Not your mother's pressure cooker

Today for Community Day we headed east to Aurora to help can peaches to donate to Metro CareRing. (Two of my housemates work at MCR.) When Antonio told us we would be doing this, I envisioned the 6 of us joining a group of older women in a church kitchen with a pressure cooker working away over the stove. I had images of mason jars everywhere, canning rings and a good time.

Boy was I wrong.

We ended up at the Aurora Cannery, owned and operated by the Latter Day Saints and joined 75 other people in an operation that can best be described as a factory. In the main room, there were a whole bunch of conveyor belts, lots of clanging, banging, wooshing and beeping. I spent some time on the "Quality Control" line with about 20 other people. The peaches just kept rolling by as we looked for "things we wouldn't want to see in our can of peaches," including pits, bruises, skins, etc. Even though the peaches went by quickly, the time did not. Fifteen minutes felt like an hour . . . I knew when it was time to leave the QC when I couldn't think of a good reason NOT to eat the peaches. :)

I returned to the "Labeling" room to help make more boxes, manually glue on labels that didn't take through the "labeling machine" or my favorite job, tape girl. Once the cans are rolled through the automatic "labeler", but if they don't stick, then it was my job (for a while) to manually add the glue and stick the label. Once the cans are labeled, they roll through to the "automatic box stacker rack", someone puts a box on the thinger and pulls out a box full of 12 cans of peaches. He then puts the box on the roller and as the tape girl, I would fold in the flaps, tape it shut and pass it on the the "flip and label" person. In the "peach room" had lots of things going on, much of which i did not understand. I do know that there were 3 HUGE pressure cookers (I could barely reach half way around the barrel!) that were going full throttle all morning. The cans were in the labeling room and traveled through a big tunnel thinger into the peach room, down to the "peach packing station" and some how into the pressure cooker. Then onto the labeling room, to the boxes, to the palates. It was an amazing process.

Yes, I realize that none of this makes sense. To summarize, it was a factory! It was fun though! I enjoyed making boxes, taping and getting into the swing of things. It was fun...for a day. Even the fun jobs would get old after awhile. To tape boxes and only boxes all day for days. Yeah, that would get old. Many of our clients in the job services program at DenUM are limited to factory options because of a criminal background. Those with a record can't apply for most jobs that involve people and are left with few options. There are so, so many obstacles to overcoming the hard knocks of life. I've learned so much already and I've only been here a month. I can't even imagine what the rest of the year has in store for me!

Are morals a luxury of the rich?

I’m quickly learning how much of a life of luxury I’ve had. I may not have had a butler or a personal driver, but I did always have meals, the safety of knowing where I would be living for the foreseeable future and more shoes than one could possibly wear in a month. During my “Washington Era”, I lived pretty simply. I didn’t have internet or cable, I kept a pretty tight budget and tried to avoid frivolous spending. Here in Denver, I am finding those values to be quite helpful. There are not many areas that I have had to cut back due to lack of funds. The biggest difference is food.

You may know that I like food. (Pretty much every aspect of it from planting to cooking to eating. The only part of food I don’t like are the dirty dishes!) And though I kept a modest food budget in Washington, I did allow myself more than a few luxuries. As a house, we have to watch our food budget very closely. We get $2.83 per person per day. (It’s even less than I realize!) We have generally decided that our favorite brand is whatever is cheapest. That usually means that organic produce is out of the picture and generally “things not on sale” are off the list as well. While I would like to make a vote for sustainable food and farming with every food purchase I make, that is simply a luxury I cannot afford right now.

Today at work, one of my co-workers sent us a suggestion for a game to play. It highlights many of the hidden struggles of poverty and just how many luxuries many of us take for granted. How important is your child’s school play? What about doing “the right thing”? Or your health, is health insurance a priority to you? I’ve played this game many times today and it’s amazing how many choices must be made just to survive.

I’d encourage you to check it out: www.playspent.org. It might just change your mind.

Bad Coffee

Tuesday is our community day for the "Wolff Pack". (The "Wolff Pack" is the nick name for the five young adult Dwellers and the "Wolff Den" is our humble place of residence.) This means that none of us work on Tuesday and we spend the day immersed in different organizations and communities within Denver. We started our day at Bus Stop Ministries where we helped serve breakfast and then enjoyed some fellowship with those in attendance. We then scooted over to The Network to engage in a "ministry of fellowship". The Network is most easily described as a coffee shop for homeless people, but that doesn't really do it justice. It's a place for people to come hang out, engage in a Bible study and drink free coffee, tea, etc. It's a place to get out of the weather (if needed, so far Colorado weather is AWESOME!), have a seat in a safe (physically and emotionally) place and get some rest.

Our job was to talk to people. Hang out. Just be. You don't have to be around me very long to figure out that I like people. I can talk to most anyone and enjoy striking up a conversation. However, through all my years in church youth group, Mennonite education and service projects, I'd never served Jesus in such a simple and natural way. I didn't have to build a house, serve soup, sing songs or do anything special. I could just sit at a table, drink really bad coffee and talk. (As a side bar, it was really bad coffee. Combine cheap coffee, sitting on the burner a little too long in a pot that hasn't been really washed in a while and you get really bad coffee.) It was such a novel concept. I loved it! I heard stories of all sorts that day. Stories of life on the road, job searching, girl troubles and the problem with the Broncos. Some people want to talk about the situations and obstacles that consume them and cloud their entire life view, others want to forget about it for a while and just talk about football.

I hope to return to The Network. I could really go for some bad coffee. :)

DenUM--week 1

As of Tuesday, I am officially the Volunteer Coordinator at Denver Urban Ministries, or DenUM for short. I am yet to figure out what that means, but I am in the process of learning all about DenUM. Our mission statement is: (and yes, Tammy, this is from memory.)

DenUM inspires hope as an advocate and trusted provider of needed services.

Today's Need...Tomorrow's Hope.

I have been very impressed by how actively this mission is lived out. It is seen in daily life, available services and big picture goals. Some of the services we provide seem obvious:

--emergency food bags to feed 3ish people for 3ish days

--computers for job searching and resume making

--assistance with job applications, etc

--rent and utility assistance

--free legal assistance once a month

--free hygene products

--clothing referrals

I'm excited that we offer these things, but not all that surpised that we do. However, our list of services continues, and these surprised me. I never thought about there being a need for them or how helpful they can be!

--a voicemail. Many of our clients are just getting out of correctional facilities and living in a Half-way House. If a future employer calls and hears that, they will often just dismiss the application. However, by having a personalized voicemail and local phone number, it allows these clients to play on the same field as other candidates. Imagine how freeing and empowering that might be!

--"Finding and Keeping Work". Once a month, a job consultant who specializes in felony-friendly employment, comes in and teaches a course about how to find a job, even with a less than perfect history and what kinds of steps to take to keep that job.

--Thanksgiving Baskets, at Thanksgiving time, we give out 500+ boxes containing everything needed for the traditional Thanksgiving meal. This helps families feel "normal" for once. Regardless of financial status, life position or whatever, they too can enjoy a table of bounty and celebrate a holiday just like their neighbors from nicer 'hoods. Poverty and hunger does not just infringe on the physical needs of people, it wears on the emotional health of individuals as well.

--A place to celebrate. Our director, Tammy, told us that some clients will come back to DenUM just to tell us about getting a job, finding a place to live or other exciting news. They tell us because we care. They tell us because they have no one else to tell. It breaks my heart to think that our clients may not have anyone else to help celebrate life's big and small victories, but it is so touching to be able to help celebrate with them.

I know that I have much to learn about the culture and resources of DenUM, but so far, I love what I see. Yesterday we talked a bit about our volunteers. One volunteer, Kevin, has been helping for over 15 years. He is generally helpful and a little too eager to chat. He's not the type that would generally be considered "Mr. Popular" and many people may feel a bit awkward around him. However, he is a part of DenUM. I loved what Tammy said though. "If you don't love Kevin, you probably don't love DenUM. Because Kevin belongs at DenUM." I love that.

I'm off to more orientation, more training, more head-spinning details of which to keep track. This blog was originally meant to share about the overwhelming generosity that has been shown to and is shown by DenUM, but I ran out of time! I am doing well, I love my house (the Wolff Den), my housemates (The Wolff Pack) and my new job.

Mountain Climbers of the West

Hawkeye and I have made the big move to Denver. We can see mountains out our bedroom window, camped in the middle of mountains and say things like "fourteener".

It's been a crazy whirl-wind around here! On Sunday, Brad and I stuffed his little car to the brim with all my belongings. On Monday, we folded into it with Hawkeye on my lap and headed west. We made it with very little problem and I started the process of moving in. I am very glad to have my own room. Although I am looking forward to (and have already greatly enjoyed!) having housemates and a house-full of automatic friends, it is a big transition to have people around all the time. It's nice to have a place that I can call all mine and can escape to as old habits die hard.

We (as a community of Dwellers) spent the next several days grocery shopping, house shopping and generally running around Denver like crazy chickens. By the end of it, I think we all had a bit of a glazed-over look on our faces.

On Thursday, we packed up, ran some more errands and then headed south to Buena Vista for some camping and orientation. We had a wonderful camping spot in Cottonwood Lake Campground and set up our home for the next several days. We were joined by Antonio's family and parents, Brad, the director of DOOR and his family and a board member of DOOR and her friend. We spent time cooking together, laughing together and having a great time. On Saturday, 8 of us took off early for Mount Yale and started our climb. By noon, we had summitted, ate lunch at 14,200 ft and were on the way back down the mountain. Many of the other climbers warned us that we would become addicted to hiking 14ers. I can see why they say that. :)

Sunday was a pretty relaxing day spent at the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort. It was a giant, naturally heated hot tub like I've never seen before. I could get used to THAT!

On Monday we packed up our things, cleaned up camp and headed back home. We (the Dwellers) pretty much just laid low at the Wolff Den. (I've taken to calling our house the Wolff Den because we live on Wolff Street. It's not official, but I keep hoping that I if I am persistent, it will catch on.) It was really nice to be able to chill out and do nothing with my housemates. I have been quite worried about being able to find down time when I'm surrounded by people. However, after tonight, my fears have been relieved.

Tomorrow, Chad and I start work at DenUM. We have a bus route mapped out and scheduled time to head out.

I will have more pictures to come, but haven't found my camera cord in the unpacking process yet.

Peace and grace to you all!