Saturday for Halloween, my church, Warren Woods Church of the Nazarene, put together a "Love in Action" day, in which they provided several service areas that individuals/small groups/families could volunteer for a few hours. My small group decided we would do two things, one was easy: be a warming center (fire pit in the driveway) for trick-or-treaters at night, and since this really just required us to sit outside, hang out, laugh, and pass our candy we decided we could do something else during the day. My small group (which basically consists of all the single 20-somethings in the church, a grand total of 7 of us) and the college age group called "The Vine" went into downtown Detroit to partner with another church with the purpose of feeding the homeless.
*Side note - "Michiganders" have never heard of putting noodles in their chili! Found this out when Rachel (Kring) and I were making chili to contribute. That's insane!This was my first time ever doing something like this and one of many things that I learned and is really evident is that every single person that is living [on the streets] has a story.
Some were excited to talk to us while others just wanted to eat their food in silence & left alone.
One woman has 6 children and 16 grandchildren, she had 7 children but her one and only daughter died. A man named Bill told me he was starting a program that taught culinary classes in hopes that he could get a job.
We passed out small New Testament Bibles and some took the Bibles and threw them in their bag, willing to take anything that was free. Others, like Eric and Richard had different responses.
EricI learned a lot from Eric. He told us a little bit about how things go "on the streets." When someone new to the street is there, they try and figure out if they can be trusted. The people on the streets band together and have each others' backs. One thing inparticular that he said stuck with me; when I tried to hand Eric a NT Bible he shook his head and said, "No Thanks." I said, "Are you sure?" and his response was, "I have to get my life straightened out first" and he got up and left without another word, before we could tell him that it would help him achieve that goal. Another woman that was sitting with Sam, Rachel, and I when we were talking to Eric made a comment after he left saying, "I feel guilty knowing that when I leave here I have a nice warm place to go." I then started to get a little misty eyed because I realized how blessed I am to have never not had a place to go to, even here in Michigan, the Krings have willingly provided me a place to not only sleep, eat, and shower, but they have provided me a place that I can call home and feel like it is home, they've provided me the same love that I would get if I were home in Indiana. As I sit back and ponder on Eric's response "I have to get my life straightened out first" I wonder if someone in his past told him that his life had to be straightened out or that he wasn't worthy or good enough for Jesus, because well, lets be honest, if all of us waited until our lives were "straightened out" not a single one of us would accomplish it. Until Jesus has come in and chiseled away all the junk (which even if we are all "straightened out" we'd still have) and made us a new creation in him, we never will be "straightened out".
RichardRichard, a minature Hulk Hogan look-alike (blonde hair, blonde goatee, bandana), also made a significant impact on me. I think I started every conversation I have with "How are you doing [today]?" Rather than just getting a "fine" or "ok" Richard said, "I have a full belly and have gotten a little warmer, I have a meal for tonight, I'm good." I commented about how that was awesome and asked him if he had lived in the area his whole life and what not, but we didn't talk much about that because he seemed like he was ready to go, so I knew if I was going to give him a mini NT that I had better do it right then before he left. I asked him if he had been given one and he said, "It won't get opened or used, so you should keep it" I said, "That's ok, I've got several and you might change your mind" What he said next blew me away,
"No, I know it won't get opened. You see, Jesus is my Lord and Savior and I know He died for me and I know I need to live for Him, but right now I've just been living for myself. One day I'll get it right." I then asked if I could pray for him and he told me I could pray with him, which was a much better response than I thought I would get. I asked him if there was anything I could pray for specifically, and he told me about his daughter and her newborn son, he didn't even ask for prayer for anything for himself. I placed my hand on this Hulk Hogan look-alike's arm and simply prayed for his daughter, grandson, and thought "what do I have to lose!?" so I prayed for him and that he would be able to begin living for Jesus and not for himself, hoping he wouldn't be angry with me. After I said, "Amen" he open his eyes gave me the most sincere "Thank You" I've ever received and told me that the prayer was beautiful.
One thing I struggle with greatly is my lack of humility, great quantity of pride, and my unwillingness to admit my downfalls. Whether if I just want recognition for what I've done/am doing or I don't want to admit when I am wrong or admit when I need help and it's like I would rather make a fool of myself than ask for help. I would venture to say that most Christians "say" that we are living for Christ, or atleast convince ourselves that we are, and even when we know we aren't living fully for Christ we still say that we are (not all of us, but if I were a gambling woman, I'd probably bet on it). I'm not in any way saying that Richard is right by living for himself, but I think the first step to correcting the problem is knowing and admitting that we are wrong.
So this brought me to the questions I am now asking myself...
Who am I living for? TRULY living for? If I say I'm living for Jesus, is it true or am I just convincing myself that it is? When it is true and accurate could I admit I need help, prayer, and admit my downfall and say, "Jesus is my Lord and Savior and I know I need to live for Him, but I'm just living for myself right now."
I know...not the most flattering picture of me. haha. Beth made them sing to me and make me wear the sombrero at my birthday lunch at Don Pablo's. 
With Rachel & Skyman :)
Krings want me to be a "true Michigander" so they bought me a Michigan State sweatshirt and a Detroit Red Wings shirt. haha.
Sydney & Nolan helped me blow out my trick candles on the obnoxiously pink cake. They know how girly I am and how much I love pink. Yuck! haha
The wonderful group (minus a couple).
