As the days become shorter, so does that red line on the thermometer every Saturday at 8:30 in the morning.  Saturday we were met with cold and a drizzling rain that may have started to freeze, but got everything wet nonetheless.  We only brought trash bags and gloves this week (along with the usual pastries and such) so we were planning on focusing mostly on the garbage.  It seems that the garbage has been our biggest priority up on the railroad tracks, being it the most obvious problem; but it seems that with every week it has become harder and harder to find big pieces to pick up, leaving us to tediously sift through glass shards and, well, more glass shards. 
           Instead of going right to work, however, we talked with about seven or eight of the guys (and a gal) who were on the tracks just drinking and enjoying the wonderful weather (uhuh, right).  Community is one of the things we are all about here at Olive Branch, so being introduced to and in conversation with so many of the neighbors was awesome!  The more we spend time in our "neighborhood", the more we all come together into a community and the more we know, on a personal level, how best to love. 
        We did eventually clean, but found ourselves later that morning in a big huddle with some of us intoxicated and some of us clean.  When our friends on the tracks are drunk, there's a totally different dynamic to the conversations.  Some of the guys we were able to have normal talk with, while others seem to simply be in the 'deep end'.  Alcohol is a big issue to us at OBC because we see how damaging its effects can be.  It makes us wrestle through the questions of how and why something good, tasteful, and enjoyable can also be used for all the wrong reasons.  It is also a burning example of what we see ourselves as: humans who have found there is a better, more real way to live, and who want to bring that realization to the rest of creation.
         Something that really has me excited is the amount of things people have been giving to us.  Olive Branch was recently given a number of cosmetic bags (filled with towel, toothbrush, soap, etc.) and a load of clean, brand new socks for the people in our community who may need them.  These kinds of materials are great because they bring beauty and humanity back into the lives of people who may believe they have lost it.  As humans, we were made to be and enjoy being unique individuals; as Jesus-followers who enjoy seeing broken things fixed and lost things found, giving back a bit of individuality is as satisfying as it is our responsibility.  Already we have seen some of the faces of those who's lives are being redeemed, and that is a beautiful thing!
          Next Saturday OBC will be back on the tracks and we are going to attempt a laundry day.  It's going to be great to have some fresh clothes!

-Aaron