Today was a day of all days. I have been working at DeMazenod Door outreach program for almost 2 years, beginning at the door when we would get about 30 people, to today when we have lineups of up to 400 people per day. Today was one of the most memorable (and I have had many, many memorable days). This Saturday I was unsure of the number of volunteers that we would have… along with the uncertainty of how many guests we would have at the door. Every day during the week we have a different group of volunteers for each day of the week. These volunteers are the veterans of our day-to-day operations, the people that come in every week on a specific day and get right to work. They know the ins and outs of what needs to be done at the De Mazenod Door and they are so seasoned that 90% of the time they do it without direction.
Today I heard a knock at the door at about 9:10 a.m. I opened the door to…“the Bonitatibus family”. It was their first day volunteering at the De Mazenod Door. They were a family of 5 with 3 children under the age of 9. At first the children were a bit apprehensive. Brayden 9, Tyler 8 and Brooke, only 5 years old. They were shy when making my acquaintance, but I could tell that they were on a mission, as if Mom and Dad had given them a good talk on what they were about to experience that day.
Once I realized that the Bonitatibus family would be our only volunteers for the day, I decided to put the majority of my focus on the kids, for two reasons: to give them a great experience at the De Mazenod Door, and put them to work to have a successful day of serving our guests! I never realized that I would get a major lesson on perspective.
As I said, I do this job every day. For me, some days become “Groundhog Day” where it feels like the day before and the day before that. Today I had the chance to view this work through new eyes, but, more importantly, through the eyes of a child.
Brayden, Tyler and Brooke got right to work – bagging snacks, preparing breakfast and lunch bags, getting hot chocolate ready and along the way cleaning up their mess to be able to move on to the next task. After about 30 minutes I offered them a break to go play in the gym, since they were working so hard. The boys took me up on my offer, but Brooke decided to stay and work through her break. She was fiery and determined – she was here to work. After 5 minutes, Tyler and Brayden came back and put themselves back to the grind. After every task they looked at me and said “Kat!! What’s next!??”
I must have heard my name 200 times that day, but for very good reason. They wanted to feel useful in their quest to help our guests at the door. Once the doors, opened the 3 children joined me to make sure everyone got their snacks and drinks… and a smile. Mom and dad were also busy working hard! Mom was continuously filling bowls full of hot spaghetti while Dad was on the busy coffee station, pushing them out as fast as they were going out the door. Every guest at the door who saw the children working hard couldn’t keep from smiling. Almost every guest made sure to say “thank you” to the children for their contribution. This, in turn, brought an even bigger smile to the faces of the children.
For me, I was so proud to be a witness to both exchanges. For someone who does this job every day and sees the same people every day, that day was an eye opener of the kind of work we are doing here, not only for the people receiving, but also for the people giving. Viewing this job through new eyes and the eyes of children since that day has made me appreciate my job even more. To watch this family come in together to serve the poor and marginalized and work as hard as they did for the people at the door was truly a blessing for me and I’m sure to our De Mazenod guests. At the end of the day we were all exhausted physically, but mentally and spiritually we were completely lifted.
Every once in a while we all need a lesson on perspective. To be able to view the world through someone else’s eyes, I’ve learned, is important for growth and for understanding. I am beyond grateful to the Bonitatibus family for their hard work and dedication that day. I feel rejuvenated as my perspective has been changed for the better to continue to do my job with a light heart and a smile on my face. Thank you to Brayden, Tyler and Brooke. I look forward to working with you again soon!!
