This was our last full day in State College. Keith, Brenda, and Anita started it extra early and were at Sowers cafe by 6:30 to help the staff prep for the day. The morning started slow, but by 10:00, the place was full with people waiting in line until closing at 3:00. We enjoyed the buzz and the warm atmosphere of welcome and service.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group worked on projects at ABT: planting shrubs and deep cleaning in the main building. Around 11:00, they headed into campus and the student commons. They wanted to find students to do surveys with, but the day was really quiet, and they didn’t find many passers-by. It gave them a chance to spend quality time as a group instead.
Theo walked the whole way from campus to Sowers, a strategy by his dad to get him ready for a nice long nap on the way home. Javon and Genny and their two boys returned to Guys Mills in the afternoon, and Javon plans to meet the group in the morning enroute to New York City.
At 3:00, the remaining students embarked on a two-hour challenge down-town that Bryant put together for them. They divided into pairs and did as many of the assignments as they could, such as:
- Eat a donut at Duck Donut.
- Ask someone if there is something you can pray for them about.
- Find “Old Main” and learn when it was built.
- Busy a coffee or a flower and give it to someone.
- Take a picture with someone from another country.
Meanwhile, Anita visited with Ernest and Cathy, then joined the Bible study they hosted at 4:00.
At 5:00, church families and friends gathered for a meal with several people from China and Rwanda. After the meal, they talked to us about their home country and their experiences of adjusting to American culture. It was a good evening of learning and interacting with people who have experienced vast changes of lifestyle and language.
We worked together to clean up the meeting area, then met for our last debrief in State College. We feel humbled with the way the people here have taken us in and served us so generously even though our intention was to help them!
Now it’s time to pack up and pivot for the next segment of Apprenticing Term: New York City.
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