Today we were fortunate enough to serve with Knoxville Area Rescue Mission (K.A.R.M.). We split into our four chore teams and two teams worked in one of their thrift stores and the others in a second location. Our building's air conditioner was broken so we worked in the heat, but it was not too bad. We enjoyed our time together sorting through racks of men, women, and children clothing. Others of us sorted items into piles of m&m's (sellable items) and nuts (not sellable items). Lastly, others pulled outdated clothes into bins and put the hangers in separate bins. Then while we waited for the other vans to arrive we danced to the Cubic Shuffle, Cha Cha Slide, and Cotton Eye Joe. Next we ate our lunch in an air conditioning room above the main floor together.
After lunch we ventured over to K.A.R.M. Rescue Mission. We all got a tour of the building which had a women's sleep room, men's sleep room, kitchen, courtyard, open room for people to sit, and a chapel. We learned that they get close to three hundred men, women, and children per night. It is really hard to hear a number like that and we get to feel safe at home in our beds every night. Then we made encouragement cards to put on all the people's pillows.
Lastly, we got to pray over each bed. The girls each got a row of six beds. As soon as the leaders said to pick a row I was drawn to a particular row by our Lord. I got on my knees at the head of the bed, placed my hands on the pillow, and prayed for a few minutes for the woman that will be sleeping there tonight. At one point I looked over to see others on their knees rating and it was a heart changing sight. I felt God speaking the words to me for my prayer and I even got glimpses of red hair of the woman in bed one, blue eyes in bed four, and a scar on the last woman's arm sent by God. I felt the spirit of God not only in the room but in me. I started to think while everyone else was finishing praying how hard a life these people live. One lady was in abusive relationship, another lost her home in a hurricane, and another has been clean for years but no one will hire her due to her past, God told me these insights when my hand touched each pillow. I was upset thinking about how these people suffer, so I began to cry.
Then we came back together and Jordan did a final prayer over the entire room. Lauren put on the song Love is Here so that we could sing to the whole room. The words "love is here love is now love is pouring from his hands from his brow" played I realized what we were doing is one of the most important impactful actions any of us could do. God loves everyone in that room and that is what those people want, to be loved.
At the end Lauren and I said goodnight and I love you at the door for all the women who were not even there yet. We met back up with the guys who got to spend some time talking to people in the chapel. We came back to the church where our chore team (the Tenneseeds) cooked tacos and The Compassion Fruits lead an incredible worship and Rob lead an eye opening and beautiful sermon. – Alyssa, 2nd Year
Check out the photos from Thursday and the rest of the week by clicking below.