In Search of Humanity

One of the reasons that I am so adamant about moving out of the country to do my Social Justice Mission is that I want to be a part of something really special. Today, I was exposed to a type of humanity that I had taken for granted. I thank God for this experience.

I think that my eyes were opened today for the first time in a really long time. After an amazing message today, another woman at church and I collected the rest of the uneaten food and loaded up my Cruiser. LS and I headed down to the local men's shelter to hand out food and soda. When we got to the shelter, another Evergreen family was there to hand out bottled water. We ended up tag-teaming the project, and made a huge afternoon out of seeking out the homeless and leaving food and water for them with LS as our guide.

To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. ~1 Corinthians 4:11

At one point in the afternoon, four of us went trekking through the woods. The four of us were walking through the woods yelling "food and water", in hopes of finding recipients for our gifts. While walking on the path, which was littered with trash, clothing left behind by previous tenants, and old blankets. A few hundred feet into the woods, we came upon an orange tent. LS yelled, "Chris??". A stoic "yeah??", came from the tent. A large man unzipped the tent. We left him water and food. It didn't feel like enough. LS got on her knees and started talking in a low-toned voice. Chris started to cry, grabbed LS's hand and kissed it. She leaned into the tent and hugged him. "Thank you. Thank you." I was moved to tears by what was happening, though I hadn't heard the conversation that had taken place.

We got into the car and headed for our next destination, just down the road. I was met with an aggressive woman who literally told me to "F*@& Off!!" But past her, a man met us on the bridge to a path. LS approached him and asked him to find any others who may be hiding in the woods. We left a few plates of food and about a dozen bottles of water and asked that he distribute them. We were basically advised to not go into the woods.

Our final destination was downtown Raleigh. We found ourselves in front of the bus station. There were about a dozen people hanging out. A woman named Dana thanked me for the fruit. She said, "cantaloupe is so refreshing on a hot day." She then said, "a lot of people look at me and wonder why I'm homeless. But I've only been this way for a week or two." I told her that I had had a similar experience, by living in my car when I was in Iowa for a few weeks. I told her that I would pray for her and her boyfriend. She thanked me again for the water and fruit. She was so grateful for our visit.

On the way to drop LS off at home, she told me Chris' story. She met Chris a while back, who helped her do some work on her house. It turns out that Chris is schizophrenic and is susceptible to extreme mood swings without his medication. He was abandoned as a child to a family member who was extremely abusive. LS has maintained a friendship with this man. She bought him the orange tent that he is currently living in. She makes sure that he is able to access medication for his mental illness. More recently, LS was able to contact Chris' sister in Oklahoma. She agreed to take him in. This news was delivered during our trip to the woods. The main challenge now is raising money for a bus ticket to get him to his family.

I couldn't thank LS enough for sharing this experience with me today. I felt so selfish today. I was tired and hot. I was grumpy from another experience earlier today. I think that I am going to try to do this at least once a month. I learned that the shelter doesn't allow the men to stay indoors during the day, only in extreme heat and weather conditions.