Last Saturday, I was able to experience Feed 500 for the first time. Although I have participated in other homeless outreaches before, the past experience was unlike any other. To me, that’s the beauty of serving through outreach—being able to serve and share God’s love, yet have a completely different experience each time. Every person who is encountered has a different story and background from which they come from…
“Listening to their stories and sharing your own is how the barriers between us are broken and our humanity restored. We are not there just to give money and the homeless and needy are not just there to take it. They are people with names and stories and so are we and we are there to share and serve.”
Bernice was sitting near Grand Central Terminal with her plastic cup and her heavy heart. As I was talking with her, she opened up my eyes to the struggles she faced on a daily basis. Along with no home to live in and no food to nourish her body, Bernice suffered from asthma, high cholesterol and diabetes. She also shared about the abuse she endured from her family and even from strangers within the homeless shelters. Throughout our conversation, she kept wishing and hoping that “God would call her home soon” so that she wouldn’t have to continue the life she was living. Although I can never fathom the amount of hardship and pain the homeless face, for that one day and that one hour of conversation with Bernice, I was able to empathize and step into the world of those who are suffering on a day-to-day basis because of their homelessness.
Upon ending the conversation with Bernice, I asked her if I could pray for her. After our prayer, we opened our eyes to see a man standing in front of us. He shared that he was going through a difficult period in his life and asked if we could all pray together for him and his sister who was dying and suffering from her alcoholism. To my surprise, after this prayer, we opened our eyes to see another lady standing in front of us. Although she wasn’t homeless anymore, she shared that she struggled from homeless for ten years and was recently cured from an incurable disease that she was suffering during that time. She told me that she was encouraged after seeing us pray and wanted to pray with us as well.
My heart was deeply moved by each of these stories, the backgrounds that each person carried and the relationships that were built through Him. I know that God brought us all together. I know that He had a purpose for the conversations and the encounters last Saturday. Through Feed 500, I was reminded of His sovereignty, His grace and His unfailing love.
“We can do no great things, only little things with great love.” We may not be able to feed each and every single person within our area struggling from homelessness, but we can show God’s love and grace to those we encounter. I hope and pray that whether it is through Feed 500 or through our own daily experiences, we can be more like Jesus and have the courage to show compassion to those who need it.
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