Hike for the Homeless

For the month of October, our church has been focused on "Servolution", i.e. serving others, whether that be by love, time, gifts, etc.

A couple of weeks ago, Layla and I had the opportunity to attend the Hike for the Homeless benefitting Safe Haven Family Shelter. Safe Haven is the only "family" shelter in the Nashville area for families with children, and provides shelter, counseling, and transitional services to 11 families a year.

The day of the hike was BEAUTIFUL. I had decided last minute to let Layla tag along and I am so glad I did. Not only were there TONS of fun things to do for kids, but it was an awesome opportunity for Layla to learn about different ways to serve others and talk about humility, hope, and adversity.



She and I had the best time together. We hiked for three miles together, (well... I carried her for two half mile sections! ha) and she carried her hiking "passport" they provided to search for particular items on the trail: berries on a tree, birds singing, a post marked #23, acorns, a tree with orange/brown/yellow leaves, etc.

*Hitching a ride...


After the hike, she got to make a Safe Haven visor, paint a pumpkin, climb a rock wall, get her face painted/hair glittered... We had (free) lunch and sat on blankets they provided to eat while we listened to live music. It was a very organized event! I was very impressed with both the number of people attending, as well as the amount of work Safe Haven volunteers put into it.



We plan to get more involved with Safe Haven (hopefully making it an outreach project for the church next month!, and will DEFINITELY attend next year with our whole family!!