Mission Possible - Day 1 and 2

Mission Possible - our week-long local mission camp - kicked off yesterday with a day of teambuilding activities and an exploration of what it means to serve others in our local community.
For Tuesday's morning mission, our group of 15 missioners, 3 junior leaders, and several adult chaperones journeyed to the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, DC to learn more about the organization that supplies our own St. Anne's food pantry with some goods and fresh produce. In addition to learning the ins and outs of the facility, we took part in a hunger simulation program, Face Hunger™, which raises awareness and understanding of hunger and its many causes. Each of our participants received a profile packet with information about the identity, income, and available resources of a person at risk of hunger. Through the simulation, participants walked in the shoes of a person in need of food and experienced real situations common to those at risk of hunger.

In the afternoon, we returned to St. Anne's to sort and bag the donated items in our own food pantry to prepare for Thursday's distribution. The group assembled more than 100 (!) bags with cereal, tomato sauce, pasta, canned vegetables and fruit, peanut butter, jelly, beans, rice, canned tuna, and some personal hygiene products.

Today's missions were two of three missions we will experience this week that will allow us to experience most of the process of our own food pantry: from food bank to St. Anne's to distribution to the customer.

Tomorrow's missions include tackling some invasive plant species in Reston's green spaces and leading summer activities at one of Reston's community centers. Check back tomorrow for more information!