Personal Narrative: My Experience With Poverty

Poverty. A word that we do not often think about here in America where we have everything we could need and more. This past summer I had an eye opening encounter with poverty. I was anxious to arrive at Restored Church in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. As soon as we arrived I knew this was going to be a completely different experience compared to other mission’s trip I had been on. I was unaware of just how much this trip was about to affect me and my way of thinking. We were just a group of college kids, ready and willing, but little did we know what experience lay ahead. By being willing to do whatever was necessary to make a difference, we were able to affect the lives of many people by sharing the love of Christ in a practical way. We pulled up to the church on a Monday afternoon and quickly piled out of the vans. We were all ready to get settled in, but that was not the plan Carrie, the outreach coordinator for Restored, had. She met us on the front walk and warmly welcomed us. She was excited that there were so many college students ready to do whatever she could think up. She had us all pile back …show more content…
Our hearts were all heavy for these kids. The safest place they had was a little, disgusting area in the back of a store. We did what we could to make this place warm and welcoming, but not so it would look good. We wanted the kids to know that they were loved. None of us had realized just how bad things were in our own country. We talk about making trips to third world countries all the time so that we can make in “actual” difference. It is important to realize that poverty is so much closer to us than we think! This trip definitely motivated me and everyone else to make a difference more often. Simple little things are the things that have the greatest impact. We were willing and ready to make a difference for Christ, and we changed the lives of many people because of