Poetic Reflections from the Open Door Mission

After spending time at the Open Door Mission (ODM), Cassie, Rachel, and Tori took a moment to reflect through haikus. Here are some of our reflections:

Rachel Linch:

Waving hi and bye

New friends, faces, and people

Shining smiles seen
I wrote this Haiku the day after we did the Mock interviews at the Open Door Mission (we were the interviewers and the guests of the ODM were being interviewed). During lunch that next day we saw one of the men that we helped interview and he was waving at us and smiling and I could tell by the look on his face that he was so grateful that we were there to help with the interviews. On our way out of lunch I saw another one of the men and he said hello to us as we walked by. It was good to be able to touch others' lives by helping them learn how to interview for a job!

Tori Osler

What good does this do?
Frustration surges through me
So much to do here

Appreciation
We have made a difference
Helped more than I thought

While we were filing and filing, it seemed never-ending and pointless at times. I kept thinking "What good am I really doing by filing all these papers?" But, after we had completed our filing, the staff at the ODM were incredibly appreciative of our work, and said that because we had caught them up on their filing, they could spend more time with clients, bettering their ministry. What a great feeling to know that we really DID make a difference!


Cassie Reid

Calling former friends,
 Eager to meet Lydia,
 Or now have a home.

In our time at ODM, one of our tasks was to call people who had expressed interest in Lydia House and confirm I they were still in need of their programs. While we left a lot of voicemails, many who picked up, whether or not they needed Lydia House, were grateful just to be remembered and treated as people and not clients.