Today was the last day of our trip. We were all in shock as to how quickly this trip passed us by, but like everyday, we were ecstatic about experiencing the day ahead.
We spent our morning at Noble of Indiana, an organization that engages people with disabilities with job growth opportunities with the ultimate goal of integrating them into the community. By aiming to do so, they are able to make meaningful lives for adults with developmental disabilities. When we walked in, a few of us were underwhelmed by the warehouse atmosphere of the place. That impression was quickly turned around as soon as we toured the facility and saw how happily the people working there were while doing their jobs. A lot of them worked on packaging things like gaskets and after school lunches. The organization also offers classes about issues like dealing with anxiety and interview trainings.
While we were there, we were assigned a variety of tasks. One group worked inside in a storage room that held a lot of their crafts and other tools. They primarily focused on cleaning up the space so that the organization could fit in newer materials. Another group worked on filing. The rest of us worked outside, where we split into two groups. One group cleaned up plastic bins for the workers to use and the other group cleaned up trash surrounding the area. Due to thunderstorms, we quickly retreated back inside.
Thankfully, we also got a chance to interact with some of the employees during lunch time. We exchanged so many hugs and handshakes. It was so wonderful to watch the employees joking around with each other, sharing stories, and enjoying lunch in large groups. I sensed the love and respect for each other's similarities and differences - there was such a strong sense of community! They never missed a chance to introduce themselves to one of our team members and also to learn our names. Also, they were genuinely interested in holding a conversation with us and joking around whenever the opportunity was present. One guy was especially humorous: he told us his birthday was on the 4th of July, and when we asked him if he enjoys fireworks, he responded by proclaiming that he is a firework. That definitely got us laughing. It was a great way to take a break from the work we were assigned and form some new friendships with some truly kind-hearted people.
To sum up what our experiences have taught us over this past week, we created a timeline of where we hope to see ourselves in the future. These dreams may have been newly formed, with inspiration from all of the new knowledge we have gained in Indianapolis. Allison facilitated an activity that allowed us to deeply examine the reasons why we decided to come on this trip, and how this might have changed throughout this past week.
The church was kind enough to offer us to join them for their weekly Wednesday night dinners. Tonight's menu featured the most delicious baked potato bar with tasty toppings, leftover wedding cake, and killer cookie brownies made by Erika and Jackie! It was an amazingly delicious night shared with the community that has given us so much. We couldn't be more thankful to have stayed under the roof of such hospitable people.
We ended our trip by exchanging some very entertaining paper plate awards, including "most likely to not be able to keep a surprise" and "most likely to use the word 'trueee'" just to name a few. Secret Angels were also finally revealed. It was nice to just wind down together and enjoy our final night.
This week has provided us all with an incredibly enriching experience. We've grown so close and plan on maintaining our friendships beyond this trip. We were hoping to meet up every once in a while to just hang out and also to volunteer together at local organizations that are similar to the ones we visited this week. What happens here stays here, but what's learned here leaves from here. We can't wait to grow from our experiences and see what the future holds.
We spent our morning at Noble of Indiana, an organization that engages people with disabilities with job growth opportunities with the ultimate goal of integrating them into the community. By aiming to do so, they are able to make meaningful lives for adults with developmental disabilities. When we walked in, a few of us were underwhelmed by the warehouse atmosphere of the place. That impression was quickly turned around as soon as we toured the facility and saw how happily the people working there were while doing their jobs. A lot of them worked on packaging things like gaskets and after school lunches. The organization also offers classes about issues like dealing with anxiety and interview trainings.
While we were there, we were assigned a variety of tasks. One group worked inside in a storage room that held a lot of their crafts and other tools. They primarily focused on cleaning up the space so that the organization could fit in newer materials. Another group worked on filing. The rest of us worked outside, where we split into two groups. One group cleaned up plastic bins for the workers to use and the other group cleaned up trash surrounding the area. Due to thunderstorms, we quickly retreated back inside.
Thankfully, we also got a chance to interact with some of the employees during lunch time. We exchanged so many hugs and handshakes. It was so wonderful to watch the employees joking around with each other, sharing stories, and enjoying lunch in large groups. I sensed the love and respect for each other's similarities and differences - there was such a strong sense of community! They never missed a chance to introduce themselves to one of our team members and also to learn our names. Also, they were genuinely interested in holding a conversation with us and joking around whenever the opportunity was present. One guy was especially humorous: he told us his birthday was on the 4th of July, and when we asked him if he enjoys fireworks, he responded by proclaiming that he is a firework. That definitely got us laughing. It was a great way to take a break from the work we were assigned and form some new friendships with some truly kind-hearted people.
To sum up what our experiences have taught us over this past week, we created a timeline of where we hope to see ourselves in the future. These dreams may have been newly formed, with inspiration from all of the new knowledge we have gained in Indianapolis. Allison facilitated an activity that allowed us to deeply examine the reasons why we decided to come on this trip, and how this might have changed throughout this past week.
The church was kind enough to offer us to join them for their weekly Wednesday night dinners. Tonight's menu featured the most delicious baked potato bar with tasty toppings, leftover wedding cake, and killer cookie brownies made by Erika and Jackie! It was an amazingly delicious night shared with the community that has given us so much. We couldn't be more thankful to have stayed under the roof of such hospitable people.
We ended our trip by exchanging some very entertaining paper plate awards, including "most likely to not be able to keep a surprise" and "most likely to use the word 'trueee'" just to name a few. Secret Angels were also finally revealed. It was nice to just wind down together and enjoy our final night.
This week has provided us all with an incredibly enriching experience. We've grown so close and plan on maintaining our friendships beyond this trip. We were hoping to meet up every once in a while to just hang out and also to volunteer together at local organizations that are similar to the ones we visited this week. What happens here stays here, but what's learned here leaves from here. We can't wait to grow from our experiences and see what the future holds.
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