All Saints’ Youth
What a blessing today has
been! Today we passed out the first of
our blankets on the way to our mission site.
Wow!!! People were so excited to
receive such a simple gift. Even in all
of the warm weather folks were still happy to receive something for the colder
weather. Many of our new friends carry
all of their worldly possessions with them, or they stake out their special
spot and set up their home. Some of the
people we’d seen yesterday camped out by the hotels were not there today. As we walked we noticed that there was quite
a bit more activity on the streets. People out and about, rushing from here to there, possibly on the
way to work, maybe tourists. We
figured out that the powers that be probably didn’t want someone sleeping in
their front yard – bad for business – so they shoo them away. When we got to the shelter we checked out our
theory. Yup. That’s what happens. They are an inconvenience and so they’re
woken up and sent on their way.
Once we got to the shelter
and gathered our tools together it was time to get to work on the shelves. With only one corded electric drill and one
cordless that couldn’t hold its charge it was slow work. We learned that sometimes you just have to
work with what you have. This center
operates totally on donations so you don’t always have the best tools for the
job.
As we thought about our
feelings during the day and how we learned to work with what we had, we thought
about the church. We don’t always think
that we have the right tools or the right budget or the right people for the
tasks of ministry. But God sends us just
what we need – may not be exactly as we expect but it is always enough. How much do we lose when we lose sight of
God’s blessings looking instead for the big programs or the best resources or
the magnificent music program? God has
sent every community that God has called together just what they need to
accomplish the ministry God has envisioned!
We just need to sort out how to work with what we have.
On our way home one of our group remembered something from a talk show. When the country was founded, the government
was transparent and the people were opaque.
Today, the government is opaque and the people are transparent. What can one person do? How can one person make a difference? We’ve seen the answers to those questions
alive and at work at the CCNV (Community for Creative Non-Violence). What a blessing this, the largest homeless
shelter in the United States is for all of those connected with it and for all
of the angels God sends not only to be blessings to the center but to be
blessed by the center. Maybe some of the
answers have to do with looking for God’s blessings and finding enough. Knowing that God has blessed us with just
what we need.
As we’ve walked around town
we’ve been absolutely amazed at how many conversations are started as people
comment on our t-shirts. The design
seems to be a real hit with a very simple message for a thirsty world. “GOD IS LOVE” our shirts proclaim. Today some tourists stopped us and asked us
what was with all the blankets we were carrying. So we told them. We were bringing them to distribute to the
homeless on our way to do mission work at the center. They’re faces brightened and they paid
attention to where our t-shirts said we were from. And they wished God’s blessings on us and our
ministry.
Tonight we will be
purchasing some new gifts for the center.
A new battery charger as the one they have is faulty and a cordless
drill. Tomorrow we’ll bring our gifts
along with the rest of our blankets to be distributed and finish those shelves!
Love and God’s Blessings,
All Saints 2007
July 5, 2007