Once we got into New York City, the group split into two groups to cover different areas in and around Penn Station. I got to be in one group with some people named Kevin, Thressa, and Leah. We walked to Penn Station and I was so amazed by all the tall buildings, lights, people, cars, sounds, and signs. I haven't been back to New York City in awhile so it was really good to be back and feel the busy atmosphere again.
We walked around inside Penn Station to see if there were any homeless people sitting around in the station but we didn't see any so we walked around the outside of the station. We met some people standing outside and offered them a sandwhich or fruit and they gladly accepted and said thank you.
There was one area that was right across from Penn Station that many homeless people hanged around out so we went there next. As my group walked up to some of the people we saw a man and woman huddled together so we headed their way to offer some sandwiches and fruits. After we gave them some food the woman thanked us and we began talking. She started off by thanking us for taking our time to be generous and that God would bless us. We then ask here where she was from and what were some of her aspirations. She told us she was from Brooklyn and wanted to be a lawyer. We asked her what decided her to become a lawyer and she told us how she wanted to help people that were innocent but were wrongly accused. She shared many personal stories and I was surprised how much knowledge she had about law. We also began talking about God and what made a person good or bad. Even though there were some views of hers that I personally didn't believe in it was still good to know where she was coming from. Kevin did ask some important questions about faith and referenced Romans 3. While we were still talking to this lady we saw other homeless people come by us and we offered them some sandwiches and fruit. Leah also got to talk to a woman that was sitting next to the man and woman we were talking to and struck up a conversation. Leah told us later that the woman she talked to was diabetic so she couldn't eat the sandwich and shared some personal difficulties she had like how her former husband was abusive and that if was really difficult for her to find food because she was a diabetic.
We talked for over an hour with the people but sadly had to head to a different area so we asked them if this area was usually the place they hanged around on Saturdays and said that we would come back next weekend to talk with them some more.
There was a man named Richard that the others met on the previous Saturdays so we went to his usual spot to talk to him. When we got to his spot he wasn't there and we asked some of the other people if they saw him but they didn't. We looked around and couldn't find him so we prayed together asking that wherever Richard was he was safe and that God woule protect him. We then headed back to Penn Station to go back home.
This experience for me was an eye opener. Before I came I did have some fear about how I would feel meeting homeless people and talking to them but after doing this today I feel more confident. God really touched my heart and let me see how I am so blessed with many things and that I sometimes take the littlest things for granted. The homeless people I met were very intelligent and it was a tough situation that brought them to the place they are right now. Just offering sandwiches or fruit and listening to them went a long way. How many times do we see a homeless person standing on the road or sitting on the curb and just pass on by?
God calls us as Christians "to look after orphans and widows in their distress" (James 1:27) and that includes the homeless as well. I thank God for allowing me to step out of my comfort zone and spend time with these people.
Please pray that I may continue to have a humble heart, that I would look after the orphans, widows, and homeless of this world, and that I be able to share the love of God to these people.
I am so grateful to be apart of Hands of Compassion and I look forward to the many more opportunities God has for me.
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