There’s a great quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson that states, “The purpose of
life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to
have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” That’s an
excellent quote to describe many amazing people in this room and around the
world, but not myself. I’ll be brutally honest with you guys, I’m lazy. This flaw of
mine has greatly hindered my ability to serve others with a compassionate heart,
mindset, and attitude. However, after serving in Boston Project, I believe that my
future mindset and attitude will be different. Just this week, I spent a day working
at a community service kitchen which delivers thousands of meals a day to the
people who need them, another working in a Soujourner house, which is a place
that houses the homeless, the next in a beautiful garden, and lastly an old lady´s
yard. So just how exactly did serving at these places change me? To answer this,
we will have to explore a certain word, shalom. Shalom was an overarching theme
throughout this week. To me, Shalom is more of a feeling rather than a definition.
However, I was able to experience shalom myself. If I was to define it, to me it
would mean the peace and prosperity of a certain community through good works
in God’s presence, while serving and building up relationships with people you are
not familiar with to do so. In Hebrew, it can mean peace, harmony, wholeness,
completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility. To encourage myself to serve
with shalom in mind, I went to Mark chapter 10 verse 45 which says, “For even the
son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom
to many”. Before BP, I prayed multiple times just asking God for me to change my
ways and take on a servant’s attitude for the upcoming week just like Jesus did
because Jesus came down to as a servant. Mathew chapter 23 verse 11 very simply
states, “The greatest among you will be a servant”. As you all know, there is no
greater servant than Jesus was, so I wanted to be like more like him in this aspect.
Now I’m standing here, and I can confidently and proudly tell every single one of
you, that he answered my prayers, and was present during my work. I have never
worked with such a good and positive attitude while feeling joy. Praise be to God.
There were a few things that happened which allowed me to develop this.
For example, while serving at the old lady’s house, it was good how my team and I
turned her yard from an eyesore to something beautiful. It was amazing to see a
truck from the community service kitchen I worked at earlier in the week
delivering food to her doorstep. But it was even more amazing to hear her say to
us, “God is very proud of what you guys are doing” while smiling the sweetest,
most heartwarming, and genuine smile I have seen in a very, very long time. These
things made me realize the true value of serving others and the impact it can have
on people’s lives, completely changing the way I view service. Once again, praise
be to God.
I was not only able to see Shalom through my work own but also in others. It
was amazing to see just how much bonding occurred throughout the week as many
friendships grew and were formed. Our team was able to befriend each other, BP
leaders, and the people we were serving! One person that I particularly noticed
displaying this is a very very handsome young man standing over there. If you
don’t know him, his name is Jerry. I was able to see Shalom through him when we
were both working on the garden. Jerry was consistently talking to Elenora, who
was one of the people who ran the garden. He asked her many questions and really
was able to bond and to get to know her better than anyone else I saw.
I was able to hear and see throughout the week of what others were doing
and what they achieved, and I am just in awe of how much of a difference we
made to the community of Dorchester.
My relationship in God was also able to grow as a result of this trip. I felt closer
to him, as I feel he used to me to do his good works. This week was one of the
most wholesome and wonderful weeks I have ever lived, and I am looking forward
to serving next year. Thank you, and God Bless.