The Journey Begins.

      Most of us have walked by or driven by a homeless man sitting on the street, with the damp, cardboard sign that reads, "help me". Most of us have experienced that oh no, here he comes feeling when we see a homeless person walking within 10 feet of our car while we are stopped at that never-ending red light. I am guilty of this, myself! 

      Since I was a kid, I have had a heart for people. Not just certain groups of people like the elderly, or the poor. I had a passion for everyone. The fact that I am blessed enough to sleep in a bed at night and have food on my plate makes me hurt for those who don't. During the Christmas of 2010, I decided to give all of my gifts to people who needed them most. I accepted only an I-pod because my mother made me (You know moms!). Seeing joy in the face of poverty and brokenness is what sparked my interest in helping those less fortunate than me. 

      In this 28-day experience, I will be putting myself into the tattered shoes of the homeless, the poor, and the broken-hearted. I will be interviewing them. I will be hanging-out with them. I will be hearing their stories and sharing mine. Why, you ask? What could possibly make someone WANT to engage with these people? Because they are people. Matthew 25:40 says this: "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." As a devout Christian, I want to discover if my Christian community actually practices what this verse preaches. Do we really help the less fortunate, or is it just another blip on our never-ending radar? I want to discover the relationship between Christians and the homeless and poverty-stricken people that live all around us. 

In order to preform this experiment correctly, I need some ground rules and guidelines:

1.) I will never go anywhere alone when interviewing or engaging with people I don't know. Safety first!

2.) Do not take anyone I meet to an ATM machine.

3.) Only give cash if I feel like God is telling me to do so.

4.) I must share the gospel with at least one person I come in contact with during my interviews and visits to homeless shelters and on the streets. 

5.) I will spend at least 5 hours a week mingling, observing, and interacting with homeless and impoverished people.

6.) I will always pray before I set out on that day's journey.

       I have a lot of interesting experiments up my sleeve for this project. You'll be surprised what lengths a small girl like me will go through to simply understand. Stay tuned, daily, for updates on my progress and my experiences. 

QUOTE:

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."
Leo Buscaglia