Monday, May 29, 2017

What’s Next for #OneontaRides? Setting Goals for the 2017-18 School Year



The 2016-17 school year has come to a close, which means a summer of rest, reflection, and fundraising for the Kindness Team volunteers that make #OneontaRides possible. 

Before I go into the goals for next year, I want to briefly go over a few highlights of last year: Continue reading blog on donate.theredemptionmovement.org >>
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Vietnam Memorial Replica Hits My Hometown, and Then Hits Home

On Memorial Day Weekend 2017, Oneonta had the privilege of hosting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Replica and Mobile Education Center, AKA, The Wall That Heals.

I got to see the wall with my family, and even though my young boys proved too much of a handful for me to have the full experience, the wall nevertheless left an impact on me.

My feelings were that of gratitude, followed by sorrow. Although, my strongest feelings of thankfulness didn't come so much from the names on the wall, but rather, one name that wasn't on the wall. Namely, my own father, a Vietnam War veteran.

My dad saw combat in Vietnam, and he was fortunate to survive the experience and return home. Had he not survived, then I wouldn't be here today, along with my younger sister, and by extension, neither would my two sons, ages 3 and 1.
This thought stuck with me for the rest of the day, and it made me grateful to spend the day with my family, enjoying a Saturday at Gilbert Lake State Park.

What also hit me that day was another, much more grim reality: every name on that wall translates to not just one life being snuffed out by war, but it also means the world was denied that young man living a full life that includes having children. These children would have then gone on to have children of their own, and on and on for generations to come. Herein lies the often-forgotten tragedy that accompanies the loss of every life: when one life is cut short, the consequences of such a loss reach far beyond a headline or a name memorialized on a monument. Indeed, one battlefield casualty also means a casualty for any chance of future children and future generations from the fallen solider, or 57,939 to be exact.

And that's just on the American side of the war.

If every human is made in the image of God, then the lives of the Viet Cong soldiers matter to God too, and the life of every fallen Vietnamese had the same potential to multiply generations of people--all of whom would have been loved by God, as much as God loves Americans. When one takes into account the number of these lives lost, it quickly becomes apparent that a much, much larger wall is needed. From Britannica:
Not until 1995 did Vietnam release its official estimate of war dead: as many as 2 million civilians on both sides and some 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters. The U.S. military has estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died in the war.
After seeing the wall, I was fortunate enough to enjoy spending time at the beach with my family and watch my children play in the sand. The weather was cool so there wasn't a big crowd that day... but would there have been if not for the Vietnam War? How many empty picnic tables would have been occupied that day by families had America not fought that unpopular war half a century ago? In fact, would upstate New York even have a population loss problem if America's history didn't include one major war for each of its generations? It would seem not.

War then, shouldn't be something that's celebrated or glamorized. Violence on any level is detested by God, and war is the ultimate, systematic expression of violence and murder. Instead, God's plan for humanity is that we "be fruitful, and multiply." A planet that is filled with people is a world that is filled with God's glory. If one truly believes this, they will honor human life in all of its forms; whether it be your countryman, your enemy, life in the womb, or those in nursing homes. On the opposite side of the same coin, belief in the image of God and the goodness of His plan for multiplication will cause deep sorrow at the loss of human life in any form, including the loss of an enemy.

This Memorial Day, be thankful for the country we have and remember the fallen soldiers who paid the ultimate price. But more so, be thankful for each and every person that is alive to enjoy this nation. Because ultimately, a country wouldn't be a country, if not for its people.
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Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Kindness Team Wraps Up School Year With 12-Hour Kindness Extravaganza!

It was borderline reckless everything we gave away to downtown Oneonta at the last Kindness Station of the 2016-17 school year. The list includes:
  • 190 bottles of water
  • 83 Capri Sun juice packs
  • Almost 7 gallons of pickles
  • 70+ bananas
  • 5 pizzas donated by Domino’s
  • 73 packs of sandwich crackers
  • 100 packs of Pop Tarts
  • 100+ granola bars
  • 2 pots of coffee
  • 10 pounds of chocolate candy
  • 150+ sticks of breath freshening gum
  • 115 breathalyzer tests administered
And most importantly, 74 safe rides home!

Ending the School Year With a Big Party

The event that called for such a ridiculous display of kindness was the Senior Bar Crawl. Each year, our church gets in a rhythm of serving the community with the Kindness Station and #OneontaRides, a rhythm that keeps up with the weekend parties and special drinking events celebrated primarily (but not exclusively) by the city’s student population. The Senior Bar Crawl is special because it represents the last downtown outreach effort by the Kindness Team--sort of like a finish line for a big kindness marathon. When the crawl is over, we pack up for the summer and begin to recharge by actually getting sleep on Friday nights.
This year’s crawl began early, around 3pm. We wanted to serve the seniors from the time the crawl started to when the bars closed. To pull this off, more than 20 volunteers from the Kindness Team worked in shifts and kept operations going for nearly 12 straight hours.

There were times during the crawl when the tent was so packed that it became difficult to maneuver. It was super chaotic, yet a ton of fun!

Kindness Was in High Demand

To give you an idea of just how big of a hit the Kindness Station was, consider the fact that the day prior I looked at the report from last year’s crawl to see just how much supplies I needed to purchase--it turned out to total three times more than what we pass out on a typical Friday night. Well, only 2 hours into this year’s crawl and we needed to make a grocery store run because we were running short. By the end of the night, we made 3 additional trips to the grocery store.

I knew we were in for a busy day, but I totally underestimated the popularity of some of the items on the hospitality table, like pickles! There was a constant line of people wanting pickles, so much so that we had to designate a volunteer to pass them out. Seriously, by the time the sun went down, we had gone through 6 one-gallon jars of pickles. At one point it was rather comical because it seemed like everybody on Water Street either had a giant pickle in their hand or were asking where to get one. One female student even told me that “standing outside the bar on a nice day while eating a pickle was like a dream come true.”
Another constant line that we experienced was for breathalyzer testing. In fact, we had so many people use the breathalyzer that the poor device ceased working after more than 100 uses. Russell Pergola, who was in charge of administering the BAC tests, observed how, “Almost everyone tested blew at least a 0.10.” Keep in mind that intoxication technically occurs at 0.08. Given the fact that the whole idea of a bar crawl is to have at least one alcoholic beverage at each Oneonta bar, these results certainly aren’t surprising.

Story From the Road #1: Helping a Girl Who Could No Longer Crawl

Overall the mood downtown was jovial, yet we did assist a few students that were severely intoxicated. The worst case we saw was actually the first ride of the day.

We got a call from a group of females that we previously interacted with at the station. While there, one girl in the group couldn’t stand on her own, so we directed her to a cot that we had set up for such a purpose. We were able to breathalyze her (which proved a difficult task due to how incoherent she was) and she registered at 0.17. We did our best to convince her friends that it would be best for her to call it a day and to go home. Unfortunately, nobody in the group was ready to call it just yet so they left the station to continue their crawl, taking the inebriated friend with them--but not before I could put a card in their hands with our phone number on it.

Not too long after, I got a call from the group of girls requesting a ride home. They were outside of Tino’s and their friend had experienced some major vomiting, both inside and outside of the restaurant. I was able to have a female volunteer to come with me to assist and within minutes we were there, helping the girl to her feet and guiding her to the car. Before we placed her in the car I was able to clean her off with paper towels, which meant thoroughly wiping down her front, back, arms, and hands. Thankfully, she had nothing left to spew by the time she got in the car, yet we were ready with barf bags.

The ride to campus went smoothly. We tried to convince the group that their friend needed medical attention and we’d be happy to take her to the ER, but the offer was turned down. Although, it was apparent that the girls were planning on cleaning up their friend, changing her clothes, and putting her to bed. So at least I could feel good that she was being taken care of.

Story From the Road #2: Sharing the Gospel With a Curious Friend

Later that night, we gave a meaningful ride to a young man who was eager to learn more about what we are about. He approached us at the Kindness Station because he really wanted to meet us and say thank you. It turns out that we’ve provided several safe rides home to his girlfriend all throughout the school year (many times when she was by herself).
We then gave him a ride home and that’s when he asked us about the purpose of our group. I replied by reciting the mission statement of The Redemption Movement, and one part in particular peaked his interest--where it mentions redeeming lost and hurting people. Earlier, he and I talked religion and he identified as Jewish, yet he didn’t know what I meant when I used the word “lost.” That opened the door to clearly explain the Gospel: how “lost” relates to sin and separation from God, how Jesus died to atone for sin, and how the word lost implies that whatever is lost is worth searching for and worth saving. He left the car and I felt a strong connection with the young man. It turns out that he’s a junior so we committed to continuing the conversation in the Fall when he comes back to Oneonta.

Additional Highlights

Additional highlights of the day include: dozens of seniors we gave rides to over the years stopping by the station to say thank you and goodbye (often punctuated by hugs), some great conversations about faith, and a Domino’s pizza party at closing time. Given the fact that we served hundreds of people over the course of 12 hours, we actually ended up with many more great stories than I have time to tell.

The Kindness Station is a Huge Success But a Huge Expense: Is it Worth It?

Looking back at the immense effort and expense it was for our small church to serve the community in such a big way (both for the crawl and throughout the school year), we have to stop and ask ourselves, “Is it all worth it?” After all, we've sacrificed a lot in order to make the Kindness Station happen every week, like not being able to afford amenities enjoyed by typical churches such as; an impressive building, a vibrant stage ministry, going to conferences, etc.

Indeed, when I look at The Redemption Movement’s use of funds, I do begin to feel like it’s rather irresponsible to spend so much on outreach. Although, soon after thinking these thoughts I’m often reminded of the sacrificial love shown by Jesus Christ, and how it was a joy for Him to serve others in reckless ways that were often scoffed at by the establishment of his day. After looking at the example and teachings of Jesus, I then consider how we use our time and resources to try and be the hands and feet of Christ and I say, yes, it’s all worth it.

What’s Next for #OneontaRides?

With the end of the school year, another chapter closes for #OnoentaRides, having provided 2,006 rides during the past year alone, and 4,777 safe rides total. 

 We now go into a season of rest and fundraising. During the school year, it's extremely difficult to adequately fundraise while doing the work of providing rides on the weekends. So this is the window we have to hopefully raise the money we need to continue to show reckless kindness to our community.

 If you would like to partner with us and make this upcoming year of providing safe rides and running the downtown Kindness Station bigger and better than the last four, then you're welcome to volunteer with the Kindness Team and donate to the cause!      
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