Lovin' on East Lancaster

So please excuse what will probably be countless errors and maybe even some fuzzy thoughts seeing as I'm writing this from the end of my incredibly long day!!! Let's just start this by saying I got about 3 hours of sleep last night, partly because I was out bowling until 1 a.m. (of which I owned those lanes by the way:) and partly because I woke up the lovely sound of my sick sister (I think she just caught the flu...and the bathroom didn't exactly make out easy if you know what I mean). Regardless, I pulled myself out of bed and down to Starbuck's to meet up with everyone for a beautiful morning of some downtown lovin, mmmm.

I love going down to Lancaster. The people there have such character, not to mention ARE such characters...there's never a dull moment that's for sure. There were a lot more people this Saturday than last, and it was just a little bit hotter (ok a lot). I was disappointed not to find my friend William from last week, but I'll keep looking for him. One scene from today that really captured my heart was this old man trying to get to his belongings that were locked behind an outside cage at the Resource Center. I don't know why he couldn't get in it (maybe he could of just asked someone) but to stand there and watch him struggle to reach his bag with a stick just so he could take something out was heartbreaking. These people have nothing and what little they do carry with them is either left unattended in the streets or "locked away in a cage." I can't even begin to think what I would carry with me on an everyday basis if that's all I had in life, could you? It's also pretty easy to see that drugs are definately the devil's candy down there. It's sad but yet it's so much more frustrating to think of what these people's lives could have/will be without them. I don't think it's an unrealistic goal. And to see so many people my own age! To think I get to go to college and get an education while they suffer on the streets, how blessed am I? Again, it's not about going down there to give them a meal. Yes, they are incredibly greatful for that, but look around, you won't see many starving bodies if you know what I mean. Today we talked to a young couple who, while eating their hot dog so graciously given by a local church mission, stood there and told us they wished the churches would just stop giving out food because it makes that life too easy. This is where I see the changes we have to make as a church BODY, not just a building or a denomination or whatever. What if we all got on the same page as one force of God's children? Dang, talk about moving some mountains...more and more I see that's what has to happen, and not just with the homeless. If we break out of those buildings just a little bit to see what our church neighbors are doing next door, maybe we can then see the people we're called to serve living down the street...