A New Way to Live
The plan for the week after our Not For Sale conference was loose to say the least. It was a matter or hours before we needed to leave the conference and we still had no place for all 100 of us to stay. The leaders were planning to let us know we had to cancel our week in Hamburg in a few minutes. Just then word came in that there was a catholic church nearby willing to put all of us up for the next week. The best part was, it was across the street.
The leaders let us know and there was a ton of cheering and excitement. We all then grabbed our stuff and took the short walk across the street, into the side door of a Philippine Catholic church. News was so fresh for the church that there was the choir still practicing as we walked into our sleeping quarters.
Our living quarters for the next week resembled a refugee camp of sorts. It was one giant room with a hard tile floor. Harsh white light from the florescent bulbs gave a bleak atmosphere. Piled tables and chairs loosely separated the men’s section from the women’s. There was quickly a “no changing outside the bathrooms” rule put into place.
The bathrooms were the most difficult part of living there for most people. There was a small room with two toilets and two sinks. We all knew we were not going to be taking a shower that week. The guys had it easy as there were less of us, and for the most part we cared less. Women on the other hand had a hard time coping, there were people getting up in the middle of the night, just so they could have time washing their hair in the sink.
Over the week this place became home though. There was a great sense of community that was developed as we all lived in such close quarters. We were lined up sleeping bag next to sleeping bag, but I learned how to have my alone time even when around so many people. Each night stories came back from all over the city of art and God’s work. When I would walk down the stairs I would see unfamiliar faces and friends brought back from other groups of students.
The church basement was not perfect, but it was unique and had personality. Community was grown, we all made sacrifices and people were meeting people where they were at.
