It blows my mind to see how God can change someone from the
darkest of black to the brightest of white. How he can take the overpowering
mix of devalued emotions that race through the minds of many and bring complete
peace and restoration in knowing that there is something significant to live
for. The homeless drop in center has opened my eyes in a new way.
Kawan is the ministry I worked with the first week I was
here. Kawan means friend in Malay. When we first arrived to the building, a man
in gray slacks and a clean white polo shirt greeted me. At first I thought he
was part of the staff, but later someone informed me that he was one of the
homeless eagerly waiting for breakfast. A part of the ministry at Kawan
provides these people with new donated clothes, and showers. If you saw one of
these people on the side of the road, you would be clueless that the street
bench would be their bed for the night. I’m certain when I say that Penang has
the best-dressed homeless people, thanks to Kawan.
Kawan is open three days a week, and most of the people that
show up are regulars. Some of them come in only for the meals and leave shortly
after. Others stick around all day. The ones that stay longer are usually the
ones that are desperately trying to get their lives back on track. I talked to
one guy for about an hour who was once married and had a son. His wife left him
because he was a heavy alcoholic, and he lost all communication with both of
them after that. His feelings of being useless, jobless and without love ones
brought him to the streets. This seems to be a similar story for most of the
people that come to Kawan. They get into drugs and alcohol with attempts to
patch up their brokenness.
A common misconception is to think “If these people would
just stop with substance abuse, they could get their lives back together.” But
the truth is; the substance abuse isn’t their problem. Finding them a job and
getting them to quit drinking and smoking is not the solution. I’ve learned
that if you want to fix the problem, you need to get to the root of it first,
and the roots have often grown in bad soil – a soil that consists of rejection
and hopelessness, without love. Their hearts must be cleansed before they can
begin weeding out the minor things that aid in damage, such as drugs and
alcohol. Only God has the ability to do this.
As I continued conversing with this man, He told me that he
has been attending Kawan for a few years now. He came to know the Lord through
Kawan, and since then, he has moved from the streets to a small apartment, and
is now employed. He gives all the glory to God.
Another man, who used to be homeless and attend Kawan solely
for the meals, is now the head Chef; the one feeding theses brothers and
sisters that are in the same boat he was once in. It really is an amazing
testimony to see a man with so many scars, transformed by the joy of the Lord,
helping others the way that God helped him.
I feel so humbled to have been a part of this experience.
It’s easy to look down on people like this, because our society has created a
sin scale. One sin can be considered ‘so much worse’ than another. But in God’s
eyes, a sin is a sin. We are all sinners; and in that, we are equal. No one
person is better than another. A man living in a mansion on the beach is not
better than a man sleeping on the streets with the rats. We are all equally
loved, and when we invite the Lord to live in the center of our lives, we
become brand new. Our past becomes irrelevant. Thank you, God, for working in
the lives of so many. Anything is possible through you!
Colossians 1:13 – For he has rescued us from the dominion of
darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
