The touch:
Australia
was probably the first time I intentionally talked to a homeless man. On the outside, raggedy and smelly,
no tourist would ever care to say hi.
But we were different. We were the “World Race.� We were on a constant search to
challenge and better ourselves to be more like Jesus.
It was the first touch that led us
to sleeping on the streets because we needed to understand more.
The nights:
Both nights
were planned, only one planned to be with zero sleep. You see, we put on these
crazy 24-hour prayer events every week in the park. We pledged to fast sleep
and we pledged to pray and we pledged that God could use us however he wanted.
The first Wednesday at the park, my team was in lead and it seemed as if the
entire town was awake, ready to fire twirl or join a dance party. We had great
conversations and difficult conversations. We had atheists, Muslims, and Universalists.
The second Wednesday in the park, Jedediah and I joined another team for the
same event. This time it was quiet save one man who broke the silence over and
over again by asking for a “light.” When I asked his name and
repeated “nice to meet you Fred”, he quickly took a step back and
yelled “you don’t know me!!” He was paranoid and drunk and very, very
scarred. (read more about Fred here).
The effect:
Those nights
changed forever how I thought about the homeless. One new factor was sleep.
The second night at the park (the one when I met Fred) I was going to allow
myself to sleep if I wanted and if I found time. But even though the moon was
shining away, there was no sleep to be found.
Where do I go?
How do I get comfortable enough to fall asleep?
It’s rainy and cold.
So many factors, little hopes for sleep.
I curled up in a tree nook and tried. I failed. “I should have brought a
blanket…”
If anything that night I learned that past the dirt, the smell, the alcohol and
probably insomnia, there’s a person inside who is just really tired.
Currently I am working in the Recruiting Department at Adventures in Missions. If you would like to support me or the work we do around the world please click here.
