It has been over two months that I have worked at the rescue mission, a men's homeless shelter and meal ministry. My days are a blur of activity and every day brings a new situation.
Imagine ... everyday breakfast, lunch, and dinner is served and the kitchen is full of hustle-n-bustle from workers from senior employment, welfare, constant new community service people working off their court-ordered hours, and faithful volunteers. At night it is the same thing, but a different shift comes in including a different church or business group every night to work and serve dinner. Let's sprinkle in the men that live in the shelter, a majority from prison, many with substance abuse struggles, mental issues, and a few where employment loss has left them with nothing. Now, let's add the community (approximately 220 per night) that come in for dinner every night.
This makes a mix of many situations to arise.
This makes an interesting mix of respect, appreciation, and protection from the shelter men who initiate, volunteer, watch, and follow me into every situation so that it doesn't get out of control.
They know I am there because I care. Believe me, it makes all the difference in the world.
You know how they say animals can pick up on fear. The same goes for men and women who are in a bad place in life, they know who cares and who doesn't. It makes a big difference in this community.
There was a re-entry symposium yesterday where different professional groups got together to boast about their programs that are in place for those getting out of prison to get back to being contributing members of society. Attending was one of the shelter men, highly educated and a professional, out of prison. He came back and shared the smoke & mirrors statistics of the programs out there that look good to the outside world, but to those out of prison they are not effective and why.
There was frustration there for him knowing both sides and he simply thanked me. Thanked me for being there for a significant purpose, because I care, not because it is a job.
I do my best every day and I desire to make positive changes and an impact for the good. There are so many roles that I take on beyond running a meal ministry that have a much more profound impact and I do believe genuinely caring about all these people in a low place in life is my most important role.
I was looking for significance and God dropped me right in the thick of it!
