Happy Halloween.
It's a little bit different overseas. There were no tacky WalMart shirts (sorry, Mom, but they are pretty tacky). There weren't a thousand tiny princess and power rangers swarming the streets at dusk, cramming candy into their mouths between houses so their moms don't confiscate the goodies (sorry again, Mom, but that was me…). There weren't any scary movies or monster mashes, no stringy cotton ball spiderwebs or body parts sticking out of trees.
Really, it was just another Monday… another Monday at the homeless shelter.
This month, my team is working at Kawan (the Malaysian word for friend), a homeless shelter run by YWAM. They open their doors bright and early every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and serve breakfast. Afterwards, the (mostly) men can sleep on real beds, shower or do laundry, sit around, and listen to a Bible message. They're served lunch and then midafternoon the doors close- this isn't a place of dependence, just a place to help guys get back on their feet.
My job has been to stand at the door, passing out cups of chai and buttered bread, facilitating sign ins and greeting everyone who walks in.
I. Love. It.
Today, no one walked up to my front door and said, "trick or treat." Sometimes they said hello, most of the time they just shuffled in.
Today, I didn't hand out a single piece of candy, but I made some sweet designs with the rice.
Today, I didn't dress up in a costume, but I did reflect the image of Christ.
This wasn't a typical Halloween, and to be perfectly honest, I'm excited to go trick or treating next year with some small princesses and power rangers.
But it definitely wasn't a waste of a Halloween, either, and given a choice, I think I can safely say I would definitely do it again.
[For the record, this is not a sign that I am doing asecond Race. Do NOT start that rumor.]
and stolen from Elaina:
Team Waka enjoys Kawan:
(R-L) Rachael mops, Dave and Daniel guard the showers, Elaina sorts bread, Allison and Andrea cook, I sign in Uncle Felix.
