Listening to people’s stories is so important. It has been one of our themes at the Baptist Student Ministry this year, and it’s also been a theme of my life. Some wonder how on earth we can connect with those who are radically different from us, and the answer is to simply listen. No one will ever object to someone who is genuinely interested in his or her life experiences, no matter how different that listener may be.
There is abundant joy in connecting with those who are different from us. A lot of us miss personal growth and adventure in our lives because we are too afraid to talk with someone who is from another country, or who is too rich, too poor, of a different faith, or of a different color. This is why I love hanging out with international students so much. I learn so much from them – about their culture, about myself, and about life. But one people group I have struggled with is the one that walks the streets each day, the one without homes. Yesterday there was a block party held for street youth outside the Co-op, and I was almost too afraid to go. I have been praying for the poor in west campus for a while. It pains me to walk past them and go about my own business while they are overlooked…I know just doling out money isn’t the answer, and yet I haven’t known how else to proceed. I always feel guilty around them because I have so much and they seem to have so little (and I don’t mean only possessions). I knew this block party, though, was a way God would grow me and a way he would answer my prayers.
Now, here’s the thing. I love going to Church Under the Bridge and hanging out with the homeless and working poor there. But when I’m walking by on the drag, they treat me differently, calling out for money and sometimes hurling insults when I don’t respond. I think they assume that I would never actually love them because they’ve been conditioned to believe they are unwanted by mostly everyone, often even their own families. I try not to be annoyed because I know any anger just comes from an unfulfilled need for love. And these may be some of the same people who will have deep conversations about life experiences and spirituality with me at Church Under the Bridge. What’s the difference? At Church Under the Bridge, they know I desire a connection with them, because otherwise I wouldn’t be there. In addition, we are caring for their physical needs by providing food and hygiene kits, so they find it easier to believe we are interested in their emotional and spiritual needs. But on the drag, I could be just another selfish college student walking by, concerned only with my dreams and getting what I “deserve” out of life.
However, when I am in a situation that allows me to bridge that barrier and show the love of Christ, or when I take action to create that kind of situation, I love talking with the homeless and poor. They are often incredibly interesting because they have the most extravagant, wonderful dreams. And there is such strength that comes from being homeless. As my new friend Shorty told me, “If I know I can make it when I have no job, when I have nothing, then I know I’ll be able to make it when I do have a job.” He was laid off from the military after participating in Operation Desert Storm and going to Afghanistan
Samantha ran away from home and was taken in with love by a couple of churches here in Austin San Antonio and San Marcos
Rahn volunteers a lot with Church Under the Bridge, which I’ve already attended a few times, and he brews something called Rahn’s Health TreaT that he believes has cured many people of “incurable” diseases. When I mentioned that I’ve recently started drinking kombucha, he said his drink is like kombucha (fermented tea and fruit) taken to the next level. Soon, he says, his drink will be featured on The Ellen Show and Oprah. He has used his creativity and inventiveness to start his own business and to help others. One thing that really stuck out to me was that even when he had just barely gotten enough money to get his own home, he began inviting his homeless and poor friends in to share meals with him.
Then there is Susan, who has a pet rat named Pie. Pie is white and likes to fall asleep on my arm when I hold her. You can often see Susan walking around west campus with Pie on her shoulder. She has published a book about her past and hopes to earn a living from that enterprise.
I don’t mean to make it sound like all these people are perfect; as with all of us, there is some beauty and some ugliness. There is a lot of stealing, and therefore a lot of hurt, within the community itself. Rahn left his jar of health tea unattended for just a minute and looked up just in time to see a girl trying to make off with it. Shorty rides his bicycle a few hours out into the country everyday and camps out there so that no one will be around to steal his things. There’s also, of course, a lot of distrust of those who are wealthier. Even after talking with someone for an hour, it’s still sometimes difficult for me to tell if this person would even really consider me a friend or thinks I am just too different from them. If they see me again walking down the drag, will they just call out for money and forget that we once shared a meal together? But you have to look in the middle of all the brokenness and see the good things. The reason many of these people steal is that they don’t know what it’s like to be a good steward of their possessions and to take pride in the things they own. They have never owned enough to develop that mentality, or they have seen such a negative mentality modeled by their families and have naturally followed them. We have to encourage and love people even in the middle of flaws.
