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