Reflecting on an amazing trip!

We've been back at school for a week now, and I am still thinking about the trip. We really could not have asked for a better experience. We had an amazing group of students, speakers, volunteer placements, and even weather! Everything fell into place perfectly.

We definitely formed a bond with each other that is unbreakable. We all went through this experience together and grew as servant leaders. I will never forget any of these people. Plus, we were in very close quarters for a very long time; things got a little crazy sometimes (Tuesday night when we were all in tears laughing for who knows what reason always comes to mind!).

As we came back to Eau Claire, we came back with new insight on life and a new vision for how each of us want to live our life. Being a servant leader is a lifestyle. Therefore, we want to bring back what we learned to Eau Claire. While we're all taking steps to doing that in our own lives, we are also in the process of looking for an opportunity to go volunteer in Eau Claire.

Thanks again to all who are reading. Thanks to the students who made this trip so amazing, and thanks to Angie and Kerry for making this possible!

Great Time

Here is a quick blog about today and my only blog because I am leaving tomorrow for Louisville after the day is over.

We went to rebuilding the wall today which was a fun time. I got to landscape with some mulch and paint some walls. It was really fun. Others got to put cabinets in, do some tiling, and some siding work. Some others also went to wheeler mission and served some food.

After this we went to the Estridge Company and learned some great things about the company and the owner. This is probably my highlight of my trip so far.

The city of Indianapolis is crazy about Butler, I am crazy about Butler, so Go Bulldawgs!!!!!!!!!

What a Perfect Day!

So it's the third real day of the trip, not including the very long day of driving to Indiana. Already I have met and bonded with the people on the trip SO much as we have shared and experienced a lot together. Today, as the title of this post blatantly says, was an exponentially good day--as I told the group, I have not felt this jacked up and excited about life since I studied abroad. Just being with a group of people who share most of the same values as me and have a passion for helping others is so inspiring and awesome!

This morning was fun--we fixed up a backyard in a low-income neighborhood. We got sweaty right away from spreading mulch. Then the day got better as we worked with and got to know Antonio, the leader of an organization called Rebuiliding the Wall. I really did not know what to expect before going to help this organization, and let me tell you, it was not what I expected at all. The people working with Rebuilding the Wall get to live for free for a week at a community house in the neighborhood as long as they put in at least one 12-hour day of work. They had crazy, sad stories of where they came from--mostly horrible lives of drugs, train-hopping for years at a time with no permanent address, and tragedy. Talking and working with them was so awesome because they were willing to share their stories and were very thankful for our work. I was especially excited when I got to use a drill and screw down a bathroom floor. I also took apart a bunk bed, only to put it back together after moving it upstairs to a children's bedroom. Another highlight of the day was when we were walking to the van after we were done at Rebuilding the Wall. There were 2 kids throwing a basketball across the street, back and forth to each other. I smiled at one of them and said, "You've got a good arm on ya!" He didn't say anything back but his eyes lit up as he smiled shyly at me and it was adorable.

Tonight, we had a great experience with the President and Chief Servant of the Estridge Company--a company that builds houses. He was a great man who took time out of his night to talk to us about servant leadership and our lives. He had memorized all of our majors, which was sweet. Then, we talked and talked for about three hours about what servant leadership means in our lives. The thing I took out of this talk was that when I am in the element of helping people, I am completely focused on what more I can do to help and lift people up, because when I lift people up, I am the most alive--I simply love it. I hope to continue this journey of helping people whenever I can to fulfill my purpose in life!

Well, that's all for now! There is a lot to take in on this trip and I am so happy that I am here experiencing all of it.
~Anna

"Touch people by building houses"

I think I've found the answer for the question: "Why did I go on that trip?" It just clicked so easy and smooth after the seminar that we had with Paul Estridge. I had a chance to see not the businessman but a very nice and so down to earth person. (By the way I'm not trying to praise, I'm just telling all my thoughts and share with my feeling).
Before that trip my husband used to tell me all the time that it is NOT important what do you have, where do you work, what kind of house do you own and etc., but for some reason I didn't quite understand that, until tonight. It is so interesting to turn your mind upside down and shift your reality into the opposite direction. And I do enjoy the feeling of it, that I do have a purpose in this life and I know what it is. Thank you!
EZ

The Human Heart

Today was by far my favorite day of the trip. I spent most of my time with an organization called Rebuilding the Wall. They remodel housing for low income families to buy. The best part is that they hire people who are in need of their help as well. It is underprivileged people helping others in their own neighborhood! HOW COOL IS THAT?! I learned a little bit about carpentry, unfortunately I learned after we tried putting things up, but I learned a lot more about the human heart and the capabilities of communities.

My favorite part of the trip was our visit with Paul Estridge of Estridge Company. He told us his views on the application of servant leadership in business and in personal life. I have so much to reflect on from speaking with him about what it is that I am supposed to become. Paul helped me draw a few more lines on my self-actualization-portrait, and I am eternally grateful to him.

I now understand why the wind blew me to Indianapolis!
Matt Sellen

Today, was another great day. We got up, and I ate breakfast with the rest of the people in the group. Then, we got in the car to go to the Greenleaf Center. When we got there, after about a 45 minute drive, we attended a seminar. The seminar caused other people and myself to get a little deeper of an introduction to servant leadership than what the required text provided. We played a game, that the facilitator of the seminar was able to surprisingly (to us) able to link to servant leadership. Then, we had our most lengthy free time for the week. I traveled around the downtown area with Jake. I wanted a tour of Canseco Fieldhouse, but I was unable to get it because I was with a group of less than 15 people, and Jake wanted to to visit and climb to the top of the Veterans Monument Tower, which was also closed. But, then we just strolled around downtown, and visited the mall, Steak and Shake for a milkshake, and a very nicely kept trail. I took pictures of all of these places. Then, as a group we ate at a place called The RAM for dinner. Almost all of us had interesting and tasty burgers. Once we came back to the Jameson Camp we had yet another group discussion, which allowed me to further realize the value in the seminar that we attended today. In closing, I went on many tangents on this valuable day.

Mike Falk

Today, we went to the Greenleaf Center, which was a really cool experience. The Greenleaf Center was started by Robert Greenleaf who had a vision for servant leadership. The wonderful facilitator, Courtney, had us do several activities which increased our self awareness and knowledge of servant leadership. We had insightful discussions about what it means to be a servant leader, and how that connects with social justice. I think it was a very beneficial experience because we will be able to reflect back on our time at the Greenleaf Center after we participate in more service programs and relate our experience to servant leadership.

One thing that I found particularly interesting about the program today was talking about how one person can make an impact. We used the metaphor of a pebble being thrown into a lake and watching the ripples that are created from that one pebble. If we do the best in our lives to be servant leaders and inspire others to do the same, together we can make huge waves. Sometimes it's easy to get discouraged by thinking that one person can't make an impact, but thinking about it in this way makes it easier to see what kind of a change we can make.

After we left the Greenleaf Center, we went to go hang out in downtown Indianapolis. The group split up into smaller groups and did different things for the rest of the day. Some people went to the zoo and saw a dolphin show, some went Duck Pin Bowling, and others viewed historic monuments. It was really fun getting to explore Indianapolis, and then sharing stories of the day during dinner at The RAM.

-April

Greenleaf Center

Today we visited the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership in Westfeild, IN. This is the headquarters for the Servant Leadership that was started by Robert Greenleaf. We had a graduate student from DePauw University, who had been an intern there before, called Courtney who was our group facilitator for the day. She was the one who got us talking and thinking about what it means to be a servant leader and what that means to us.

Some of the things that got me thinking the most was about my self awareness that correlate with the definition of a servant leader. It got me thinking about the things that I can do now and back home that will help me to become more like a servant leader. Some of these things include how I can put others first and keep my personal benefits second. This is just one aspect that all of us thought about critically of ourselves and the things that we can do as college students and of people of privilege.

Ryan Master

I made it to Soup's On with about half of the group a few minutes early. I did not know what to expect before arriving at Soup's On, but it ended up being a beneficial experience. I was the barker, I called out numbers of tickets. It was an easy job, but finally I had a benefit for my loud voice. The most beneficial part of that project came when all people had gone through the line, and I was therefore done with my assigned job, and I talked to some homeless people. The first group of people who I attempted to talk to left before I could say much more than, “Hi.” My second attempt to talk to people was much more successful. However, at first when I asked the group of 2 women and a man if they could tell me what a typical week was life for me, the man answered, “Like hell,” and they all seemed to think that I was trying to intrude on their lives or something similar. But, then I told them that I just wanted to learn, and the two women opened up to me, but that man just left. Basically, what I found out was one of the women was homeless due to this story that she told me; she is a mother of four, and she was living in a house for very cheap rent with low income. But, her son was falsely accused of beating up a pizza delivery girl, and as a result her entire family was evicted. Now, she lives on the streets. Another homeless man joined our conversation later. Then all three of those people kind of talked among themselves, yet to me at the same time. Their conversation really made me realize that just because someone is homeless, that does not make them a bad or stupid person. They talked about how once one thing happens to put someone in their situation, other things seem to happen in a domino effect to worsen their situation, and it's very hard to stop the dominoes. Then they were talking about how being in a situation like that makes you a better person, and how Jesus will help the poor much more than the rich when He comes. They seemed so optimistic about their situation, and that attitude in that horrible of a situation impressed me very much. After I talked to those people, and they thanked me and I thanked them, I started drying dishes. Then I talked to another homeless man, who was helping with the dishes. We talked about issues such as abortion, and how to fix the homeless problem. He said that people needed to be held accountable for their actions, because some people do indeed “take advantage of the system.” Yet, he also said that he understands and accepts the reasons his landlord has for kicking him out of his house. This guy is homeless, and not stupid or incapable of compassion. Then I talked to one of the girls who I am on this trip with, Anna, as I finally ate my lunch. She has helped homeless people before back in Eau Claire, as I learned in a pre-trip meeting, so I was eager to talk to her. I said how bad I feel for these people. It's amazing how good and smart these people actually are. Also, it is amazing that I have believed that all homeless people made bad choices, and at least for most of them it is their fault completely for their situation, and I have lacked compassion for them. Wow. This trip will hopefully have a great effect on me a make me reverse those beliefs. When we got a tour of the church, we left and went to the Indiana State Museum. I allowed myself to enjoy it. There was an exhibit on Abraham Lincoln, and Indiana during the ice age period. I did go through the exhibits a bit too fast though, as I thought there would be more exhibits. But that was not the case, so I tried to call Mom and Kayla, and neither of them picked up. Shortly later I saw Abby and Steven from our group, and together we went to the NCAA Hall of Champions that was across the street from the museum. That was enjoyable. We played this virtual soccer game, and I watched the end of an exciting elite eight basketball game in a theater type room. Then, before leaving I bought a Final Four mug, the Final Four will be coming to Indianapolis next Saturday, so the excitement for that will reach its pinnacle right after we leave. Once we got back, we played Catch Phrase as a group. It was fun. Then, we ate tacos. I did help clean up the meal. After that we watched The Hangover. Then, we made tentative plans for tomorrow, and went to bed. This has been a good day! This was the first day of actual work on the trip, and already I feel like I have gotten so much out of this trip! Thank you for that fact, God!

Mike Falk

Soups On!

On our first day of the Servant Leadership trip we served lunch at Soups On a weekly free meal every Sunday for those in need in the downtown Indianapolis area. The meal is given by the Roberts Park Methodist Church. The group helped out Soups On in many different ways. Some of us were in the kitchen helping to serve the food, others were clearing tables, and others were organizing the line of people waiting for a meal. After the meal, the entire group helped with clean up. The best part of the day was interacting with the people eating and waiting in the line. It was easy to see how grateful they were for the meal and how much the appreciated the conversations we had with them. The interaction was really fulfilling. My personal favorite conversation I had was with a man that told me I, "looked exactly like that movie star... BEN AFFLECK!" Obviously this conversation made my day, even if it was the first (and probably the last time) I had ever heard this. Although, my ego went back to normal when the Soup's On leader, Cyndi, told me, "He doesn't have the greatest eye sight..."
- Jake Hennes

A great day at Soup's On

We had a great afternoon at Soup's On yesterday! Cyndi and Doug were such wonderful hosts for our group, and Robert's Park Church is a beautiful building. Check out some of our pictures.

Angie Bong

Headed to bed on our first night in Indianapolis! Reflecting back in the day we had a great start. We arrived at Jameson camp at 5:30 eastern time. After settling in, the students explored the 100 acres of land as Angie (Coordinator for student leadership and organizations), Kerry Day (towers Hall Director), and myself went grocery shopping. getting back to camp, we found the students very hungry! Matt Sullen cooked us our delicious spaghetti dinner on a VERY slow burner, only to have Angie dump half the noodles in the sink. However she did redeem herself by winning immediately in Mafia. After a couple hours of "chap pack" get to know you cards we found out that Steven is Franklin the turtle, April wants to be mafia all the time, ELena claims to be doctor EVERYTIME, Matt suffers from fake hyper masculinity, Mike is a sports fanatic, Ryan likes fast cars, Jake can sleep for days, and Reggae makes Anna happy.

Tomorrow we head to "Soups On" to serve lunch and then to the State Museum to check ou the Abe Lincoln exhibit.

Thanks for reading!

Abby Freiborg

Pre-Trip Meetings

We are 3 DAYS away from departure for the trip! We are anxiously waiting to leave.

We have had two pre-trip meetings. The first one was held on Wednesday, March 10th to discuss Servant Leadership. All the students came very prepared having read the text, "Case for Servant Leadership" by Kent M. Keith. The discussions were very rich and valuable. We were very impressed with the students who decided to spend their spring break learning about Servant Leadership.

The second meeting was held on Wendseday, March 17. Stacy Heidtke and Debbie Gough came and discussed some of the root causes of poverty/homelessness, especially right here in EC. They showed a great DVD about poverty and homelessness, including personal stories from people struggling with homelessness right here in EC. Discussion of the social justice issues related to poverty and homelessness followed. Students were very insightful about the factors causing homelessness and the corresponding issues.

Now, we're ready for the trip. We leave on Saturday bright and early at 7:00 a.m! We'll be arriving in Indianapolis around 6:00 that evening. Every day of the trip, students will blog about their experiences on that day.


Here is an outline of our itinerary

Sunday Soup's On service project
Indianapolis State Museum

Monday Greenleaf Center Seminar
Estridge Company Seminar

Tuesday Service Projects
1/2 of the students will go to Rebuilding the Wall
1/2 of the students will go to Gleaner Food Bank and Wheeler Missions

Wednesday Service Projects
1/2 of the students will go to Rebuilding the Wall
1/2 of the students will go to Gleaner Food Bank and Wheeler Missions

Thursday Hull House Museum (Chicago)
Arrive back in Eau Claire

Thanks for reading!

Abby Freiborg
Student Leadership Program Graduate Assistant

From Servant Leadership to Social Justice

The 2010 Alternative Break Trip: From Servant Leadership to Social Justice, is an opportunity for a small group of students to spend a week in Indianapolis exploring the concepts of Servant Leadership and Social Justice. Students will have the opportunity to participate in a seminar with the staff at the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, will meet local business and community leaders to discuss how servant leadership is used in the profit and not-for-profit worlds, and will participate in service initiatives to give back to the Indianapolis community. The trip will take place from Saturday, March 27 – Thursday, April 1, 2010.

It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. . .

- Robert K Greenleaf Center