Years ago I was in Cripple Creek, CO on a road trip and found myself in a music shop talking with the proprietor. I was on an extended cross-country road trip and was making an effort to not be a tourist and get caught up in the facade.
She looked at me and said "your type, you're not a tourist, your a friend". Whether she meant it in her heart or it was a sales pitch it worked and it stuck.
Yesterday I found I had crossed the line and became a friend to the homeless.
Yesterday, I stopped being a tourist in my own city.
I didn't think I was a tourist, honest. I had spent the winter handing out soup, socks, and underwear to the homeless in Downtown Hartford each Saturday with a variety of friends through my work with Church Army. We have been there consistently in all kinds of weather but yesterday was different. I had been contacted my the church I attend which was expecting over 500 visitors on Easter and asked if I knew anyone who they could donate their leftover coffee-hour food to. I replied "me". I had asked a few of the folks I see every Saturday to meet me in the park and tell others to be there.
As I approached the park I passed a few guys I knew and said hey out the window and told them what we were up too. There were no "regulars" there. It was a rainy day and folks were all holding up in places all across the city. I learned where they hold up in bad weather while waiting for the shelters to open for the night. I was given tip-after-tip by my friends on how to reach the other guys. So-and-so was here, so-and-so was there...
So we loaded up all the food in my hand cart and set off to be "Robin Hoods for Jesus". What we didn't know was that we were there so God could work in us more than through us, which is funny, because that is what I always tell people what my ministry is about.
We did not intend to set out on our own little "manifest destiny". Our hearts were in the right place, but today it was as if God accepted our sacrifice of time and discomfort and took us deeper into his fold.
The homeless took us into their family.
All those months they were honestly grateful for what we were doing. I know because I asked them, but today, they were taken by our efforts to get to them.
As we pulled our cart for 2 1/2 hours through the city it was like a scavenger hunt, getting clues where to find the next crowd of people and more beautiful, learning more about our friends.
We stopped being a mobile food truck.
We came into their homes.
We shared five full trays of Dunkin Donuts bagels and muffins so we have many stories to share, but this is the one that will not leave me. So I give it to you.
There is a woman and her daughter (I'm keeping the name to myself) who I have watched pull their suitcases through the street all winter. I nicknamed mom "Mrs. Grumpy" because she started out by yelling at me and complaining so we did out best to love her. Two weeks ago I actually saw a huge grin come on her face when I had oranges and strawberries to share so when I saw her Saturday at our regular time giving out hot drinks and socks I told her to meet me in the park on Easter because my church had promised me the leftover muffins and fruit.
"You going to have the oranges?" she said to me.
I smiled and said "yes".
When I picked up the food there were no oranges, but thankfully I just "happened" to have one in my truck I had forgotten about from a couple of days before! God is so good! Secondly, she was not there! I asked my friends as we went along on our march through the city and finally heard that someone had seen her in the photo booth with her daughter at the bus station.
I have only been to the bus station once in my life and had no idea where the photo booth was. This place is really small, but I still had a hard time until I recognized their suitcases in a little hallway that leads to the bathrooms. I huge grin came across my face as I walked up to find them, both of them, in a tiny little photo booth watching a movie together on Easter Sunday, crammed into a three-by-three foot phone booth.
"Hey, there you are! I've been all over the city looking for you! Happy Easter!"
She smiled, "you got my orange?"
"Yeah, and some other stuff too."
She came outside with me while her daughter watched her stuff.
This is the Easter Message my friends. God came into the neighborhood to bring gifts. His people where scattered and hiding, so he came to seek after and find those who were lost. He became a friend to the outcast, the sinner, and the lonely. Slowly, one, by one, he spread the message as we did yesterday. God loves you and has not forgotten you.
"Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing."
Ephesians 2:7-9
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