In my life, there are certain things that I have always believed: people are basically good and everyone I encounter has something to teach me. I have witnessed this to be true over the years, but never more so than over the past few months as I have been blessed by the folks I've encountered as a part of an outreach ministry at my church.
As I've mentioned before, some adults and some youth from my church began to meet and discuss the book Under the Overpass. We were led in the direction of reaching out to homeless on the streets - not so much to make this "huge difference" in their lives; but more to simply begin to build some relationships with people who seem to need just that - someone to talk to, someone that cares about them, and someone who will just spend time with them. And, while our efforts were being made as a church group, our goal was not to evangelize to them; but to hopefully show them Jesus Christ through our love and actions.
With lack of anywhere else to start, downtown Kansas City seemed to be a good place. So, last summer on several different ocassions, we headed toward where we knew there to be shelters and soup kitchens. We just looking for people to connect with... we did find them. We'd bring food and water and sit and talk with them in a place they called "Jurassic Park".
It was there we met a young lady about 23 years of age, Shea, and her partner, Lucky. What immediately caught my attention was the beautiful little baby girl, Helen, they pushed along in a stroller followed by five other small children ranging in ages from 2 - 9. This family was homeless and they stayed in a local shelter each evening. They were all clean, well mannered and appreciative of what we had to offer.
One day we caught sight of their "entourage" obviously on a mission. I yelled out their name and ran around the block to catch up to them only to find they were on their way to the grocery store. They came back with me to where the others in our group were to grab some food and water and talk for a few minutes. As they were about to head out again, I suggested we could give them a quick ride to the grocery. So, Vince piled Lucky, Shea, and 4 of their children into my van and headed out. The rest of our group stayed behind to talk to some other people...we talked, ate, waited, talked some more, waited some more....time ticked by and I became concerned for Vince - where was he? What was taking so long? About 25 minutes after he'd left my van rounded the corner of the block. It seems that the grocery where this family was headed was about 4 miles away. Their plan was to trek the 4 miles there, grab a couple bags of groceries (because that would be all they could carry back), and then hopefully stop by a friend's house on their way back to see if he could give them a return ride to the shelter. They had allotted their entire day to this process - just to get a couple bags of groceries.
One day we caught sight of their "entourage" obviously on a mission. I yelled out their name and ran around the block to catch up to them only to find they were on their way to the grocery store. They came back with me to where the others in our group were to grab some food and water and talk for a few minutes. As they were about to head out again, I suggested we could give them a quick ride to the grocery. So, Vince piled Lucky, Shea, and 4 of their children into my van and headed out. The rest of our group stayed behind to talk to some other people...we talked, ate, waited, talked some more, waited some more....time ticked by and I became concerned for Vince - where was he? What was taking so long? About 25 minutes after he'd left my van rounded the corner of the block. It seems that the grocery where this family was headed was about 4 miles away. Their plan was to trek the 4 miles there, grab a couple bags of groceries (because that would be all they could carry back), and then hopefully stop by a friend's house on their way back to see if he could give them a return ride to the shelter. They had allotted their entire day to this process - just to get a couple bags of groceries.
The next week when we returned, Lucky & Shea were there again with some exciting news. Lucky was to begin working for one of the local shelters and because of this their family would be eligible for transitional housing. As we talked about this news and the change it would mean, it became apparent that they would be in need of some very basic "house" supplies - dishes, cups, towels, soap, toilet paper... - things we don't give a second thought about having. Lucky told us where his job would be and we promised to do what we could to provide some of these basic necessities. My adult Sunday school class poured out their hearts and gave beyond what was asked and we provided quite a collection of kitchen supplies which Vince delivered later that week. We have not seen them since.
I see the good in Lucky & Shea and I believe they've something to teach us...they were obviously going through an incredibly rocky time in their lives, yet it was equally obvious they are striving to be good parents, to provide for their children, and to make positive changes in their lives. I see in them that commitment of sticking together through the good and the bad and surviving together. I thank God for those few encounters with them and I pray that God is watching over them and their family and blessing their efforts.
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