Student Testimonials - #1
Bread of Life (BOL) is a weekly KCI-facilitated initiative at Alameda Park. Every Thursday evening, dozens of students from Westmont College spend time at the park simply to meet and converse with what we call “our friends without homes.”
Question: How has Bread of Life impacted your faith, or the way you follow Jesus?
“I have learned so much about listening, really listening to people. Being curious and being a part of the community like Jesus was. I realized that following Jesus means living like he did, not just believing the things he teaches. Being at the park is one way that I get to be a part of the redemption of Santa Barbara. Through the relationships I’ve built at the park, people feel seen and known and loved. Both me and my friends at the park. I no longer think of going to the park as volunteering. I am just a person doing person things.”
“Getting to connect with folks in the park was very invigorating for my faith; Jesus said that he would be among the people on the margins, and I have found that to be very true. Getting to hear people’s stories has been heartbreaking at times, but I have also learned a lot from them, and I admire their resilience deeply. It has made me reassess my pride and greed by creating relationships that mean more to me than my comfort.”
“I have gained so many great stories and friendships. I know that might sound super cheesy, but Thursday nights provided me with a lot of my favorite relationships I gained in my first year of college. I think I see now that Jesus did not hang out with people on the margins because he saw it as charity. I think he spent time with these people because he saw they had something so unique to offer.”
“There have been times at Bread of Life where I have looked around in awe at what is taking place there. The relationships formed at the park are a miracle. They’re the kingdom of God-where there is no class divide, no housed and unhoused, just people, being together. I see Jesus in my friends experiencing homelessness, and I see Jesus in the small interactions I have with them.”
“BOL has impacted my faith in more ways than I can count. It has profoundly changed my view on what the kingdom of God is, and I have come to understand why I always feel so at home at the park—it is because it’s where Jesus is. And not like Jesus isn’t everywhere, but when he was on earth, these are the people he spent time with. I have come to understand that by going to the park, it is really Jesus going, and I am just tagging along. BOL has helped me see that my calling is to combine my interest in government and policy-making with my love for spending time with people experiencing homelessness and that that could actually be what my career is. I just am so grateful for BOL, for what has been my favorite part of the week every week, for the place I see Jesus most clearly.”
“I was able to see how God was working in the lives of people on the margins. It was encouraging to see how strong their faith was even in the most difficult of circumstances, and that opened my eyes to what faith can do in people.”
“BOL has given me a new perspective on spreading the Kingdom of God and Jesus’ message. I had never felt called to missions or traveling really far to spread the word, but I felt like that was the only way to bring the kingdom here or to make Jesus known. I feel like I have much more of a purpose now that I have been to BOL and really taken it to heart, I know that I have an active role in bringing God’s love to the park and to those that need it most.”