This week at Eastern is HAHA week. The acronym stands for hunger and homelessness awareness week. I've been wanting to go out with the YACHT club who go into Philly twice a week, but I've had service learning on Thursday nights and usually don't feel like going on Saturday mornings considering it's one of my only days to sleep in. Thankfully, I finished my service learning and am able to go now and this week I was able to meet some people from the club.
Last night, the YACHT (youth against complacency and homelessness today) welcomed people to sleep outside of Walton's patio. You don't really have to be a "member" of YACHT, it's nice cause you can just go because they just want people to come out. So I got a couple friends together and we all brought our sleeping bags and little pillows and were ready for a "camp out." I couldn't have been more prepared..underarmor leggings, underarmour shirt, sweatshirt, scarf..(even chapstick), all the necessitys to stay warm, or so I thought. It's funny how God can reveal things to you through the most simple experiences sometimes..
We laid down our cardboard boxes, joking around about how it wasn't too bad outside considering our many layers. As the night wore on, the caffiene that was in my veins did not seem to die down at all. Needless to say, me and two others were up until 2:30. When we finally decided to get some zzz's, I noticed how cold it was getting. Through the night I would wake up, go back to sleep, wake up, and repeat the same pattern. Waking up one time around 4, it had started to drizzle outside and dew was accumulating on our sleeping bags. I remember praying and thanking God that I wasn't homeless. Because we were right next to Walton, it was so easy to get out of my sleeping bag and go to the indoor bathroom. If I were homeless, I would have to go outside..sure, once, twice, maybe five times it wouldn't be so bad..but how about for a week in a row? Having to go to the bathroom (in all sorts of ways) outside in the leaves or behind a tree? Obviously people may use public facilities, but I'm sure many homeless people do use mother nature as a normal bathroom spot.
As the night grew on, I realized how my sleeping bag wasn't keep in the warmth as much as I thought it would. I woke up here and there, tossing and turning..seeing more people leave as the morning drew near. I finally awoke to the sound of birds..who for some reason decided to attack each other around 6:40 in the morning. They seemed to scream at each other, fighting for a seat on the branch or the last nibble of breakfast. I couldn't fall back to sleep and the gray sky started to reveal the dull light of the new day. Wow, I thought, I'm going to be feeling the hardness of the ground in my back for the next couple of days. Then I reminded myself about how some homeless people don't have clothes to even stay warm with, some get harrassed during the night, and others have a hard time finding food to keep them alive.
It was a good experience sleeping outside, but I sort of felt like a camper who has friends next to him sleeping in a RV. Even though the camper is getting the experience of sleeping outside, it still can go into the RV whenever he wants, whether it is to pop a bag of popcorn or to get away from the mosquitoes. I probably won't ever gain the full experience of being homeless, and thanks to God I was born into a family who is able to provide for me. Even though I might never be able to fully relate to the homeless people is not an excuse to ignore it though. I realize that I do have a passion for missions and I am loving the city each time I go into it. Who knows where that will lead, but I know that I want to build relationships with people that have it a lot harder than I do and hopefully be able to lift their spirits in some way.
I'm so thankful for a warm bed at night, not just a warm bed but a bed with sheets, a comforter and even a memory foam pad! I feel so spoiled even just saying that but God isn't condemning us for being able to live well. He simply wants us to be able to reach out to the poor in His name and be able to spread the Gospel. Hopefully through this week, people are starting to realize like I am how blessed we really are.
Last night, the YACHT (youth against complacency and homelessness today) welcomed people to sleep outside of Walton's patio. You don't really have to be a "member" of YACHT, it's nice cause you can just go because they just want people to come out. So I got a couple friends together and we all brought our sleeping bags and little pillows and were ready for a "camp out." I couldn't have been more prepared..underarmor leggings, underarmour shirt, sweatshirt, scarf..(even chapstick), all the necessitys to stay warm, or so I thought. It's funny how God can reveal things to you through the most simple experiences sometimes..
We laid down our cardboard boxes, joking around about how it wasn't too bad outside considering our many layers. As the night wore on, the caffiene that was in my veins did not seem to die down at all. Needless to say, me and two others were up until 2:30. When we finally decided to get some zzz's, I noticed how cold it was getting. Through the night I would wake up, go back to sleep, wake up, and repeat the same pattern. Waking up one time around 4, it had started to drizzle outside and dew was accumulating on our sleeping bags. I remember praying and thanking God that I wasn't homeless. Because we were right next to Walton, it was so easy to get out of my sleeping bag and go to the indoor bathroom. If I were homeless, I would have to go outside..sure, once, twice, maybe five times it wouldn't be so bad..but how about for a week in a row? Having to go to the bathroom (in all sorts of ways) outside in the leaves or behind a tree? Obviously people may use public facilities, but I'm sure many homeless people do use mother nature as a normal bathroom spot.
As the night grew on, I realized how my sleeping bag wasn't keep in the warmth as much as I thought it would. I woke up here and there, tossing and turning..seeing more people leave as the morning drew near. I finally awoke to the sound of birds..who for some reason decided to attack each other around 6:40 in the morning. They seemed to scream at each other, fighting for a seat on the branch or the last nibble of breakfast. I couldn't fall back to sleep and the gray sky started to reveal the dull light of the new day. Wow, I thought, I'm going to be feeling the hardness of the ground in my back for the next couple of days. Then I reminded myself about how some homeless people don't have clothes to even stay warm with, some get harrassed during the night, and others have a hard time finding food to keep them alive.
It was a good experience sleeping outside, but I sort of felt like a camper who has friends next to him sleeping in a RV. Even though the camper is getting the experience of sleeping outside, it still can go into the RV whenever he wants, whether it is to pop a bag of popcorn or to get away from the mosquitoes. I probably won't ever gain the full experience of being homeless, and thanks to God I was born into a family who is able to provide for me. Even though I might never be able to fully relate to the homeless people is not an excuse to ignore it though. I realize that I do have a passion for missions and I am loving the city each time I go into it. Who knows where that will lead, but I know that I want to build relationships with people that have it a lot harder than I do and hopefully be able to lift their spirits in some way.
I'm so thankful for a warm bed at night, not just a warm bed but a bed with sheets, a comforter and even a memory foam pad! I feel so spoiled even just saying that but God isn't condemning us for being able to live well. He simply wants us to be able to reach out to the poor in His name and be able to spread the Gospel. Hopefully through this week, people are starting to realize like I am how blessed we really are.
