VirginiaVerburg

Final Reflection
Virginia Verburg
The trip to Nashville was a very enlightening experience for me. At first I was scared of what I had gotten myself into, but eventually I realized how caring and appreciative some of the clients we helped out could be. I don’t think that any of the students that went on the trip can walk away as the same person they used to be. On the trip I learned to be more tolerant, to not judge people based on their past, and I realized that everyone has potential to turn their life around.
Working in the GED classes was the most rewarding part of the trip. As an education major, I definitely worked with a group of people that many people in my profession have not. It was difficult to look at the board in the Nashville Rescue Mission and see so many people my age. I also taught one of the men in the reading class who was 21. Everyone has a story about why they were there or had been there. It could have been drugs, alcohol, abuse, criminal activity, or just plain bad luck. I started the trip honestly thinking that the people I was helping wouldn’t appreciate the help we were giving them or use it properly. Now I’m not sure why I thought that.
In the GED classes I met a man named Jerome. He had a hard time with spelling, pronunciation, grammar, and remembering what he had read. While I was helping him with his work he opened up to me about his life through the passages. One time he told me about a cat his grandma used to have. He was also very surprised to learn that gorillas could use sign language to communicate with humans. Teaching and working with him gave me the same satisfaction as it would to teach an elementary student. Everyone has the potential to learn. The men at the mission have a lot to learn and more importantly they want to learn. It was great to see so many people trying to do better and get their GED.
Another part of the trip that really touched me was working in the Music City Mission. Although I didn’t get to interact very much with the clients that came in, it was so nice to see the faces of the mothers and children we were working for. One of the students knew Spanish and was able to translate some for the women and children. I think more people need to volunteer there that can speak Spanish. I could tell it really helped them a lot by having a translator. Something that was a little upsetting to me was that there was a limit to how many diapers mothers were allowed to have. I would hate to think that a child had to stay in a dirty diaper or none at all. There were so many clothes and bedding at the mission and it really warmed my heart to see how many people donated.
The part of the trip that touched me the most were three gentlemen that worked in the Nashville Rescue Mission. One of them had been in the program before, graduated, and was now working for the mission. He held an amazing dinner for all of us that I never expected. While I enjoyed the food he prepared for us I found myself feeling guilty that others could not share the meal with us. Another gentlemen was the kitchen manager who I worked with a few times. His daughter had went missing and he was very worried about her but still came to work and worked as hard as he would any other day. I was amazed to see him working so diligently and I was glad to pray with him before we left. The last gentlemen was a man I had not met but who knew other students there. He came into the computer lab while a few of us were working and prayed for all of us, our friends, and our families. He didn’t pray a single word for himself and it really touched my heart that he truly cared about us.
By Thursday I found myself wanting to go back to the mission to keep helping out there. I loved working in the classrooms and I wish I could have spent more time there. The trip truly opened my mind and exposed me to a lot of things I would have never known about the homeless population. I am very grateful for the experience and I will never forget the time I spent there.