How I Got to Pella, Iowa

On June 17, one month ago, my roommate and I were having a conversation.  She was talking about needing to purchase a plane ticket to go to the RCA General Synod because Project Hospitality had purchased an exhibitor table, but was unable to attend the entire synod because she was preaching on Sunday.  Traveling on Thursday and Saturday meant she would only be there for one day.  This didn't seem fiscally responsible nor did it seem to really excite her.

I jumped at the opportunity and told her that if she'd rather, I would go... and could stay for the entire time.  Later that night, the Executive Director of Project Hospitality stopped over and she thought that was a great idea.  So did my boss... and the next thing I knew, I was buying a plane ticket to Des Moines, Iowa.

The original plan was to find a hotel room and rent a car to use while I was there.  Allow me to toot my own horn a little, okay?  Keep in mind that it was 6 days, 5 nights.  Renting a hotel room would have cost about $70/night.  Food would have cost about $40/day (per standard reimbursement for business travel).  Renting a car would have cost about $50/day + gas.  By doing some research and by bugging the main coordinator lady, I scored a deal: dorm room + meals + airport shuttle for $450 total.  I don't know how much I save Project Hospitality, but it was a lot.  I'm still doing the happy dance.

Anyway, in case you're a part of the RCA, you may have thought to yourself "wow, you decided to go on June 17th?!  Didn't it start on June 20th?" Well, yes.  Yes, it did.  The next two days were spent getting things together and doing laundry and packing and canceling weekend plans.  On Thursday morning, the taxi picked me up bright and early at 5:45a and I was on my way.

I had a brief (read: I had to run across the airport) layover in Charlotte, NC.  This wasn't so horrible because I was able to gate-check my display boards, so it may the running more enjoyable.  However, it was apparently I was not headed to the big city anymore.  The lack of diversity was my first clue.  The large families was my second clue.  It was almost funny to compare the experiences between La Guardia and Charlotte.  As I headed out, it would have been interesting to know just how many people on the flight were headed to Synod.  Regardless, I sat next to a man that was headed there.  He was hoping to speak to the Global Missions team about starting a school project somewhere in Africa (he told me where, but I can't remember and would hate to misquote him, so I'll leave it very vague for you).

Upon arrival to Des Moines, another great moment happened for me.  A lady that I'd been emailing for years as the director of Women's Ministries was waiting for the bus as well.  We finally met face-to-face!  We were shuttled as a large group from the airport to Central College in Pella, Iowa.  I got a dorm room to share and headed to the field house to set up.

Check out my table!

The rest is for another day at another time :)

An Introduction to Project Hospitality

So, after working as a missions intern at Project Hospitality for a month, some of you may still be wondering "What is Project Hospitality?"

First off, you can check out the website at ProjectHospitality.org.  There is a lot of information about the organization on their website.  As well, a simple Google search will reveal the good work that is happening through this organization of many, many people.  For example, check out this link about Hurricane Sandy relief.

Project Hospitality has now 4 major missions:
1) Feed the Hungry
2) House the Homeless
3) Provide Support and Assistance to Those Living with HIV and AIDS
4) Superstorm Sandy Relief

Feeding the hungry is the mission and the reason it all began.  An RCA (Reformed) pastor was riding the ferry one night when he realized the significant number of homeless and it broke his heart.  He went home and made a bunch of sandwiches and began passing them out.  This was the beginning of Project Hospitality.
Feeding the hungry continues to be a huge priority for PH and this is accomplished through food pantries, mobile food trucks, and soup kitchens.  This is a picture of the main one on Bay Street.

Housing the homeless is also extremely important to Project Hospitality.  New York City runs homeless shelters in every other borough except Staten Island.  The city doesn't run any on Staten Island and Project Hospitality runs them all.  PH has men's shelters, family shelters and even a youth shelter.  There's even a drop-in center and respite bed program.

A huge population that Project Hospitality loves to serve are those that are HIV+ or battling AIDS.  Project Hospitality has created a center called the SHINE (Self Help In a New Environment) Center, which allows those living with HIV or AIDS to still work to achieve their dreams in a supportive environment.

And, as probably one of my more renown ministries in the world outside of Staten Island, they have been on the front lines of providing relief after Superstorm Sandy.  One of my first tasks was stuffing envelopes with info to be sent with checks to those who received aid from a benefit.

As for me and my role in Project Hospitality, well, it's like a machine.  I haven't quite yet found my place, but I have found a few things that I've enjoyed working on and have even completed a few things.  I will, in time.

Check out what I found at my desk: hundreds and hundreds of paperclips -

Also, one of the perks of this job has been giving people what they need.  When a giant retreat center closed, they donated all of the furniture to Project Hospitality.  This is a load of desks being removed from the center and loaded into a storage container to await their new homes.

This is the crew from the office celebrating the new job of a former coworker at a local restaurant - 

And, last but not least, check out the organization in the food pantry at El Centro!  This was a huge mess a week ago, but now it's getting organized and efficient and more excellent by the week :)  This has become my sorta pet-project.

Random Things No One Told Me About Staten Island

1) Tolls.
In order to get to an island, in any circumstance, you must take a bridge or a boat.  That's just common knowledge.  As Eaic and I drove for the first time into Staten Island, we had to pay a $13 toll.  Aside from it being crazy high, we didn't think much of it because we'd been on the highway and perhaps we'd missed the toll sign way back when.  We paid the $13 and continued on our way (which wasn't far at all until our destination).  Upon arrival, it became apparent very quickly that I would need to get some cleaning supplies and I would need to get them right away.  So, we looked up the nearest Walmart.  It is less than 15 minutes away, over in New Jersey.  We got into the car and loaded up on all kinds of good stuff (you know, like toilet paper, soap, dishcloths, ... as well as some food staples) along with hundreds of other people out shopping on Saturday afternoon.  However, as we were coming back across the bridge, we realized that we had yet another $13 toll.  This caused us to come home and do some research.  In order to drop Eaic off at La Guardia, it would cost me another $15 toll to get back onto the island.  You can leave Staten Island as much as you want... but you cannot come back without paying a toll.  Please keep that in mind if you plan to come visit.
Because I don't know if or when I'll need to go into New Jersey, I got an EZPass.  It makes it a little bit cheaper when I do go.

2) Turtles.
Apparently turtles are common pets here.  I met my first turtle, Harry, on the first Sunday I was here.  Terry called up and told me that her turtle was in the backyard.  Now, I'm not exactly a reptile person.  However, it was particularly fascinating to know that a turtle sometimes hangs out in my backyard.  I did a little research.  Pet turtles are a pretty common thing here in New York.  The thing I find most interesting about that is the length of time for which turtles live.  There is a significant chance that Harry will outlive Terry.  That's a serious commitment!

3) Beaches.
So, I'd never been to Staten Island before.  I'd never gotten off the ferry and I've ridden the ferry lots of time.  I never really knew everything that Staten Island has to offer.  One thing that is relatively unknown for non-New Yorkers is the beach.  Staten Island has, apparently because I have yet to visit, a beautiful beach.

4) Mexican food.
I am surrounded by Mexican food.  No one told me that I would be living in the middle of the Latino area.  As a Spanish major and Latin American studies minor, this is particularly exciting.  I honestly have yet to try any, but I will, I promise, and I'll get back to you :)

5) Driving/parking/standing.
So, this is probably the biggest difference between Staten Island and Grand Rapids.  I knew that city driving is not really what happens in Grand Rapids and so I came mentally prepared for that.  I also came to Staten Island with confident parallel parking skills.  The latter has come in VERY handy because that's all I do - parallel park.  The one thing that I didn't come prepared for was the way in which people "stand."
For example, if you want lunch from your favorite corner deli, many people would drive around the block looking for a parking spot, right?  Not here.  Here, if you pull up to your favorite corner deli and there aren't any spots, you just park in the street and put your flashers on... and run in.  This causes others to have to drive around them, which can be fun when they're parked on the corner near the stoplight/sign.  It's also fun when traffic is heavy.  It makes everyone pay a little more attention, though.
Two laws that affect me and the way I drive are that no cell phones are allowed while driving (this includes calls) and that you cannot turn right on red light.  Luckily I didn't find these out the hard way, but I could have in my first week.

6) Rain.
I kid you not, sometimes I wonder if I really moved to Seattle or London.  In the first two weeks I was here, it rained for 10 days.

7) Fort.
Did you know that Staten Island was where the British were stationed during the Revolutionary War?  In order to stop enemies from invading during World War 1 and the Spanish/American/Cuban War, a fort was built on Staten Island.  It was never needed to defend the city, but it looks cool and it was a fun exploration one sunny Saturday.