So, I mentioned Home of Hope (the place that takes in the homeless and cares for them) in my last blog and told you I’d tell you more details and this is it.
We’ve all seen the commercials and heard the stories of the poor, the homeless, the orphans, and so on. Our heartstrings get tugged and we feel bad and wish we could do something, right? Step into this world at the House of Hope.
It’s very different when you’re standing in front of the hopeless, homeless women lying on the floor staring at you hesitantly. There’s no common language you share to even attempt at a conversation. Hand signals might serve you think.
So, you stop. You wave and smile and wait. She smiles back. So, you walk over to her and sit down next to her. Neither of you speak the same language, so conversation is moot. You smile always and tell her how beautiful she is, she smiles too. She grabs your hands, your arms, and marvels at you. You marvel at her too. She’s dirty from sitting on the floor, but she’s beautiful under it all with the darkest brown skin you’ve ever seen.
No conversation is had, just a shared presence. You hug and hold hands. That’s enough. There was a hunger there and you see it’s slowly being met by you just holding her. She speaks aloud, sometimes to herself and sometimes to you, but smiles even when there’s no answer. You want to remember the moment and want her to see how beautiful she is, so you pull out a camera. She doesn’t notice at first, but once you take the picture and show her, she smiles more brightly. So you take more.
There are other women around and they want pictures too, so we take even more pictures. There’s smiles and laughter everywhere. Someone is always smiling at you or holding your hand or hugging you or kissing your face. You smile and hug back. You know they need it. You pray constantly for them. It’s so overwhelming.
They’re beautiful and you hunger for them to know they are loved, worthy, and beautiful in the eyes of their Father. You hunger for them to know how beloved they are by their Creator. You break with the overwhelming desire for them to know the love of Jesus. You pray. You speak it aloud even though you know they don’t understand.
It’s time to go. The goodbye hugs and kisses and handshakes seem to never end since there are so many women there, but it does. Too soon for you. You wish you could stay, but instead you leave. You pray harder. He’s opened your eyes more and there’s been another shift in your heart. You praise Him for His goodness and lift your sisters up to Him. It’s time to go to the Home of Hope for orphans…
You’ll hear more next time. Sorry for the long waits! Wifi is poor and scarce here. Stay tuned!
