

Sometimes he would also throw out a word of caution about giving the patrons too much salt, pepper, cream, or sugar...

If the patrons ask for 16 packets of salt, just give them two... Sam does know CPR, but we would rather he not resort to using it.

Then he would walk to the front door of the restaurant, ring the bell to announce lunch service had started, and then the craziness ensued.

Having never waited on tables or worked in a restaurant before, the confusion of keeping track of what 8 (or 12) people wanted to eat and drink, how they took their coffee or tea, whether or not they wanted desert, and how many salt, pepper, and ketchup packets they were allowed to have was a little daunting to me (and, I think, to some of the students).

That being said... all of the kids did a great job of greeting people warmly, remembering their orders, keeping their smiles on (even when they were flustered), and taking the time to make real conversation with the patrons anytime the opportunity presented itself...

The one hour lunch rush seemed to move by so fast that it was a blur, and yet through the chaos we somehow managed to learn the names of many of the patrons, we learned who the regulars were, how they liked their coffee, and whether or not they could be trusted to stay out of the kitchen. Through all of the craziness, a handful of high school students from the states made real life connections with the homeless, the poor, the broken, and the marginalized people living in the Parkdale area of Toronto.

And let me tell you.... It might be one of the coolest things I have ever witnessed!

When brother John rang the bell to end lunch service at 1 PM, the volunteers were encouraged to go ahead and fix ourselves plates and eat before we began the clean up process to make the restaurant ready for the dinner crew. Often there were still patrons (typically the ones who had straggled in right before 1) finishing their meals and having quiet conversations. It was really cool to see the students pull up a chair to share a meal and conversation with these (often) gruff, ragged, old guys.

When the last patrons had moved out the door, we were left to wipe down the tables, get the dishes done and put away, and make our way back to the housing site.

It's hard to believe that three days serving lunch at St. Francis Table could make a deep and impacting change in someones life, yet as my own days return to "normal" and I sit through meetings, answer emails, and go about my day I've caught myself wondering in the mornings what Dominic has decided to fix for lunch today...

Whether the new Youthworks kids managed to cut the carrots up correctly on the first try, or had to do it again...

Will there be enough volunteers at St. Francis to serve dinner tonight, or will Brother John have to resort to take-out?

Did Mr. Kato manage to sneak an extra portion at lunch today after all the other patrons had gone, or did Sam chase him away?

Did Thomas and Louis eat together at table nine again today? Did they talk about American politics again, or have a more exciting conversation?

Will the guy from table eight on Thursday ever actually get to see the top of the CN tower, or will he continue to look for someone who will take him dancing on Friday nights at the top of the world?


Mother Theresa once said that "In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love".

Our church's motto is that "Small things done with great love, will change the world"

I was blessed this week to watch God make a difference in the world.

One french fry, one pork chop, one plate, one conversation, one smile, one small thing at a time... small things, done with great love...

Five high school students, one sixty-three year old weight lifter from Springfield Illinois, and one youth pastor from Southern Ohio will never be the same.

Mission Trip Redux - Returning to Real Life...

I have so much to say, and so many stories to tell about our Youth mission trip to Toronto last week that as I predicted in an earlier post, things are already slipping away from me...

I've been struggling with how to best describe the week, and tell the story here and have decided that the best way is probably in little bits...

This post will be the executive summary... All the important details with as little story as I can bear to tell.

Want to know the facts, and just the facts? This is them from my vantage point.

Sunday

• We left RVCC at 5:00 AM, and made great time.
• We stopped in Columbus for breakfast, random exits in Northern Ohio and Pennyslvania for gas and bathrooms, and Niagara, Ontario for lunch.
• We arrived at the Youthworks site at almost exactly 4 PM.
• We settled in, had dinner, had some student and adult orientation, were given our assignments on work teams for the week, had some time to worship, a devotion, and time to sit and talk in our church group, and then called it a night
• We met John Reside and the rest of his crew from Springfield, Illinois
• The other church (from Northern Ohio) had van trouble, and didn't arrive until the middle of the night.

Monday

• First day on work crews.
• My group went to the Ina Grafton Gage Home for the Aged.
• We spent the morning hanging out with residents, and potting flowers.
• In the afternoon, Mason and I powerwashed the back patio while Sarah & Sarah played bingo and socialized with the residents.
• Some of our students and leaders went to Booth Industries.
• Some of our other students and leaders went to St. Judes Academy for the Arts.
• In the evening, we took a Street Walk starting at the Salvation Army Gateway Shelter and visiting both moderately poor and very wealthy areas of Toronto.
• During the walk, we got to hear from Anthony, an ex-drug addict and resident of the streets of Toronto.
• At the end of the walk Anthony was open to questions about life on the streets, drug addiction, getting clean, and shared a bit more of his life story with us.
• We returned to the church for church group time and bed.
  

Tuesday

• My work crew changed sites from Ina Grafton to St. Francis Table, where we met Brother John, Sam, and Dominic.
• We, again, had one crew travel to Booth Industries and one crew travel to St. Judes.
• On the way home from the work sites for the day the big church van broke down.
• Chris Moore did an awesome job (with the help of Reed Nutt) of getting the kids back safe, and the van in for repair.
  
• In the evening we played kick-ball at the playground behind the church where we were staying.
• We rounded out the night with worship, devotions, prayer, and church group time.

Wednesday

• Transportation was tricky today because we were short one large van.
• The work crew from Booth was transferred to St. Judes, and the St. Francis crew was dropped off enroute.
• This placed 12 of the 16 members of the RVCC team at St. Judes and 4 of us at St. Francis.
• Due to transportation issues, we had to split getting the crew "home" from St. Francis into two groups. The girls went first and Mason and I waited for the return trip. Had a good time talking to random folks at St. Francis while we waited.
• Van was fixed by mid-afternoon. Reed, again, assisted us in picking it up.
  
• Went to China-town after dinner for some random shopping and wandering around. Our time there was very short, but fun.
• Worship, devotions, prayer, and church group time rounded out the night before bed.

Thursday

• Two RVCC crews to St. Judes
• One crew back to St. Francis Table.
• St. Judes crew had a very moving day, and it sounded like many tear-filled good-byes.
• Myron volunteered at St. Francis today. He made our day!
• After showers (and before dinner) I managed to squeeze a walk and talk in with a couple of our students, was a great time.
• After dinner, our evening activity took us to a local park to play games (frisbee, red rover, freeze tag) and watch a local Christian artist play music (Jason Moon).
• Had great conversations at the park.
• Back at the church for the evening. Worship was followed by a foot washing service. This was very moving for many of our leaders and students.
• Church group time was very emotional as well, with some really cool thoughts and revelations by members of our group.
• After church group time there was pizza, ice cream, and crazy fellowship in the midst of sad good-byes. (Thanks to CMoore and Reed for the snacks!)

Friday

• Eric tried to wake the guys up two hours early because he misread the clock.
• We got up, packed, cleaned the church, filled out evaluation forms, took some photos, and loaded our vehicles all before 9 AM.
• We said good-bye to the Youthworks staff, and the other churches and headed for Casa Loma, via Tim Hortons.
• Got a little lost looking for a Tim's, which wasn't where the GPS said it should be.
• Made it to Casa Loma by 10.
• Sight seeing and exploring at Casa Loma till noon.
• Went to the Eaton Centre Mall downtown for lunch in the food court, and walking, talking, and shopping.
• Headed to SkyDome (a.k.a Rogers Center) by 4 PM.
• Took a large group up into the CN Tower.
• Had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, in Skydome.
• On the road by 9PM headed for Niagra Falls.
• Arrived at the hotel a little after midnight due to bad road construction and traffic.
• Crashed.

Saturday

• Did breakfast "on our own" and met to leave the hotel by 10.
• Did sight-seeing (Maid of the Mist, Journey Behind the Falls, and walking around) till noon-thirty.
• Crossed the Rainbow Bridge back into the US at 1 PM.
• Chris had an interesting discussion with the border crossing gaurds. This will be the source of much laughter for years to come.
• Drove home pretty much straight through from Niagara Falls to Waverly Ohio.
• Stopped for dinner and gas a couple of times along the way.
• Drove through crazy rain between Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio.
• HUGE thank you to Sarah for talking with me and keeping me awake for 6+ hours.
• Started having transmission (??) trouble with the white van on 71 south of Cleveland.
• Chris did a great job of getting the van and all of the occupants home safe.
• Arrived at RVCC around 9:30, unpacked, said good-bye, and headed home to crash.

-------------

Once again, this is the bare-bones version of what happened during the week. If you read this blog and you have any access at all to one of the kids that went on the trip, please take the time to sit down with them and hear their stories.

My plan from this point on is to blog some of my own stories, and encourage the kids (and other leaders) to find an outlet to tell their own.

I honestly believe that people were changed this week. I know that I was.

Can't wait to keep hearing more stories.

Praying that everyone is adjusting to "real life" without letting go of the things that impacted you while we were away.

That's it for now.

- Roogles out