If that were me...

The following was written by Waldorf student Angela Boris from Columbia Heights, MN.

If that were me…

Everyone has a story. Looking back on my week in Phoenix, I decided I needed to tell my story about it. There are many emotions that come into my head. First of all is a small sadness. I am sad that Spring Break is over, sad that just when new friendships were being built it had to end, and sad that I can no longer stare off at the mountains in the distance and just be in awe. Our last night in phoenix, I sat outside and just though about everything that happened there. There are parts of me that was expecting something else, parts of me that were frustrated and parts of me that just wanted to go home. I realized however that I learned many lessons of this trip, and here is what I have to say.

This trip was an experience. Not just an experience of a new state, a new city and new people, but an experience of sleeping on floors, being patient when all I wanted to do was get going, to keep pushing myself to fill one more box, hammer one more nail, or paint one more section when all I wanted to do was leave, because I was hot, sweaty, sore and tired. It was an experience of meeting people I would have never probably met, not just fellow students and professors from Waldorf, but just people. We had the experience to work with inmates doing community service hours. These people taught me the simple lesson to not judge someone before you get to know them. I know we were all skeptical about working with these people, but at the end of the day we all had new friends.

It was a lesson about how lucky we are. I kept thinking, if I was born somewhere else, if I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, that could have been me. Everyone has a story, and I am glad that I got to hear peoples that I would have never expected.

The one thing that comes to my mind when thinking of this trip is sacrifice. Sacrificing time, energy, showers and a bed. It just amazes me sometimes how selfish people including myself can be. There were days when I know we were all thinking lets hurry up and get done so we can leave. I remember being so mad that our plane was delayed going to phoenix, and I was so hungry when we got there. Thinking about that now, some people don’t even have a house, don’t even have anything to eat. I was hungry for a few hours, while some people are hungry for days on end. It is all about perspective, and we are all so lucky.

Looking back, I realize that its not about how many records we broke at the food bank or of we got done with all our jobs. I had the wrong attitude. It was about giving something of myself, ourselves, with nothing except blisters and memories in return. For most of us on this trip, we weren't here to give fully of ourselves. Its not about getting thanks or looking good in a resume. These are simple little things that humans should do for each other. Its not about just the physicial work we did, but the attitude and heart that goes into it.

I have never seen a group of college kids so willing to go in, work and get a project done. Everyone I was with on this trip had a drive and a passion, and I am grateful that we experienced this together. Let’s challenge ourselves to look beyond the world we live in, outside our little boxes. Lets not be judgmental. We all have a story to share, and we all have a story to listen to. My sister played a song for me one time, and it sticks out in my head now. It is about how we cant live without life’s simple luxuries, and yet there are people out there with no home, no food, no body. It is a song about getting other peoples stories. We are all so lucky and blessed, and lets never forget it. Now go out there in the world, the world beyond Waldorf, Forest City and home. Thank you all for the wonderful experience. Here is that song, it helped me and I hope it helps you too.

If That Were Me

"Where do they go and what do they do?
They're walking on by.
They're looking at you.
Some people stop, some people stare.
But would they help you and do they care?

How did you fall?
Did you fall at all?
Are you happy when you are sleeping underneath the stars?
When it's cold is it your hope that keeps you warm?

A spare bit of change is all that I give.
How is that gonna help when you've got nowhere to live?
Some turn away so they don't see.
I bet you'd look if that were me.

How did you fall?
Did you fall at all?
Is it lonely where you are sleeping in between parked cars?
When it thunders where do you hide from the storm?

Could you ever forgive my self-pity?
When you've got nothing and you're living on the streets of the city.
I couldn't live without my phone.
But you don't even have a home.

How did we fall? Can we get up at all?
Are we happy where we are on our lonely little star?
When it's cold is it your hope that keeps you warm?

Where do they go and what do they do?
They're walking on by. They're looking at you.
They're walking on by. They're looking at you.

Angela

Today is where your book begins...

The following was written by Waldorf student Rachel Anderson from Postville, Iowa.

The past week in Phoenix, Arizona was an amazing experience for me and everyone else involved! First of all, it was my first time flying along with a few other first time flyers so that was exciting, second of all I got to share a great experience with fellow Waldorf people. It felt so good to know that we helped many people less fortunate than we are.

While working at the food bank, each day we broke our own records! I felt that the group got along really well even though we all complained about sleeping on the hard floor in a sleeping bag all week but in the end we could all agree that it was worth it. I gave devotion to the group to think of for the rest of the week and that was a verse from the song "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield.

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window

Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your innovations
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

The message was that today is where your book begins the rest if still unwritten; each of us has a page to fill. I strongly believe that the Phoenix group filled many of those pages as we headed to work each day! We all got to meet people that we probably would not have met if we didn't go on this trip. I'm grateful for the experiences that I shared with everyone on the Phoenix trip!

Rachel

Simple Ways of Life

By Nicholette Mausser

When I was at Holden Village, I learned the simple ways of life people live. These would be things like:
Doing compost with their garbage and separating everything.
The meals that they eat
How they sort all the different materials that they use in all different situations and how they conserve things.
How everyone gets along and lives a simple life.


I enjoyed Holden Village immensely. It was so peaceful there. All the praying helps you get in touch with yourself and helps you to find what your true calling is. I enjoyed it very much, it helped me relax and appreciate the things and people I have in my life. I would work there but I would need to have someone with me, like a family member or a friend. I am too close to my family, that I wouldn’t be able to go a long period of time with out talking to them. It is a great place to get to know your inner self and to do something if you are not ready for the work world.

Simple Things

By Nicole Moklestad

For me, I felt like I have come back much more relaxed. I always say to enjoy the simple things in life, etc. However, I really feel that I have a better understanding on how to respect the simple things in life and really appreciate them-- that’s what I’m going to try to embrace from the wonderful service trip

Looking back on Holden

By Vola Ranaivoson

More, More, More. That is basically what our society wants. It seems that no one is content with what they have or the blessings that God has given them. And I’ll admit that I’m even like that, but being at Holden Village where there were no electronics and people had to live simply, a gentle peace and contentment swept over me. Looking up at the Mountains just reminded me of how small and insignificant I am compared to that but yet God loves me so much that he was willing to die on a cross for me. My intention for spring break was to go to Holden Village and help in anyway I can, and in addition have some fun, but in the process I gained new friendships, and was able to step back and reflect on my life. The people there were so warm and welcoming that it really makes anyone that comes in contact with them take a look at how they treat others and to appreciate what God has given them.

Holden Reflections

By Jim Benson

For me, the Holden experience reconfirmed why the rest of the country loves to employ midwesterners.

The people of Holden Village have a big responsibility with little more than self fulfillment as a reward for their labor.

They live with a pioneering spirit in the face of hardships that come with the commitment to operate a remote facility that lacks the normal modern day conveniences like sufficient electricity to dry clothing.

I saw the village from a facility operators view and came away with a great appreciation for the commitment these people have made.

It is easy for us to take a few days to serve, but we can not tolerate being asked to wait a few hours for a plane. These people wait for months for the chance to change clothes!

We drive a block to class. These people trudge a quarter mile through snow that is amazingly deep to go from place to place as they carry out their everyday activities, and they do this willingly several times a day.

I came away with an even greater appreciation for people willing to sacrifice for the good of their fellow man.

We live in a much different world and it was refreshing to go back in time to a place that still has that open door, pioneer spirit.

Thanks for the opportunity!
Jim

Seattle and Holden Village

In a fragmented and torn world, it is often a rare thing to find and experience community, but such would be the definition of the Seattle/Holden Village Spring Break experience from Waldorf College.

For a week, 17 people were immersed in service while being enfolded in and changed by the spirit of community.

Upon arriving in Seattle, the Waldorf team went to the Compass Center -- a transitional housing program for homeless men. Here, we readied the dining hall for the evening meal, helped prepare the night's food, heard about homelessness, received a tour of Pioneer Square from one recovering drug addict at the Compass Center, served dinner, listened to stories of heartache and survival, and cleaned the kitchen and dining hall following dinner.

As the men told us their stories, we were invited into their lives and into their community. We came to serve them, but through their stories each one of us walked away changed. What is it like to live on the streets? What is it like to know "success" and to then see it all vanish? What is it like to not only feel alone, but be alone and try to put life back together?

The next service element of our experience was Holden Village. We left the busyness of the inner city behind and found another type of community in the mountains. Two hours up the lake and twelve miles up the mountain, lives a village of people attempting to be responsible stewards of all of life. The snow was still deep -- about 70 inches of the winter's 300+ remained, and as we served in and with this community we trudged through melting snow that still buried some buildings.

So what did we do in this village? What did we experience? It is really difficult to capture the spirit of the experience in words. For a few days, while we did hours upon hours of dishes, reconstructed church pews, cleaned and painted the mailroom, filled in human-made-post-holes in the snow, built an observation deck at the hydro-plant, moved three cords of wood, and worked with garbology -- we learned how to live simply and value something other than what our culture mandates.

While we were in the village (whose electricity comes completely from a hydro-generator) the snow had melted enough that the water in the river was running fast enough so that the electricity was strong enough to once again use clothes dryers. It was simply amazing to hear the cheers of joy at not having to freeze dry their clothes anymore, as the dryers had been unavailable since late October.

We partook in a silent hunger meal -- simple food -- bread, rice, fruit and water -- something that the village does once a week -- the financial savings from which are sent to hunger relief organizations.

We worshiped -- at least once a day, finding time in quiet reflection to listen to God's voice and to be drawn together across all boundaries that might separate us.

We listened to why people choose to live in this village -- to seek a different way amid a frenetic world, to seek to change the way that we view one another and the world -- one person at a time, to live amid community while trying to figure out what life is all about, to be found in wholeness when there is brokenness.

What do we bring home from this experience? That is probably different for each person, but there are most likely some common threads and common questions. What would happen if the Waldorf community, once a week, participated in a hunger meal, and then sent the money saved to hunger relief? What would happen if we as a campus would commit to recycling and intentionally reducing what we send to the landfill? What would happen if each one of us embraced a spirit of hospitality and truly lived in a way that values and respects each other, regardless of our differences?

And a closing thought. For me, there is a metaphor for this experience that has arisen from the physical realities of both the Compass Center and Holden Village. The Compass Center is located along the water front in Seattle, and is right behind a major overpass -- a bridge that constantly generates the sound of traffic. Holden Village is located up in the mountains, away from the hectic pace of much of life, but it too is marked by a bridge and a constant sound. At the village, the bridge stretches over the river, and wherever one is, the sound of water can be heard.

I suppose all of us live by bridges of sorts -- those things that take us from one place to the next, over that which would be an impediment to what comes next without the bridge to get us there. Perhaps at the end of it all, that is what service is -- a bridge to change for those who are served and a bridge to change for those who serve.