For lunch we again ate with the clients at the Sally-Ann, having conversations with some new friends.
After lunch we did a lot of walking and C-Training to to the MCC office where we were challenged to build a shelter with minimal supplies (four cinderblocks, some bricks, eight beams of wood, three tarps, a hammer, string, some tape, and a lot of nails), and fifteen minutes of time. It was a lesson in patience for all of us and we had to build with imagination. MCC material resource coodinator Linda asked us questions about what we would bring with us if we had to leave our home and wouldn't know if we were coming back.
After we packed relief kits for families of four, we went to their conference room for a presentation on MCC Alberta and HIV/AIDS. Abe Janzen and Kim Thiessen told us about the programs in Alberta and then we watched a compelling documentary on HIV/AIDS called "Living with Slim." This was the end of our information load for the week and it was an interesting note to end on. We highly recommend watching the documentary which is about seven children who have HIV/AIDS and how they are dealing with it. Abe said that it was on of the best documentaries on the subject he thought is out there.
Debriefing followed and we talked about our week and the CASA program. It was cool to see what everybody took away from the week and the different opinions on everyone had.
Supper took place at Dan's house, and we'd like to give a big thank you to Ric and Laurel for having us over and serving us the delicious food. We played lots of games and laughed enough to last us a year! The guys enjoyed playing golf on Wii and the girls played various card games.
Now we are back at Dalhousie hanging out and enjoying our last evening here. Later on we'll clean up and pack before bed. Tomorrow we set off for Saskatchewan, or according to Joel, "On the open road, runnin' back to Saskatoon!"
Dalhousie Community Church where we stayed.
Just one of the many things we learned about homelessness in Calgary this week.
The MCC Alberta building where we were this afternoon.
Jocelyn and Gwen filling out assessment forms for the CASA program which we participated all week.
Thanks so much for all your prayers and support on our adventure!
Signing out for the last time,
Judith, Gwen, and Sam
