I walked past an alley and heard a woman screaming at a man at the top of her lungs. It instantly caught my attention. However, I continued to walk a few more steps before I was told this is where we would be doing ministry.
I stepped through the broken down gate and was welcomed by several homeless men and women. I was caught off guard. People actually live here? I saw several children and women who were more timid than the men.
My team and another had come to this community to bring food and drinks. We continued to the end of the alley where we all stood around wondering what was going to happen next. It became very obvious that these people had little to nothing. The pastor leading our groups walked in and everyone became very excited to see him.
The people had nothing. Nasty piles of garbage filled an abandoned building to the ceiling. Two feet away from this was a mattress. Someone sleeps in this mess. This is real life for them.
Then the pastor began to lead a couple worship songs. The women and children who were so timid upon us arriving began to sing, clap, and sway back and forth. The grown men who had seemed rough around the edges, dirty, and harsh began to smile as they sang. How could they be okay with the way they were living?
Simple. The answer is God and someone who cared about them. The pastor here in Romania has been helping some of these people since they were 9 years old. People who are addicted to drugs, in and out of prison, prostitution, and the obvious, homeless. He simply cares for them because God does.
In that moment I realized following God isn’t about how many people we have in our services, who has the best worship or who is the most hip. Being a follower of God is about going out to the people in this world who need Him and need help.
As we surrounded this homeless community and began to pray the Holy Spirit fell upon this alley. I felt every pain and every struggle these people were going through. Am I able to fully understand their situation,? No, because I am blessed in America to never wonder where my next meal will come from or my next rent check but I felt their pain on an emotional level.
I prayed harder then I have in several months for these people. I prayed for God to deliver them from bondage, to lift them from their depression and submission, and show them how great God really is. I have no doubt that God will reveal himself to those people in His timing. I also know God used them in their brokenness to shift my focus back to Him.
I, myself, cannot help these people. I do not have the funds nor the adequate time to invest in them to grow relationships and show them love. So I did the best thing and the answer that solves every question. I lifted them up to the one who is able to. To the one who is able to break a drug addiction. To the one who is able to keep them out jail. To the one who can turn a prostitute’s heart as white as snow. To the one who can break any idea of depression and submission. To the one who can not only help them get a home, but build that home on the solid rock.
God will answer those prayers me and my fellow racers prayed over them. God will provide because He loves them as equally as He loves you and I.
