Tour

The other day I gave a tour of the Community of Hope and the other agencies on campus. 18 middle school kids gathered wide-eyed into our resource room. I said a little bit about what we do and then gave the floor to 3 of my homeless clients to talk about their lives.

I had forgotten that I work with such a “scary” population. The kids were clearly nervous at first, seeing these three unkempt guys sitting there watching them. These people I work with no longer seem out of the norm to me. They are more than just homeless people to me but people I care about. It’s crazy to think that just a few months ago I would have been right there with most people in pretending to not see a homeless person or trying to keep my distance.

It was fascinating listening to them talk about how they became homeless and where they had slept the night before and I think some of the kids really took it to heart. I believe some of them were shocked that there were homeless people in their own town. The 3 guys started talking about how it's now illegal to be along side of the road with cardboard signs. A girl spoke up, you could hear the anger in her voice, "That's ridiculous, how is that possibly considered a crime?". She then went on the explain that her mother had held signs as a child in a family of 7 to try to get by.

Red (His nickname from his red beard, which I can only hope to be able to imitate someday) told us a lot about his searching for campsites and what the road is like. “I ain’t gonna lie, there are sometimes when it’s a lot of fun, it’s like, wooyeah.”; He grinned at the kids, “But most of the time it isn’t, you don’t want this kind of life.”


All three of the homeless speakers told about how lonely it is, sleeping out in the desert at night.

The tour was a lot of fun and the kids had fantastic questions. “Why don’t you move in with your family?” was one that stood out for me.

Things I've Discovered

Everything in the desert is prickly. Be cautious before grabbing a hold of anything. For example, I am still pulling out slivers of tumbleweed from my hand from earlier in the day.

The smell of roasting chili peppers on a cold bike ride home from work is one of the most amazing smells I have ever had the fortune to inhale.


It gets cold in the desert, very cold at night.

People really believe that Iowa does not have trees, like a single one.

Homeless people have a great sense of humor. When one of our clients described what he did in the Las Cruces Sun News he said his profession was that of a "cardboard technician and coin collector"

Vegetarian food isn't bad. Also it's harder to mess up while cooking it. I can cook, but I leave the kitchen in a disastrous state.

Getting caught up in the lyrics of the newest Curren$y album can lead to bicycle crashes.

As for the four tenants of the BSC: Simplicity, Spirituality, Community, and Social Justice:

Simplicity is something I'm slowly getting better at. A limited budget helps but the desire to spend money on something I don't need or to be entertained is still there. Yet more and more I'm finding I prefer a good book to some mindless hours on Hulu and Facebook.

Spirituality is where I struggle the most. I really want to believe what I do. I haven't caught that passion that I see in some people though. Not that fake passion of people using religion to show off; but that passion of those who deeply love strangers and want to make the world a better place.

Community; I thought this would be the hardest one. I love being around people but the time I need to recharge is significant. It's been great being around such wonderful people in the Border Servant Corps and at work and it makes living in community that much easier.

Social Justice: Everyday I find out a little more. I discover the policies and the systemic problems that are forcing my clients into homelessness and keeping them there. Most of these people are not lazy people, they are wonderful people with stories to tell. They are smart people who could go far if given the chance.

Homeless people don't need your pity; they need your love and understanding.
They need more than just your donations (though greatly appreciated) they need you to take a step back and start searching for the root of the problem that creates poverty in our society.

That's all for now! I'll leave you with a photo that I've taken of one of my clients. Peace.

The Irresistible Revolution

While I've been down here I've had a great chance to read more than I ever have before. I admit, videogames were the main distraction. What better way to kill time than X-Box? But I think another reason for my renewed passion in reading is that I have time for it. Gone (for now) are the dry textbooks and APA styled papers.

The book I'm currently reading is "The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical" by Shane Claiborne. In this book Shane trys to live his life as closely to the teachings of Jesus as possible. It's a fascinating book and regardless of your religious beliefs a good read. Shane lives with the poor, the homeless, those that have been cast aside by society.



This book was loaned to me by my great friend Kipp, about a month before I had considered volunteering as an option for what to do my first year of college. I can confidently say this book was a first stepping stone towards where I am now.

Are the ideas radical? Yeah, but they are beautiful and the author's story is a great example of someone just simply loving others.

I'll leave you with some quotes that I've found really powerful from the book:

"Most good things have been said far too many times and just need to be lived."

"And I think that's what our world is desperately in need of - lovers, people who are building deep, genuine relationships with fellow strugglers along the way, and who actually know the faces of the people behind the issues they are concerned about."

"How ironic is it to see a bumper sticker that says 'Jesus is the answer' next to a bumper sticker supporting the war in Iraq, as if to says 'Jesus is the answer - but not in the real world."

"Christianity is at its best when it is peculiar, marginalized, suffering, and it is at its worst when it is popular, credible, triumphal, and powerful."

and my favorite:

"All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip, or dance, just don't tiptoe."

Update (Finally)

So I'm sure most of you are wondering why I fell of the face of the planet. Things have been great here in Las Cruces but very busy at the same time. I've been lucky to have seen a lot of areas already thanks to a few roommates that have been here for a year already.

Orientation week was a lot of fun. It was a great chance to get to know my roommates and the people in the El Paso house. What has stood out most from that week is our time in El Paso. It was fascinating to be able to get a feel for the border. You've seen in a previous (though very brief) post that we were able to visit the border fence and talk with a border patrol agent.

The first week of work was an interesting experience, with its fair share of ups and downs. For those of you who I haven't been kept in the loop I work at a place called the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope. MVCH is a homeless day shelter on a campus of buildings that provide other services to the homeless or near homeless such as a soup kitchen (which I eat lunch at daily), a day care for children, an emergency food bank, and other services. Every one I work with has been very kind and helpful to me though I admit there have been many times where I feel very overwhelmed. My job description is one of many tasks and is very up to me to shape what I want to do with it. The community garden is a very big focus for me so far. Recently our gardener left so I'm trying to figure out how to keep the garden running smoothly and recruiting volunteers to work in it in exchange for the fresh produce the garden supplies.




Another task of mine is recruiting and interviewing volunteers for the agency. Many have been New Mexico State University students who need the volunteer hours and some need it for an internship. It's been weird being the one giving the interviews and not being the one interviewed.

The part of my job I have found most rewarding so far at MVCH is getting to know and work with the homeless clients we have. I have helped several people fill out job applications online and I weekly post a job board of places that are hiring. One day after a heavy rainstorm I was able to hand a few clients some dry clothing from the donation room. It's incredibly rewarding to be working face to face helping people in that way.

The clients are so interesting and fun to work with. Most have been very appreciative of the services we provide and are excited to get to know me and help me out as I start my year long service. I occasionally work at the front desk signing people in and checking out lockers though that hasn't been as often as I would like since we have so many volunteers coming in and that is where we often place them.

After the first week of all of us at work the BSC group went on a retreat to Silver City, NM. We stayed in this large old covenant house and spent most of the weekend hearing about our experiences as we began our jobs. The Las Cruces house cooked the first two meals of the weekend and the El Paso house the second two. Hearing that everyone was as overwhelmed as I was was very refreshing.

I've had lots of fun in the BSC! Since I've been down here I've been swimming in the Rio Grande, hosted German couch surfers, and spent some time at White Sands, which is absolutely beautiful!

There's much more to tell but I think this is where I will leave off for now.

Travis HP

P.S.- Send recipes for vegetarian dishes! Many of my roommates are vegetarians so I need to learn this new style of cooking!

Orientation in El Paso

So yesterday the Las Cruces house went down to El Paso to see what the El Paso groups worksites are like. That morning we went and visited the border fence and spoke with a border patrol agent. It was a pretty interesting experience.

The Tickets...

...are purchased! I leave Des Moines, Iowa at 6:20am and will arrive in El Paso, Texas at around 5:20 where I'll be picked up and driven to Las Cruces, New Mexico. Happily on my flight I have a 4 hour layover in Houston so hopefully I'll be able to see my amazing friend Megan! I also have a layover in Phoenix for a couple hours.

No, I don't mind so much plane switching, airplanes still excite me! Cross your fingers in hopes that I get a window seat!

The Preparation.

I guess I should start at the beginning for those that are a little bit out of the loop.

A few months ago a friend of mine, Ryan Hawkins, suggested that I would be a good fit for a service job that he had done a few years ago. The organization is called Border Servants Corps and is run out of Las Cruces, New Mexico. So I applied for the job online and did a few phone interviews and got it!



What will I be doing? Well I still have yet to start the job to learn some more of the details of what exactly I will be doing from day to day but I will be working with homeless people trying to help them get back on their feet and make their lives a little more pleasant. The Community of Hope in Las Cruces, New Mexico is that job site I'll be working at and I'll be living within biking distance.

I'll be living in a house with others doing the same things as me but at potentially different job sites based on our skills.

I'm taking a summer Spanish class at DMACC hoping to relearn some of that Spanish I accumulated in high school. Being 45 minutes from the border with Mexico I think at the very least I should know some basic phrases.

Now the trick is trying to figure out how to fit all the necessities I need for a year into a couple suitcases. As much as I try not to be I can be materialistic, I look forward to lessons in simplicity. Lesson one: Packing light.

I apologize if this is a bit of a rough read, I need to polish up on my blogging skills!