The last few days in Kansas were incredible! I felt like were we really connecting with the communities we were going through.  In Manhattan KS, we were hosted by MAPJ (Manhattan Alliance for Peace and Justice). They set up a pot luck and educational exchange for us with the community.  There was a large turnout for the event, considering we are in a fairly conservative area of the country.  We discussed everything about our ride from the logistics of a ride like, to the in depth politics of our theme.  We stayed in home stays, a few riders with each different member of MAPJ.  Elija and I stayed with Ana, a yoga teacher in Manhattan.  She was great; not only did we get to discuss our ride and MAPJ with her, but I was able to discuss the Yoga with her (which I haven’t been able to do for a while now!).  Our next and last town in Kansas was Lawrence, a typical college town.  Although we were not able to connect with any of the groups at the university like we were hoping, we were able to work for the Jubilee Cafe.  The Jubilee Cafe is a cafe that is set up in the basement of a church in downtown to feed the hungry.  However, it isn't your typical food kitchen; it is set up to serve the customers in the same manner a normal cafe would.  The server caters to the customer.  So we cooked the food, took orders from the customers, and brought out their food.  Once everyone was served, we were able to sit down and talk to everyone.  One customer, Larry, really made an impression on me.  He was an exceedingly kind man; he told me stories of his daily life on the street as well as the lives of his children.  I enjoyed talking with him, and experiencing his optimism and light.