#sspstweek6

Note: Kathy Sanders-Platnick is a counselor from Rolling Hills UMC and is writing daily emails to the parents of her youth while in Stockton this week. She has shared these emails to be posted by SSP.

  Today was our final day at the site. We got way past any of our previous expectations. It felt very good to do so much work for such a good cause. Also, the head honcho of VHB came and gave us a plaque expressing their gratitude towards the work we had been doing. It was a rewarding day.

- LAVOS

Today we finished the house!!!!!!! It looks amazing. Everybody was amazed. The staffers thought that they were going to have to come and finish the house, but we finished it. We are all very happy with the outcome and sad that SSP has to come to an end.

- The Teenage Mutant Ninja Painters

We counted and counted for the entire day. We counted tools and screws and hooks and wires and anything you can imagine. After an extended lunch with a trip to the store to buy ice, we came back to help do the endless amount of dishes and cleanup the cooks had to do. So concludes the amazing legends of strike thrust.

- Strike thrust  

Today we were amazed by the generosity of our homeowners!  We finished up a pink fence at a woman named Artemiza’s house, and she and her three year old daughter served us tamales that they had made.  They were super delicious, and after finishing them we went to Jerry’s house to knock out his old fence.  It was grueling but fun, and Jerry even came to help us out and gave us some sausages.  Overall, it was a great work day!              

- Friendly Flying Fencers

  Today was bittersweet. Even though our team finished our project we are still very sad to leave Rick’s farm. It was so important to us to work on this farm because we helped so many people just through the act of picking fruit. Although I am a strong believer that no person should be awake before 6 am but harvesting at 6am at the farm truly benefited the lives in the community. Without our help, Rick would have spent much time putting together beautiful boxes of fruit, while we got it done in under two hours.

Stockton Week 6, Thursday

Note: Kathy Sanders-Platnick is a counselor from Rolling Hills UMC and is writing daily emails to the parents of her youth while in Stockton this week. She has shared these emails to be posted by SSP.

Today we went and cleaned an area called “The Slough.” My group talked about the fact that if we didn’t meet a local of Stockton, named Jordan, who told us his story of how rough it was growing up in Stockton, it wouldn’t have meant as much cleaning up. After that we went to a delta and had a lot of fun swimming.

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Painters

Instead of painting the ROHCC today we picked up the Mormon Slough. It was dirty and dangerous work but it was also very rewarding. To know that we were cleaning up the homes of the less fortunate that others do not respect felt good. Afterwards we had a water day.

- Cherry Mike and Ike’s: Samantha, Scott, Dylan, Connor, Jocelynn, Hayley

  Today we were enlightened in such an amazing way.  We got to clean up a slump, which was more than just the average “clean up”.  As we picked up the slump we found bible verses, children’s toys, pictures, and clothing. Each object we found gave each of our team members a different thought. I found a broken picture frame and I instantly wondered what picture formerly belonged in it. We got a chance to emerge ourselves in the lifestyle that the homeless experience. 

- Farm team Cheyenne

  Instead of working on the fence today, we went and cleaned the slough.  The slough is an area where many homeless people and other people often dump their trash.  It was really an eye-opening an experience because we’ve been staying in a nicer area of Stockton, and the slough, which was a bad area, was very close to that area.  Our team discussed how that is very similar to L.A., some areas are very nice, and you can travel maybe three miles and be in an area that’s completely different.  I thought that was a very interesting observation, and relating this area to our own was valuable.

- Fearless Flying Fencers: Ranger, Katie, Shannon, Alex, Harry

  Today, we went and worked in a not so nice area of Stockton. We were picking up trash. I found it a very enlightening experience. For the first time in my life, I saw pipes and needles. Of course I knew about drugs, but I had never seen the real deal. Also, there were a few homeless encampments and it showed me how homeless in these areas made something out of nothing.

Today we discussed discernment and how it acts as an individuals personality builder. Discernment to us, are the values we believe in. Todd, our councilor brought up a great point. He asked, “What do you believe the difference between a priority and a value is?” We couldn’t think of anything. Then Todd explained that a priority changes from one moment to the next.,, but a value is such a strong belief that is almost indented into your personality.

Additionally, I asked each person in our group to come up with a quote that they VALUE , and briefly express why.

Nathanial spoke about this quote, “The hand of friendship has no color.” He expressed that often he has been judged based on the color of his skin rather than his personality which in certain situations had a affected him.

Todd then stated, “Judge a man not by the color of his skin, but the content of his character,” which then prompted a discussion about how each of us have seem judged based on our actions or looks rather than our character. I (Cheyenne) decided to tell me group how I have been judged based on past actions and that with that I’ve learned to speak up. I speak up because who I am today is the character I SHOULD be judge on, not the actions other have heard about. This is why WE speak up. WE speak up for those who CAN’T, and we speak up because WE ALL deserves to be heard.

- Farm team DAY TWO!

An important part of the day was learning the difference between judging and discerning.  Our group discussed how judging was a quick thing, whereas discerning is used after time and getting to know a person.  We also discussed ways to reduce letting quick judgements influence the way we interact with others.  While we were staining the boards to build the fence, many of us were talking to each other,  getting to know each other, and really discerning.  Some of the observations made from getting to know a person over time, are really different from the things you might judge about a person initially.

- Fearless Flying Fencers: Katie, Harry, Alex, Shannon, Ranger

  Today, we painted once again. Our spiritual sandwhich was about discernment. We  learned that discernment is making a decision with facts and love. Discernment is a form of judgement, but a positive judgement.

And now a quote from Scott: Hot roofs and small cracks.

 - The Cherry Mike and Ike’s:  Samantha, Scott, Dylan,  Connor, Mykayla, Jocelynn

Today we finished painting the front of a house(almost). At our spiritual sandwich discussion we talked about how discernment ties into judgment and speaking up. We have also have a lot of fun doing it.

- The Teenage Mutant Ninja Painter

Today we did 3 different projects. We painted a singular board in the church parking lot. We then went to a very depressing home where we repaired holes in walls with the help of some of the 9 children who lived there. Despite the cockroaches on the wall, it was a nice home. We then went to a small field with corn where we added chicken wire to the bottom of a fence with the help of a friendly local farmer. We then proceeded to come home and shower early. 

Having the second highest crime rate of any city in CA, I was nervous when we first got to our site. I was thinking “Everyone here is a criminal I’m going to die AHH!”. Though some parts of the block were a bit sketchy, the area wasn’t all that bad, fitting right in with this week’s theme, make fair judgments. I made some judgements beforehand instead of judging the area fairly.

- LAVOS: John, Abigail, Kathleen, Sara, Kade, Claire, Bryan, Emily, James, Carter, Gracie, Eathon

Today in Spiritual sandwich, we talked about judgement and the ways in which we see people from the outside without getting to know them. We dove into the subject and went through all the ways we seem to judge eachother and how prejudice stems from insecurity and fear of being an outsider. Also, it takes courage to speak up in situations where someone else is being judged and speaking up on their behalf may not help you out but it will mean a lot to them.

- Teenage mutant ninja painters: Megan, Steven, julian, zoe, taylor, Ryan, Edwin, cody, doug, Rebecca, Natalie, and jenna

  One of the main themes of today was judgement, and how not to judge.  Upon entering our site, there were many assumptions about the community one could make, because it’s not a very nice neighbourhod.  However, the man who lived at the house we were working on, Jerry, was really nice and gave us lots of plums he picked from his tree.  It was nice talking to him, and it demonstrated how snap judgements are often untrue.

- Friendly Flying Fences: Harry, Katie, Shannon, Ranger, Alex

  Today we worked on Rock of Hope Christian Church and on our judgement. We painted and painted and painted. Scott led us in a spiritual sandwhich about judging and how to avoid judging others negatively. We also talked about what kind of judging is good judging.

And now a quote from Scott: Its not about the wall, its about filling in the cracks.

 - Cherry Mike and Ike’s: Samantha, Scott, Dylan, Connor, Jocelynn, Hayley, Mike, Sherry

  Today we heavily discussed judgment and how important it is to judge based on character rather than judging based on the appearance or past revelations. Often we are judged without prior knowledge of a person or an event, creating tension.

Our group has promised that we will attempt to forget judgment before meeting or while meeting someone and focus and be IN THE MOMENT! Our group, and our generation will be the revolution that changes the world.

Stockton Week 6, Wednesday

Stockton Week 6, Tuesday

Note: Kathy Sanders-Platnick is a counselor from Rolling Hills UMC and is writing daily emails to the parents of her youth while in Stockton this week. She has shared these emails to be posted by SSP.

Tuesday was another great day for Stockton SSP.  Our weather remained temperate due in part to the rainstorm that greeted our day. Thank you God.

  Our Theme of the Day was Discernment based on Philippians 1:9-10.  We spent a lot of time considering what discernment means and how it differs from judgment.  Jay Jordon was the cultural speaker for our program tonight.  He told an inspirational story about making bad choices and ending up in a gang only to turn things around and become a recognized and awarded community organizer and leader.  Many of the youth raved about his words of wisdom, claiming it was the best cultural program they had ever heard.  You can read more about Jay and his work here:  http://first50.wix.com/thefirstfifty#!jerron-jordan/mainPage.

  The Strike Force team proudly finished off three different projects today.  The Visionary Home Builders team primed and painted the upstairs living quarters of the house on which they are working.  You can read more about VHB at visionaryhomebuilders.org.  The Rock of Hope City Church team is ahead of schedule in painting the outside of the church; the kids have become masters at taping off windows.  The Jerry's Fence team are nearly finished with the fence they are building and should be able to start demolition on the old fence when work recommences on Thursday.  The Boggs Tract Community Farm team arose at 5:45 to be at the farm by 6:30 for one of the two weekly harvests.  As you might expect, the team spent some time sleeping off their early start this afternoon.  The Linda's House team finished another day of chipping, scraping and painting.

  Food today was great as always.  Breakfast was a choice of oatmeal, hard boiled eggs, or one of three breads:  zucchini, banana or yam.  Dinner was taco/burrito bar.  I forgot to mention on Monday that we also had an extra special treat when Carter's Grandmother graced us with ice cream bars (yum)!  Most of the teams also had a site visit today from the Spiritual Life Coordinator, who brought cookies and good cheer.

  Tomorrow we spend the morning as a group cleaning up trash in the Stockton slough and then head off to a nearby state recreation area for the afternoon water day.