Not Extra Credit

My brother's capstone project for his Masters of Social Work degree had to do with the idea that caring for the poor and the broken is not an extra credit opportunity for Christians, but should be an every day thing. It's actually what Christ requires of us. James 1:27 says that "Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.." Proverbs 31 says "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute...defend the rights of the poor and needy."

So my friend Sarah aka Stabb totally gets this. Totally. This girl is vibrant, fantastic, and has a way with inner city kids and an on-fire passion for Christ. She works with the Marion kids through Realife when we're at school and it is crazy to see how kids magnetize themselves to her because her vivaciousness is so stinking contagious.

This summer she is out in California working at a camp where the campers are for the most part from impoverished families and some even from homeless shelters. The stories from her time so far break my heart, but they also make me realize that this is what it really looks like to follow Christ. Not going to church every Sunday and just hanging out with church folks. It's hanging out with the drug addicts, prostitutes - those without voices...Check this out (it's lengthy, but READ IT ALL and pray for Sarah:

"So we headed out and the first place we went was McArthur park, which was just covered with homeless people in an area where nothing was in English. We bought meals for a couple people and just sat and talked to them. One of the women was in a wheel chair, and we asked what we could pray for and she just started sobbing. She showed us a picture of her grandson and on the back her daughter had written "Mom, call me some time. Anytime. Please. I love you." It just broke my heart. These aren't just homeless people. These are people who have families that worry about them and are too ashamed to ask them for help. They're that broken and have that little self worth. Then we walked down to skid row. It's one of the highest homeless populations in the country. There are an estimated 7-8,000 homeless people in this little district. I have seen extreme poverty overseas. But I have never seen anything like this in the United States. The sidewalks are covered with tents, cardboard boxes, trash everywhere. Like, I know it's not the worst poverty in the world, but it was a huge wake up call to what is happening in our own country."

"Thursday night was definitely the most life changing. It was the Broken Hearts ministry. What they do is every Thursday and Friday night they walk the streets of West Hollywood and build relationships with the prostitutes, gays, and transvestites. So we divided into groups (two boys and me for mine) and walked the streets. Not gonna lie, I was so scared I thought I was going to throw up. I mean, it's eleven at night and the Lakers just won the playoffs so everyone's crazier than normal. I have no phone no money no id nothing on me and no idea where exactly i even was. So we start prayer walking to start, and then we go into this doughnut shop where people hang out and talked to some of the people they've been building relationships with. While I was standing there I saw three drug transactions right in front of me. It kind of made me realize that these people are not as scary as I've built up in my head. But really, they could care less about me. I'm not in a gang. I dont owe them drug money. So they're not really going to try and mess me up. And talking to them just made me realize that we really aren't that different . Then we walked to the seven eleven parking lot, and two of my friends were talking to this prostitue (female, straight), So I joined them, and she completely broke my heart. She just started telling us her whole life story. She told us how her dad raped her when she was seven and all these other horrific things that happened that led her to where she is. And she was just so completely broken. She had to give her first daughter away because at the time she couldnt support her. Her daughter is 12 and she said she has nightmares about meeting her, and her finding out what her mom is. The woman, Mimi, was sobbing for most of the time we talked with her. It just made me realize that even if these women are prostitutes "voluntarily", they are still slaves. They are trapped there by a world of lies and tragedies and they dont know how to get out. No one wants to be a prostitute."
DO NOT MISS THIS PART: "This whole week just made everything click for me. How many times do I avoid eye contact with the homeless? How many times do I talk to them, treat them like they are a human being?"

This is what real faith looks like. We could all learn a lesson from Sarah. Brucie