Sometimes ministry happens
when you plan and organize, but sometimes the best ministry happens
when you don’t expect it. That’s what happened today. Rebecca and I
were sent into Auckland on the train to do ministry. Armed with a few
extra dollars and sidewalk, we prepared to take the city by love.
Our
first stop was lunch. As we walked the busy streets and approached a
McDonald’s, we saw a man outside, sitting on the street, holding a sign
proclaiming his hunger. We looked at each other and knew we had found
our ministry. We bought our lunches as well as an extra meal for the
man. Then we walked outside and asked him if he had yet. He said no, so
we gave him the lunch and asked if we could join him. His face lit up
when he said yes, of course. We figured a lot of people passed by and
dropped some coins, or some snacks, but how many actually stopped to
talk. So we did. His name was Paul, and he had been living on the
streets of Auckland for a few years now. After a few unfortunate
incidents involving robbery and abandonment, he was left with few
options but a life on the streets. He said it wasn’t too bad until the
police made him move. Despite his condition, Paul was pretty upbeat,
asking tons of questions about us, what we thought of New Zealand and
what we were doing. It was a great opportunity to share what we’ve been
doing these last few weeks. As we were talking, Paul’s friend Vickie
came up. She has been living on the streets for 18+ years after a
beating left her mentally challenged and alone. It was obvious that
Vickie and Paul had formed their own kind of homeless community. It
showed us how everyone craves community. We were later joined by their
friend Steve, who used to live on the streets, but now has a home, but
is still sympathetic to the homeless. He was quite friendly also. So
here we sat, 3 homeless Kiwis and 2 Americans just talking about life.
Who could plan this kind of ministry??
After leaving our street
friends, we decided to visit the University of Auckland. We found a
spot outside of their campus bookstore and began “chalking” truth and
promises of God’s love. We tried to make it as bright and cheery as
possible, and we ended up covering up a pretty big area. No one really
approached us as we were doing it, although I did notice some strange
looks from passer-bys. But we believe that even if a tiny seed was
planted through those messages, then it was worth it.
So at
the end of the day, it was pretty awesome to see God’s hand all over
our day. He had orchestrated ministry and meetings we never could have
planned. We hope to go back in the city and see Paul, Vickie or Steve,
as they regularly hang out around the McDonald’s. I’m loving this kind
of ministry!
