We meet each Saturday at the Bojangles off New Bern and New Hope Rd to have a bible study and then walk around and talk with individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness. Each week, something wonderful and unexpected happens that continues to propel us forward when we start to question why we are doing what we are doing. On one of the Saturdays, as a relatively new Christian, I was not sure how to share with others what has made the biggest difference in my life. I can so relate to the folks we meet who when they hear we are Christian, put up a wall. That was me, on the other side of the wall not too long ago!
I was grateful to have others by my side in the outreach who had a ministerial background and had no problem going up to someone they didn’t know and talk about Jesus or hand them a Christian-based handout and even pray for them. It was very easy to hide behind them. I did have the desire to share, I just did not know how to do it without feeling strange and watering it down because I was scared of the reaction I would receive. Some of the individuals we had gotten to know would introduce me to others as the church lady and that made me feel very uncomfortable. I had no problem being linked to someone who loves Jesus; however, did not want to be equated to a church lady.
That morning, before going to the outreach, I remember reading in the Bible about how God wants us go out and teach others about him. I thought about this on the way to the Outreach and asked God to be with me and help me get up the nerve to talk to someone about God without being shy or watering it down.
When we are done at Bojangles, we begin walking. Our path takes us past Wal-Mart to the bus stop. As we made our way to the bus stop, I passed by an older man who had a wristband from the hospital still on, struggling to push a cart full of his belongings. Without hesitating, I stopped and asked him if he had just gotten out of the hospital. He thought he had seen me there and that’s how I recognized him, until I pointed out with a smile, that he still had the wristband on. I asked him if he needed help with his cart.
He proceeded to tell us that he had just purchased it at Wal-Mart and some young men behind him at the cash register helped him to put it together; however, as he was walking out of Wal-Mart and to the bus stop, one of the wheels came loose and he could not figure out how to get it back on – and to stay on while he pushed it. After looking at the cart a bit, we recognized that the wheel was missing a pin, that went through a hole to keep it on. We looked around, but did not see a pin. I mentioned the possibility of going back in Wal-Mart to either exchange the cart, or to ask someone at customer service if they had a paperclip that he could use to keep the tire on. We all walked into Wal-Mart with him talking up a storm. He was very happy to have someone to talk to!
As we stood in line, we went over what we would ask the lady once we reached her. When we got there, he asked if he could return the cart and tried to explain why. He just wanted to get another pin out of one of the other boxes. She said he could not do that. He didn’t want to return it as it took awhile to put that one together. We then asked her if she had a paper clip that he could use. After awhile, she found one and it worked better than the pins that came with the cart!
He was so excited and thankful for our help. As we began to walk away from the customer service desk, he said very loudly – “Are you all Christians? I know you are Christians!.” The word did not feel funny. It felt warm and loving. I did not need to worry about having to memorize and share verses or parts of the Bible, or even pray for those we encountered. That eventually came with time; however, at that moment, just loving someone had the same effect as praying for them or sharing God’s word. It was the actions that were felt, not hearing a verse quoted from the Bible. The encounter we had with that beautiful soul inside Wal-Mart has stayed with me over the past few months!