To be honest, I don’t want to see it all.
We typically encounter our homeless friends in the daylight – when they likely feel most safe, free, and stable. However, there are certain nights each week that we do night ministry.
With this type of ministry comes added suffering, challenges and insecurities. Night ministry at Christ in the City adds a dimension to our mission and gives us a different perspective on the lives of our friends on the street.
Some missionaries go to a local homeless shelter to be with the women and children, others go to 16th Street Mall to encounter the poor. These night ministries are eye-opening. We are able to encounter, even just briefly, the vulnerability and fear that many of our friends face every evening as the sun sets.
These moments are often dark and full of heartbreak, like the teenager we’ve seen riding the free mall shuttle, barefoot, blankets over his shoulder, desperately seeking warmth and rest. He likely stays on the bus as long as he can, until the mall rides stops and he is forced outside into the elements.
But amid such darkness there are also moments of profound light, like getting to encounter the inspiring women at Samaritan House. We discuss human dignity and God’s unconditional love for each of them. Every week, I leave those meetings in awe of the women who attend.
All of them have faced challenging circumstances. Many of them have not had their dignity upheld by those closest to them. They have suffered a lot. Yet in that meeting room there abounds nothing but hope. The trials these women have faced seem to have ignited something within them that fiercely shines and gives light.
Being exposed to the more vulnerable moments of our friends’ days has affirmed for me that darkness will not prevail. Even the smallest light shining in the darkness can be seen from far away. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)
Anna is a 2nd-year missionary from North Platte, NE. She enjoys eating good food, time spent in adoration, and any opportunity to say Go Big Red!
Go Big Red Anna! May God bless you and all of the friends on the street. You are all in my prayers and in my heart.
Anna,
Thank you for enlightening me! Know you and all the missionaries past and present are in our daily prays along with our friends and neighbors on the street.
Michelle
Beautifully said and done! Love you so much!!! Proud of you! God Bless!
Wow, Anna, this post had a “eureka” line in it for me……”Even the smallest light shining in the darkness can be seen from far away.” It made me think of those LED flashlights that are advertised as, “Can be seen for a mile!” And yet when I use one, it is so very disappointing, because it barely lights up the ground around my feet……..but then someone shines one in my face, and WOW – it is bright!!! So, thanks to your post, it dawned on me what a difference our perspective makes. Maybe from our perspective, it seems like what we are able to do has such little impact, but from someone who has been praying for even a tiny bit of encouragement, we might be the LED beam! God bless you kids for lighting up the city with your beams! And may the rest of us continue to do our part to shine those little lights!