Plagiarism

I have a friend who's going to the world's most prestigious journalism school. She's an incredible writer. I was going to write a story about an experience that we had along with Andrew "the stud" Feight but I thought that her words were better articulated then mine could ever be. I went to her blog to post a link from mine to hers, but she has redone hers and now no longer has it... So I'm going to post it up for everyone to read until hers gets reposted. Take to heart her openness and honesty:

Giving to the Hungry

So last night (technically the night before last night - Wednesday night) I attended a youth Bible Study with Vineyard Church. Turns out, Google deceived me; they are not a cult. Not that that's why I was going. We talked a little bit about feeding the hungry, about how God has called us to give to the needy. We would have right then and there, mind you, but we were quite busy enjoying our ice cream sundaes. But we would have, honestly. After the Bible Study was over, we (my boyfriend, Andrew, and our friend, Daniel) decided to go try it out. Can I just interrupt myself for one moment and say that it was the most rewarding thing I've done in a long time? Seriously, do it. But back to the story. We went to Taco Bell where we ate some of those crunchy-flat-taco-burrito things (I don't remember what they're called, just that the commercial says they're "good to go".) and ate them quickly while deciding where to go and what to do. We started by asking the lady behind the counter if she knew where any homeless people congregated at night, and she looked at us like we were sick. She probably thought that we wanted to start a hobo war and film it for YouTube. (Turns out people actually do that. Weird.) Anyway, with the entirety of the Taco Bell staff laughing at us, we purchase 5 tacos (the lady probably felt bad because she threw in some extras) and head on our way. We begin searching the streets for hungry-looking people, but it was harder than we thought; the first guy actually turned us down. Not too long after, we pull into a Home Depot parking lot (day laborers, right?) and Daniel began to pray. We couldn't find anyone there, so we make a U-Turn and by some miracle, or perhaps because it was nighttime and we were in a Home Depot parking lot, we find ourselves a guy that couldn't have been more than five years older than us. He was tall, skinny, and carrying what we couldn't decide was a beer or an energy drink. We gave him the benefit of the doubt and assumed the latter. We pull up next to him and ask him if he'd like a hot meal. With zero hesitation, he responds, "Hell yes, man, whatta you guys got goin on here?!" We laughed and got out of the car and handed him the tacos, which were luckily still warm. He told us that his name was Andrew and that we had just granted his Christmas wish. His Christmas wish?? Seriously? It's freaking January 10th, we were sixteen days late. You want to know what my Christmas wish was? A new iPod and Guitar Hero 3. That could have been 375 tacos. And I already had an iPod. What the hell, man. And it gets better. We go to another Taco Bell and purchase another half dozen tacos or so. We begin driving, and after about two miles, Daniel and I spot some bums literally digging pizza out of a dumpster. Perfect. We make the most ridiculous U-Turn resulting in my head hitting the window quite hard, and turn into the parking lot. Daniel and I grab a Bible and get out, hoping for the best, and hoping we weren't about to get killed. Or mugged. But you know what? They needed my material possessions more than I do. I live in Phoenix and I'm walking around with a scarf? What the hell was wrong with me, I should have given it to them then and there. We walk up to them mid-dumpster-dive and ask if they'd like a hot meal. The two men get up and smile at us as if they never had been shown charity without first asking for it. They introduce themselves to us as Daryl and Kevin. We asked them where they slept at night and they looked at each other hastily before answering. “We sleep under the overpass a few blocks south of here,” Daryl said. (Seriously? Well it’s a good thing I have two bedrooms.) Andrew got out of the car (probably not in hopes of talking to homeless guys, just to make sure Daniel and I were okay) and joined us after about five minutes. You know what? It didn’t even feel like charity. It felt like talking to really pleasant people at the grocery store. I can’t believe I’ve been told to give to the poor for the past eighteen years, and I just now did it. It was exhilarating. And even better? We’re meeting them Sunday morning and taking them to church. And that was their idea. How cool can God be if you let him? Seeeeriously. - E M Kunz

posted by Eleni at 5:37 AM on Jan 10, 2008