Hi Diakonos,
So this week's outing was really interesting because I saw how God works to build relationships within the homeless community. Jenny, Kathryn and I first ran into Joe and Antonio, and the two of them were like best friends - joking around, punching each other playfully, sharing food..etc. But the smiles on their faces were so geniune it's like when they have each other life weighs a lot lighter on them. Afterwards we walked to the other side of the station and ran into Cherl (?) and this Spanish-speaking guy(I didnt catch his name though). Cherl couldn't speak Spanish at all but then the two of them would still have "conversations". The man would say something in Spanish and Cherl would nod and signal ok even though he didnt have the slightest idea what that guy had just said. For a while Jenny and I thought that they were actually communicating. I think these two men are just there to keep each other company.
I reflected upon that and I realized how important it must be to not just have acquaintance in the homeless community, but actual friends. No matter how hard we try, we can't possibly be there for the people 24/7 and sometimes we would even forget the names of the people we talked to. While we try to provide for them physically, it is hard for us to really take care of them emotionally (and spiritually). I think that God has blessed some of these men with real friendship so that these people can find identity and value through these relationships. Knowing how easily people can get bitter about their circumstances and thus lose trust in others, selfless or geninue friendship must be rare. But then seeing both relationships between Joe and Antonio and between Cherl and Spanish guy have been a blessing to me 'cause I saw God's mercy and provision.
So this week's outing was really interesting because I saw how God works to build relationships within the homeless community. Jenny, Kathryn and I first ran into Joe and Antonio, and the two of them were like best friends - joking around, punching each other playfully, sharing food..etc. But the smiles on their faces were so geniune it's like when they have each other life weighs a lot lighter on them. Afterwards we walked to the other side of the station and ran into Cherl (?) and this Spanish-speaking guy(I didnt catch his name though). Cherl couldn't speak Spanish at all but then the two of them would still have "conversations". The man would say something in Spanish and Cherl would nod and signal ok even though he didnt have the slightest idea what that guy had just said. For a while Jenny and I thought that they were actually communicating. I think these two men are just there to keep each other company.
I reflected upon that and I realized how important it must be to not just have acquaintance in the homeless community, but actual friends. No matter how hard we try, we can't possibly be there for the people 24/7 and sometimes we would even forget the names of the people we talked to. While we try to provide for them physically, it is hard for us to really take care of them emotionally (and spiritually). I think that God has blessed some of these men with real friendship so that these people can find identity and value through these relationships. Knowing how easily people can get bitter about their circumstances and thus lose trust in others, selfless or geninue friendship must be rare. But then seeing both relationships between Joe and Antonio and between Cherl and Spanish guy have been a blessing to me 'cause I saw God's mercy and provision.
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