The day after we arrived in Dublin we met with our ministry contacts for
the first time. For the month my team was partnering with Dublin Christian
Missions at the Lighthouse to reach out to the homeless population in the city.
The Lighthouse is a soup kitchen open at night for the homeless to get a fee
meal and clothes if needed. It is a place where these people are not only
noticed, but preferred. It is a place where they are assured that the Lord has
not forgotten them.
I only had to hear a few stories the first night to be
completely broken for these people. One man’s entire family is in another
country which he can no longer return to for legal reasons. Oh and his wife is
pregnant with his first and only child. So he feels helpless and alone. Another
guy is addicted to heroine which is draining all of his income, keeping him
without a roof above his head. I met his best friend at this time as well who
professed he was an alcoholic. I asked him if he enjoyed waking up sick each
morning as a consequence of his addiction and he said that was only a minor
flaw of his current lifestyle. He was content being a drunk. I found out that
these men either had issues I could not fix or absolutely no interest in
receiving help. As I looked at their helplessness, I felt helpless myself. I
wanted to change these people’s lives through my own strength, but I had to
realize once again that it is Christ that they need, not Matt.
After everyone had finished their meal on the first night I
got to share a message of hope to the whole group. I preached out of Colossians
and shared with them Christ’s story of reconciliation for their lives. I shared
the gospel with them because that was the best thing I had to offer as a remedy
to their helpless situations. Did I see much fruit that night? No. But I was
able to leave knowing they were aware of where their hope lies. That was a solid foundation to build off of
in the weeks to come.
