Sleepy Eyes No More

After being at STN for one week my eyes are being opened to how good I have it in my little world and how great the needs are here. STN is located right in the heart of Wahiawa on Ohai Street, formerly known as "Blood Alley" for it's hardcore gang fights and heavy drug culture. Over the last two years, the area has been significantly improving. Just before I got here, STN was able to buy the porn shop next door, shut it down, and is now in the process of redeeming it to be used as the new food pantry and office space. Gun shots may no longer ring out in the night, but there is still much work to be done...Today we (interns) broke into teams and walked around Wahiawa to get to know the area and better understand the local needs. I saw shoes strung on power lines above our heads and learned that they signal where drugs are sold. Abandoned homes sit between cute, well-kept houses and prostitutes hang out in a beautiful park nearby where families also gather to enjoy the outdoors. Soldiers from the nearby base fill McDonald's at lunch time while a homeless man wearing rags sits across the street by the corner bus stop. Local women wait for the food pantry to open as tourists flood Maui Mike's restaurant across the street...I find myself in this scene and realize that it is so easy to focus on the good food available to me at any time, beautiful scenery a short walk away, amazing friends that I have here and at home, and the overall prosperity that I enjoy while people are hurting right around me. I am faced with the choice to close my eyes and "go back to sleep" or wake up and reach out. It is a daily choice to see, care, and act.