2021 Blog

A new view of gratitude

One of the responsibilities of driving our team’s support and gear van, affectionately referred to as SAG for short, is the task of finding meal donations for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 12 hungry girls. You can imagine the response our team hears on the other end of most of those calls where we kindly ask for 12 meals that we will pick up in a couple of hours where we will give them no monetary payment: “no.” And while a day in SAG can be draining because of the amount of rejections we are bound to face, the joy of one yes can completely turn around the day for the team and the SAG.

While our team left Newport and headed to Honeyman State Park in Oregon, my teammate, Rebekah, and I met one of the most generous individuals we have met on this trip. A woman named Nicci who owned a small business on the bay was more than happy to provide 12 chicken sandwiches, 12 BLT’s, water, and chips to our team. We expressed the typical thank you’s as we arrived to pick up the food, but her reaction left a lasting surprise on my heart. Nicci told us about how her family supported her in a time of need, when she was struggling to make ends meet. Instead of helping her with just one payment, her family helped her start the restaurant that donated to our team. “How could I turn you guys away when I was supported in my time of need? You aren’t even asking for money, you’re just asking for food.” I was floored by what she was telling me, about how generous her family was and how that generosity created a ripple effect to our team.

My hope is that the dozens of meals, campsites, hotels, and gas tanks that are donated by the individuals on this trip will show us what true generosity means. The generosity  shown on this trip has been infections and I hope it causes us to show kindness to our neighbor, no matter where they come from once we cross the finish line in San Diego. There was no hesitation on Nicci’s end as to whether or not she would donate and in the same way, I hope our team leaves this ride willing to serve others with the resources and abilities available in order to create better communities.

-Cara

July 12, 2024
by 
Chloe Aguilar

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