This morning, since we did training last night, they let us have a little free time. So a bunch of us walked to Fremont, which is a little town over the bridge. We all got some coffee from some small little shops. It was super hot out, but it's very nice for a change. I got sun burnt today, so that's good (: The only other time I've gotten any sun was during the homeless simulation because we didn't really have a choice.
Today was our last day doing homeless ministry. My group, with our body guard Josh, went out with a lot of sack lunches, socks, and water bottles. We actually finished giving our stuff out pretty quick, but talked to a few great people. I was pretty proud of myself for going into the blue tree park today without running off scared. This park apparently has a lot of gangs that hang out there, and it was pretty evident. I was not comfortable with the thought at all, but I stayed. Usually when I decide I'm not comfortable, I flee as fast as I can, but I stayed and we finished out our conversations there. We talked to a few believers, one of which was an elderly woman named, Peggy. She was the sweetest thing ever. She shared the Footprints in the Sand poem with. I already knew it, but it was really great hearing it from her. The first guy some of my group talked to was a man named, Buddy. He was really sweet, and shed some tears while talking to us, but he was completely surrendered to God which was really cool to see. While we were walking about we found a man with his dog that was homeless. This man's name was, Richy. Him and his wife, and dog have been homeless for awhile. A really sad part about his story is that they have grown up kids, and kids in college, but the kids have no idea of their situation. Richy wouldn't tell us why, but I'm assuming he felt ashamed, and didn't want to put the burden on his children. We also got to try some amazing ice cream from an ice cream shop. While we were back at our spot waiting for the bus we talked to a few other people who were just hanging around that area. There was a guy there from Waseca, MN so that was crazy cool. There were also some more believers. They are always super appreciative of the work we're doing because people need to hear the gospel.
My favorite part of this day was watching one of our other groups explain to a guy how to accept Jesus into his heart. They ended up giving him a Bible as well. That kind of thing just makes my heart so happy. We've spent all week out in the streets trying to help those that are less fortunate, and if just one of them comes to know Jesus then it's all worth it. There are quite a few things I've learned this past week about the homeless: a lot of them are Christian, they are truly just like us but have gone down paths that led them to where they are, if we treat them like people they will share their life stories with us, I don't have to be afraid of them like I thought, they have a lot of wisdom if you're willing to listen, and it hurts no one to acknowledge them as you pass on by.
I'm just waiting on supper right now (super hungry). I think we are doing "women time" tonight, and that would obviously be just us spending time with all the girls without the boys. And tomorrow we get to be a tourist, so I'm SUPER excited for that. I'm excited to see the area outside of the homeless, and brokenness of the town. Maybe I'll see some awesome sights, get some good pictures, and maybe a few souvenirs.
Also a little side note, I've been celebrating the past day and a half that Alyssa Sandeen from the Mankato area has finally received her new heart that she had been waiting for, for 6 months. This girl's story has been close to my heart for a long while, and I'm incredibly happy for her. So far the surgery seems to have gone well! God is good!!
No comments:
Post a Comment