Every spring and fall, Youth Equipped to Serve (YES), a ministry of FOCUS North America, helps coordinate day trips so that youth and young adults can be exposed to and engage with poverty in their communities. One of these trips just concluded in Kansas City.

Following a thorough orientation, the team led by Sophia Loizos began their service by going to the River Market and doing a Poverty Simulation. The exercise allowed the group to embrace scenarios that were given to them of families experiencing different types of poverty.

The group was also asked to find lunch with just four dollars, transportation for the week, food for the week, and housing for the week.

Participants ended the day with a scavenger hunt at the Plaza. The scavenger hunt was a great way to make new connections with people in the city. Team members gave out friendly notes and used five dollars they had been given to find an opportunity to bless someone in need.

Of the experience Ms. Loizos reflected, “We learned that serving others is not an easy process, and while we were received with open arms by some, we met rejection with others. So many of the participants were willing to step into their discomfort, experience a different reality, and work together as a team.”