Yesterday my friend Rob and I helped to prepare and serve lunch at Siloam Mission, a soup kitchen in downtown Winnipeg. This was a brand new experience for both of us, at least a Canadian version for me. I spent a lot of time, between cutting peppers and putting buns on plates to start the lunch line, thinking about similar experiences from when I was in Costa Rica in 2009.
I had to remind myself not to be cynical, which was hard to do. In Canada, these kind of experiences start with paperwork, not people. And I understand that it's the system we are in, but it's just frustrating when I thought back to Costa Rica, when we just walked in to various soup kitchens and served. I was amazed about the amount of food and type of food (especially meat) that we served yesterday. I know Costa Rican food is different than what we are used to, but a bun, beans and rice seemed so very basic compared to the bun, shepherd's pie, salad and cookie that each patron received at Siloam. In Costa Rica only 18 people were fed at a time because the Salvation Army only had 18 spoons - obviously the line moved slowly and people were asked to eat quickly. In Winnipeg we very quickly served 200 people (150 - 450 people are served 7 days a week, 3 meals a day) and they were able to sit down and enjoy the meal.
I was both nervous and excited for the opportunity to get involved at home and I look forward to returning to Siloam again. I'm not sure if it was butterflies or something else, but I was awake from 4 - 5:30 early Friday morning, wishing I could fall asleep as I knew it was a big day ahead. In that time, I went online and found a new Invisible People post. I think this young man from St. John's, even in his struggle with mental illness which so many homeless people struggle with, was incredibly articulate in giving homelessness a voice. Thank you Jason!
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