Taco Tuesday & Tears (Arching the Gap)

By:  Cassandra & Siena

I awoke to way more accommodating Missouri temperatures and a new curiosity for what the day would hold. After walking to the Kingdom House and learning that we'd primarily be working with children that day, I grew increasingly thankful for our previous day's coffee investment. I was fortunate enough to be assigned the room which housed children who were less than 1 years old, and knew that my morning would be filled with consistent cries and blissful innocence. By lunch time, when we finally left napping children, we were feeling more energized and in touch with the stress-free and childlike versions of ourselves.

You find some strange stuff when you help nonprofits organize their storage... #RUABoutservice #ArchTheGap

Soon after lunch, we all came together for our first official group discussion, the topic; the ever present and daunting Racism: Power & Prejudice. Approaching the conversation gingerly at first, we soon realized that the discussion of racism had evoked the memories of our unique and individual experiences. Ultimately, we came to the conclusion that sharing the instances where any one of us experienced oppression or were able to exercise privilege actually brought us closer together. The experiences we've shared far outweighed those that made us different.

Nothing like a little neighborhood clean up. #RUABoutservice #ArchTheGap

We managed to cool down from such intense discussion while making our way around the community, clearing it of any randomly left garbage along the lawns of the residences and grass within the park. As we walked through the swings in the midst of the sunset, a universal reflective mentality rested among us, knowing that our impact on this community was beginning to take form.