1/11/2022
Today was a wild ride, but at the end of it all, our theme was Warmth. Monday night was so frigid that the poor van battery wore itself out trying to start her. I spent the first six hours of the day just trying to figure out a way for me to get the vehicle started. Lucky for me, the tow truck guy recognized me. He remembered my Denali. Fortunately, he was able to recharge the battery himself before towing me all the way out to Mazur. I did however need a new one, so I went all the way out to Pinckney so that the guys at AutoZone would help me change it. I have small girl hands.
Unfortunately for them, they were exceptionally rude to me. It was somewhat shocking to hear a man that mature sound so immature. Therefore, I left. I went next door to O’Reilly’s and the sweet young man working there was happy to switch my battery out. It only took him a few minutes. Back to my house, six hours behind schedule. A lot of stuff Traci and I had pre-made which made the laborious tasks of putting it all together happen (somehow) close to on-time.
We left behind schedule, but packed with blankets and a lot of coats and winter gear. Hats and gloves are the new hot item. I was able to pack up a bunch of bags with a hat, gloves, blanket, hygiene kit, hand and toe warmers, socks, and hard candy. It made things a lot easier. The rest of the back could be filled with coats and warm clothes.
For food this week, I made a chicken, rice, and veggie casserole that turned out pretty darn gut-sticking good. Ann donated a bunch of her famous homemade desserts. I tell you, they can taste the love.
Our route was different this week. Our first stop was in a neighborhood I had never been to before. A young couple came out from behind an abandoned house. A few more people came out, but not very many. An elderly woman was passing by not wearing much for clothing let alone warmth. Traci offered her food and a coat. Traci put the coat on her right away. As we were handing her bags to her, I noticed that her hands were shaking. Her entire body was tense and shivering hard. I pulled out the gloves and put them on her hands right away. I gave her some thick warm ones with a soft lining. She started to calm down by the time the second glove was on her hand. After I put a hat on her head, you could see her entire body relax. It was good to see her so at peace for a moment.
We drove around for a bit until we went to a familiar spot on the southwest side. We must have fed and cared for another fifteen people there.
From that point on we saw a lot of different places all over Detroit that people have found creative ways to survive in. Instead of going to popular spots, we spent more time assisting various individuals that Traci and I don’t normally get a chance to see. Some of them were walking down the street. Some were standing in the middle of it. A couple of men were huddled up outside of the gas station. They were so sweet and the one guy kept saying thank you, and blowing us big kisses and praising God.
There was a guy living in a tent in the back of a lot. Traci found him a nice Carhart winter suit he could wear.
We visited a lot of bridges. Sometimes people were home, sometimes they weren’t.
We saw one lady walking alone down the sidewalk. I think one of the team members recognized her. She seemed glad at first for the food and stuff. She was genuinely grateful. She was also crying, too. She had just been robbed earlier in the evening. She was panhandling, not prostituting herself, she was proud to admit. She was trying to get into someplace warm for the night. She had nowhere to go. She was afraid for her life. One of the challenges of a business like this is, that for as hard as you try to make a difference it doesn’t give you the superpower to save people the way you want to.
It was really peaceful night. We loved driving all over in the shadowy, mysterious neighborhoods. It felt like we were able to do more by seeing the random people who don’t get the spoils of Magdalene’s Mission as often as other people might. The temperatures were so far below freezing that the people who needed warmth the most seemed to be our priority.
Tonight we drove around until after 11 p.m. We were out of blankets and warm bags. We gave the last 10 servings of casserole to the medical outreach team and told them we were done for the night. We gave them our best. Because that’s how we do it in Detroit. Amen. #magdalenesmission #peaceloveandhygiene
