MeganWebber

Megan Webber

ASB Reflections

March 11, 2009

We wrapped up our days in Nashville back at the Nashville Rescue Mission. Today I got the opportunity to work with some men from the Alcohol & Drug program who were taking GED classes offered at the Mission. I was worried at first because I was placed as a tutor in a basic high school level math class, but once in the class I realized that the problems they were working on were things I did in middle school. There were three men in there, one of which was Donnie, the man I had met on the first day. Donnie was excited to see me sitting in the room when he walked in, and gave me his address so I could write him letters. I told him not to get his heart broken if he didn’t get really frequent letters, but he said once a month was okay. He was talking about how I should post his address on an information board at school so everyone would write him letters because he only gets them from his family. It makes me sad that he’s that lonely in the program.

One man asked me for help rounding numbers then multiplying them. Another girl from my group, Kayla, and I explained how we learned to round and he seemed to understand it much better than whatever way he was originally taught. By the time their class was over, he could remember how to round and understood it better than before. It was rewarding for me to realize that we made a difference and helped this man learn something in a different way.

It really amazed me at how much he was willing to learn. Apparently as they enter Math classes they have to take a placement to see how much they know, which then says what level of GED Math they’ll be placed in. They have to get an 80 or above to pass the test. When I graded two of his tests, both grades were above 80, but he wanted to look at the problems he got wrong and correct them. I know, personally, I would have taken the passing grade and moved on, never looking at what questions I got wrong and trying to learn why.

Later in the day four other girls and I were helping Mike, one of the organizers for GED classes, and a man came in asking when our last day in Nashville and at the Mission was. We explained that today was our last day at the Mission and he asked if he could pray with us. It was really heart-warming to hear his prayer because, never once, did he mention himself. He prayed for everything for us! He prayed for our safety back to the hotel and home and prayed for us once we get back to school. It was just so nice that he was so impacted by us doing simple things for the Mission that he basically prayed for us and everyone else in our lives. I was amazed by this man and his kindness, more than anything.

Finally, I want to talk about the things I’ve learned while being in Nashville. I have a definite respect for the homeless population now more than I ever did. I’ve learned that it’s not so much that all the homelessness is caused by lazy people, but could be the result of hard times and bad life decisions. The woman I spoke to at the Campus for Human Development showed me this when she told me her story of being a victim of domestic violence. She chose to be homeless instead of staying with her abusive spouse. I’m taking a lot with me when I return back to Athens from Nashville. The idea of a whole new, optimistic, perspective on life is one of the main things I’ll remember from our trip. Just because a person is having a hard time doesn’t mean they can’t change their lives for the better. Also, you can move past bad situations and change the rest of your life forever. Each man I met who was working at the Nashville Rescue Mission that had once come through the Drug and Alcohol program proved this to me. They overcame the drug and alcohol addiction and now have great jobs helping others who are in the position they once were. I just have a new outlook on so many different things. I think truth will tell once I return to Concord and put these new ideas in place in my own life.