Tonight was Street Ministry. It was a little interesting having seen a lot of people at work who I saw tonight and knowing that I'll see them again in the morning at work. I'm not used to that. Normally I just see them on Friday nights. We'll see how it works though. I really don't want to give up my volunteering because I'm working, even though I am working with a very similar population with lots of overlapping.We had a group in tonight from a small farm town two hours away from the city. They were all over 18, but they were very Mennonite. It was interesting to watch them work, but especially interesting to hear them in debriefing. Some of them really bothered me; well, one man I guess. He was very accusing, that people had put themselves in these situations and just needed to find work and to get a job. He said he didn't want a response, and I think I'm glad, because while I wanted to challenge his thinking, I also wanted to stay calm. But really, I'm sorry, it's not quite as simple as people think it is. At the same time though, how would he know that?? I grew up doing this, this is my life, of course I know that, but we have had totally different life experiences. Who am I to judge his judgment.
What really really bothered me though, was something else he said. He had a conversation with a couple who smelled strongly of alcohol or solvent; he didn't specify which. At the end of the conversation the people said "God bless you". He couldn't believe that they were truly Christians and truly knew God, because of their substance use. He didn't believe that they knew what they were saying when they blessed him. And I don't agree... I don't agree at all. So many of the people I work with are Christians, just because they're homeless doesn't mean their faithless. Of course, that's not to say that all homeless people are Christians, I've just noticed that a lot of them are.
But, enough about that. I work at 7:30 and it's already 12:30 (or should I say 0030 as our 24 clock would dictate). I'm going to ride my bike in the morning which makes me quite excited. I'm so glad I have my bike out again!
