I am sad and chagrined to admit that it is not possible for me to function indefinitely on five hours of sleep per night. This from the person who deliberately choose to not spend the entire weekend in Harris County. The decision was made when the volunteering was done months ago, as I thought I would rather spend thirty minutes driving twice a day, and sleep in my own little nest each night.
I knew that sleeping in a big open room with a dozen other females would not be beneficial to my mental health. There was no doubt in my mind when I signed up for this little tour of duty that commuting was the only way to go. The people here on Lynch Road sleep in separate beds, in separate rooms, with two closed doors.There was no way to expect a restful night, in a room filled with other individuals who would be making a wide variety of noises in their sleep, to say nothing of bathroom doors banging closed, and toilet stall doors thumping shut all night long. And the reports I got from co-workers/fellow volunteers reinforced my feelings/thoughts of what a distressing night could be in the worst case scenario.
So I've been getting home at midnight for three nights, and getting up when the alarm would go off at 5:30, to be back on the job by 6:30, lighting the candles, setting the mood (sounds like more 'fun' that it really was - there was no romantic mood-setting involved), preparing for pilgrims to move along in their journey. Add to that one late night, and one early morning, trip to Wallyworld for supplies, and whole experience pretty much dissolves into a blur.
It is always a good experience, to be there, serving the needs of the pilgrims on the walk - realizing how many people devote their weekends, donate their time to make the event run so smoothly. I was thinking, which is risky. Wondering how many hours there are between Thursday afternoon at 3:00 p.m., and Sunday afternoon at 5:00, when most everyone has cleared out and headed home. You need to multiply that number by the number of volunteers who are there, doing necessary jobs behind the scenes to provide such a wonderful experience for the dozens of people who are on the Walk. Then you multiply that number by four, as the Valley group provides the Walk four times each year - spring and fall, one weekend for men, followed by another for women. Times 22, as the weekend that just ended was Walk #22, times two, as both men and women get the same # for their experience printed on their badges. So: who's done the math?
That's a lot of man-hours, donated to the Community. By members who lovingly provide the Emmaus experience. For hundreds and hundreds of pilgrims who are willing to separate themselves from family and friends for three days to grow in ways they never could have imagined. In talking to a minister/friend over the weekend, I am convinced we of the community continue to return on those set aside weekends to insure the ongoing success of these events in a 'pay it forward' sort of way. To silently, invisibly minister to those who will in return go out into the world with hearts on fire. And hopefully return in years to come, to be 'us': the hands and feet, who will provide the same sweet, life-changing experience for generations to come.
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