Willing 2 Serve
During the 2010 General Conference, buses carried anyone who was interested to SAU where they would receive a tour of the campus. On the last day of tours, I climbed aboard a bus, more than a little glad that my mother and sister had boarded another. As I settled into my seat, the televisions on the bus turned on and Southern’s promotional videos began to play. In my excitement, I watched intently, soaking up every intriguing detail about the school I hoped to someday attend. Though every video brought new light to Southern, there was one that I found particularly interesting. Displayed on the screen were students who had taken time out of their busy schedules to share physical and spiritual bread with the homeless. As I watched the scene unfold on the screen, I remember thinking, “I want to do that.” Yesterday, more than a year later, I found myself on another bus, heading off to do what I had been motivated to do so much earlier.
The group Hungry 4 Jesus left for town on Saturday evening. As I watched the world wiz by through the bus’s window, I tried to picture what the next few hours would bring. I envisioned myself engaging in polite conversation as I handed out sandwiches to the people standing in the line. With that picture freshly painted in my mind, I hopped off the bus, armed with a case of water bottles, and took in my surroundings. Completely missing the sign the said that the building before me was a shelter, I wondered where all the people were. I followed the rest of the group a little ways down the street, where two or three people approached and collected a bagged lunch and a bottle of water.
Still baffled by the lack of people, I turned around, suddenly wondering where my friend Aaron had gone. As I searched, I heard someone behind me ask for water. When I turned back around to hand him the bottle, I was surprised to see a crowd of people surrounding the girls holding the food. Before I could react, I found myself engulfed in the same crowd of people who were now reaching for water. In about a minute, I was down to the last bottle of water. Amazed by how quickly all of our resources had been diminished, I tried to see how quickly the last water would be taken. I looked around for anyone in need of the precious liquid, only to find that everyone had disappeared just as quickly as they had shown up.
I glanced at one of the girls and shot her a look that said, “What do we do now?” She shrugged, a little unsure herself, and decided to talk to the man sitting on the steps near her, now happily munching away on a sandwich that probably consisted of veggie meat. I figured that I should do the same, but with no food on hand, I felt naked. My social skills have never been great. In a class of thirty, no one really noticed that I existed in high school until the end of my junior year. Trying not to let that be a defining factor in this situation, I looked for someone to talk to, only to find that I couldn’t bring myself to actually approach anyone.
Just seconds away from panicking, I spotted Aaron conversing with two guys as they ate from their bagged lunches. Overflowing with relief, I walked over and stood there. Though I never spoke a word, I was amazed at how easily Aaron had established a connection with the two men through football. The three of them spat out stats, formulated probabilities, and poked fun at each other’s favorite team. After the conversation had been stretched to its limit, Aaron and I started an extended conversation with another man by simply asking him about the weather. As we talked, I took notice of how we had shifted from weather to snow to travelling to music.
Soon enough, it was time to leave. On the ride back to campus, the group discussed the people that we had met and found that it was not difficult to slip into their position. Today’s economy can easily rob anyone of their hard earned income, but so can an addiction. We found that a lot of the people who lived in the shelter had addictions that had caused them to be where they were. One man, who came from a wealthy family, had landed himself in the shelter because of an alcohol addiction – an addiction that he desperately wanted to rid himself of. Others had fallen victim to misfortune. One man had found himself homeless after an injury to his leg that forced him to stop working. After examining the simple misfortunes that can befall anyone at any given time, we prayed a prayer of thanks and asked God to provide for our new friends.
Then we discussed more ways that we could help.