Serve Better Together

Today was our first day of our alternative spring break, which I’m now calling “Serve Better Together”. We lost a few members before we even began, but I couldn’t be happier with the crew we have working here. I hope you'll soon hear the commentary of Asha, Andy, Laura, J, Amanda, and Felicia. 

This afternoon we went to the Habitat for Humanity Restore, where we met a very nice, and very under-paid, man named Coady. Coady was the only employee working in the store all day, but luckily for him we were not the only volunteers. Several other community members were there as well, and some with their kids. Apparently some schools in Columbus are now requiring as much as 25 hours of community service for graduation, a requirement I fully support. After four and a half hours at the restore, I felt as if the biggest impact we’d made was on Coady, and I could tell he was grateful we had come.

From the Restore we went to dinner. Ryan Uysaler and his wife, Aisha, were kind enough to open up their homes to us, feed us, and answer an endless string of questions about them, their faith, and the lives as immigrants. Ryan and Aisha came to the United States thirteen years ago from Turkey—and they brought with them a delicious culture. We had lentil soup, with bread cooked by Ryan himself, Rice and meat, and many other dishes I cannot pronounce, followed by sweets and turkish tea. And as good as the food was, the thing that struck me most about our time with them was their amazing willingness to host seven strangers into their home. He told us that in Islam they say “guests bring blessings” and he thanked us for coming to them.

When I asked Ryan what he and Islam said about service and charity he said “to serve other is to serve God,” and that service is what makes humans humans, what sets us apart from animals. I think there is something profound in that—that amongst all the terrible things that human beings to do other human beings, we also help each other, and when we do that makes us special.

I’m excited about working with my seven new friends for the next four days, and I look forward to having more conversations and more perspectives about food, and what it means to be human.

~ Madeline Steele Stockwell