By: Drew Hilgendorf
First off, I want to say this entire experience has been incredible. The city of Asheville is incredible and has a ton of things to do and the scenery here isn’t too shabby either. The service we have done has been some of the most fulfilling activities I have ever participated in. Being in graduate school at MSU and going on a Bear Breaks immersion trip 15 hours away was a little daunting to me at first due to the fact this is a pretty undergrad heavy program, but I am so happy I came to Asheville with my wonderful group, they are amazing in every facet of the word and the friendships I have made here I can see lasting a lifetime, truly an awesome experience.
The service I have participated in has included clean-up of Asheville’s river arts district, distributing healthy foods to people in need, helping with after school nutrition programs and feeding the homeless and less fortunate at the Haywood Street Congregation. I think feeding the homeless has been my favorite so far. I loved seeing their faces light up when they were able to get a hot meal and a checkup from a local physician. Being able to brighten so many people’s days like that is something I really enjoyed. To me, it illuminated an issue that seems to get swept under the rug at times, especially in our community back home in Missouri. I think that we are quick to call the homeless people of Springfield derogatory names and assume they’re just lazy people that get in our way but in fact that isn’t true at all. I met a couple that had lost their house the night before in a fire and had found their way to Haywood for the meal. All I could think about was how difficult it must have been in that moment to keep it together, but their courage inspired me because it showed me that there is always someone who is suffering worse than I am, that is impactful. I had numerous conversations with people at every service location we visited, and each of them has their own story, and I think that is true with the displaced people I met. Every person is different, even us on these trips, but one thing is common among all of us, we are human, we can better, we need to do better and this trip has opened my eyes to that.
I have loved every moment of this trip and can’t wait to do it again next year (hopefully), the memories I have made along the way is something I will take with me forever and it has made a lasting impact on me.