I was gently reminded by the Lord today that I have this
thing I like to call my ‘element’ that I tend to gravitate towards, whether or
not I want to recognize it as something official. I’m going to call it an “unofficial element”
because I don’t like to box myself in and claim that I’m only good at one
specific thing in life, plus, I often times find myself uncomfortable and
stretched in places like it because in some ways, God likes to put me on the
spot when I find myself in my “unofficial element.” And by now you’re probably curious as to what
my “unofficial element” is. I would be
glad to tell you.
Homeless people rock my face off.
That’s not the element, but it’s centered around those kinds
of people.
We were introduced to this amazing ministry here in
Nelspruit at this place called the Forum.
It’s a homeless ministry that feeds guys both physically and
spiritually. It reminds me a lot of a
ministry that I was a part of back home called Church on the Street. My faithful 50 blog readers might recognize
the name. Basically it’s a church that
rocks the city of Wichita to a new level of awesomeness. If you’re in the area, I’d encourage you to
check it out. If you’re in the Nelspruit
area, I suggest you check out the Forum at eight o’clock in the morning.
I met this guy today that I’ll call Henri. Honestly, I can’t remember if that was his
name because he took a liking to mumbling when I asked him questions… like his
name. Maybe he was trying to avoid being
discovered and having me rat-out his location to the CIA, I’m not sure, but he
seemed like a good guy and he told me he was a missionary. I’m not one hundred percent certain what a
missionary was doing at a homeless ministry-shelter-place, but I wonder the
same about myself at times. What the
heck was I doing there? I don’t know.
Apparently I was at a table drinking some funky tea and talking to
Henri.
He’s a certified mechanic and he took a lot of pride in that…
he reminded me about half a dozen times.
He was in his late forties or mid fifties and had seen a lot of
road. He’s been up to the middle of
Africa, all the heck over Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Kenya, the
Congo, and many other crazy African countries.
His latest adventurous activities don’t involve vehicles and carting other
missionaries around in the back of open trucks, but backpacking throughout
South Africa by himself.
I think that’s what resulted in him using homeless services.
And I realize it might appear that I’m passively discounting
everything that Henri said to me, critiquing him, judging him, and all that
other stuff. I must assure you, however,
that I am not. I wish I could begin to
tell you the smile that was permanently scarred onto my face the entire time
that I was talking with him, well, more like listening to him. I couldn’t get it off! No matter how hard I mentally tried smacking
the crazy look off my face, my crooked smile wouldn’t disperse.
It was awesome.
And it’s in guys like Henri that I realize I love homeless
ministry. I love guys like Henri full of
stories that are littered with half-truths, shotty details, and the glorious
realities of life in this world. There’s
an element to their stories and their lives that lacks in my own and so in many
ways, I find myself living vicariously through them. My spirit’s envious of the trials and
sufferings they’ve been through or are going through. It’s my unofficial element because it’s where
I feel most alive and most challenged.
It’s where God almost inevitably always
shows up. Sometimes it’s really subtle;
through a prayer or the smile on a drunken man’s face. Other times it’s blatantly obvious; through
the healing of a blind man’s eyes.
We’re going back every morning beginning Monday. I can’t wait to get to know these guys and
serve them, develop friendships, and hear more stories from Henri’s
adventures. I asked him what the
craziest thing he saw out there on the road was when he was driving
missionaries around. He said, “dude – I’ve
been all over Africa.”
Such a simple answer.
So what’s your “unofficial element”? Where do you become the most alive? What is the place in your little world that
you pour out everything you have and get it all back in return? I’m curious to know. Let’s make this blog interactive. Leave a comment. I’m tired of you hearing from me and me not
from you.
