On 29th April we spoke to and/or prayed for five people. Two things of note to be reported to you all:
The first…
…was a homeless girl, sitting on the pavement near the door to St Michael’s. As we set out with the trolley, we all felt compassion for her and offered to pray for her there, and pray some more if she came down to the Abbey Churchyard. She had problems with her plastic bags of stuff so I took her down to the crypt so that she could put them aside then walk down to the Abbey. Forty-five minutes later she had not shown up so I went back to St Mike’s. She was still in the crypt, in a bit of a state, she said she had not eaten for a couple of days. So I bought her some food and a hot drink upstairs and said I would be back at 1:30pm. When I got back I found she had had a row with the staff, who had tried to be kind, but it then developed into a bad scene in the church, in front of other church visitors. I found myself struggling to defend my composure and our good name with the church.
Jesus, his brother James and others specifically direct us to care for the poor but in future I think when we do feel moved with compassion to help we must not put others, particularly facility operators, at risk – starting with me not doing it again! In the past I think Ara has bought take-away food and coffees for them – that is the best plan. Joshua 9:3-27 provides a warning from scripture and some guidance. Subject for a chat over coffee at St Mike’s on Friday!
The second…
…our fifth visitor, was a man who seemed to be limping on a stick. The more we spoke to him the more complex his condition became and although his heals came to the same length he still walked unevenly. I was left feeling we had not hit the spot. We gave him one of the new business cards with our HOTS email address and the request that people let us know how things improve. Two days ago he wrote to us to say he would like to come and see us again, to which I replied, “Please do!”