Indy Tourist Day! By: Alex Hemmer

One day of an Alternative Break trip is reserved for cultural exploration. We are staying at the Englewood Christian Church. On Sunday a group of us went to the service that was given that morning. The service was enjoyable and gave us better insight into the work that this group does. The Englewood Church invests a lot of time and energy into the surrounding neighborhood. One thing the church is well known for is for providing affordable housing to those in need. Englewood buys and refurbishes abandoned houses and provides housing at prices that are lower than market value. The work they put into the community is truly beautiful and reminds me of the true nature of religion.  One particular moment from the service that stays with me was when the pastor talked about giving in terms of religion. He said that many people expect God to return to them 10 or 100 fold what they have given. If they give ten dollars they expect that twenty dollars of good fortune to be returned to them. He said that this is not to be expected, what should be expected is that God will give 100 or 1000 fold to the community. This resonated with me as we work on this service trip. The work these people do is truly amazing and their philosophy is beautiful. It is a pleasure to be able to interact with these wonderful people as we work with different organizations in Indiana.

               

Exploration! After the church service we started to explore Indianapolis. Half of the group went to the local art museum and explored the sculpture gardens. I was part of the group that wanted to experience the Indy 500 in all its glory. It felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity to be in Indianapolis and exploring the city on the day of the race.  We sat in general admission on the infield of the track and had a magnificent view of the cars. We thoroughly enjoyed immersing ourselves in the Indiana culture of racing. The excitement in the air quickly transferred to us as we entered the arena. The excitement that was present was contagious. I was thrilled that we had the opportunity to appreciate such a huge event that makes up the culture of Indianapolis.