One of our groups was completing an activity called the "city survey." It is another tool the organization with whom we partner uses to help teams understand the complex dynamics involved in the homeless epidemic in DC. We were asking various people in and around Union Station to talk about their thoughts on homelessness and how it affects their daily lives. One of our assignments was to talk to a street vendor. We stopped a man selling newspapers and asked him his opinion on the homeless and how it affected his daily life.
At first the man did not want to talk but soon he stammered out the words, "I am homeless." Our group was shocked. We thought that because he was employed that he would not be homeless. However, he described to us the plight of the "working poor" in America. He shattered many of our stereotypes and caricatures of the homeless. He was hard working and well spoken. It seemed so out of place for him to live on the streets at night.
We learned two important lessons from our friend Tony. The first lesson was that you never really know what is going on in some one's life until you engage in relationship with them. We could have walked by Tony and never thought twice about who he was or what he might be struggling to deal with in his life. However, our team took the time to stop and engage him on a personal level. Tony's response of opening up to us confirmed in our minds the deep need people have for relationships of mutual support. We have been privileged to pursue those types of relationships all week.
The second lesson we learned from Tony is that we don't find God on mission trips, God finds us through men like Tony. Of all the street vendors we could have picked to complete our exercise, we picked the one man who was actually homeless. There is no doubt in my mind that God went before us and intentionally put Tony in our path in order to teach us more about Himself and how He is always at work in the world around us.
This relates to our Porch Time theme for tonight. We once again sat on the steps of a beautiful church (The National Shrine Catholic Church) and talked about where we saw Jesus, worshiped Him and opened His Word together. The idea that we landed on was that we did not find God in DC, but rather God found us through the people we served here in DC. We asked every student how God found them and how they hoped being found in DC would impact their life back home.
You can expect some of your kids to return home with lots of thoughts, questions and hopefully changed attitudes toward the world around them.
To God be the glory. Great things He hath done in our midst this week. Thank you for for partnership in prayer while we have been away.
We are expecting to return to the Chapel around 2pm. Please call the hotline tomorrow for regular updates on our progress toward Williamsburg, 880-6429. We will be stopping for lunch in Richmond to eat and continue processing what God has done in our hearts here in DC. We are excited to see you all tomorrow.
