No home, no ID, nowhere to go

“I only want a Bible,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what language, English or Chinese, I only want a Bible.”

We peered curiously at the unfamiliar face. He had dark hair, a round face and a slightly puffy purple jacket. He spoke softly, so we had to lean in to hear him.

When our pastor placed a Chinese and English Bible into his hands, his eyes lit with quiet excitement as he said muchas gracias.

The thing is though — he read little English, much less Chinese. Eager still was he to have the opportunity to learn. (Little did I know, later on, he would place his Spanish Bible side by side with his Chinese/English Bible to compare and learn at his own pace.)

It was only after several prodding questions that we found out he was without a place to stay for that night. The low that night was 34 °F. Two degrees short of a white flag night, when shelters are willing to go above and beyond normal capacity to accommodate those who need a place to stay.

During my two years at the church, I had never witnessed someone in a situation like his approach us. Funny thing is, just the other night, I asked God how we could give back to our community.

I believe this young man, Jaime*, was the answer to my prayer.

In the past, I have seen the church turn away people in need for “lack of resources” or for the belief that “it’s not our place” to help them. I understand. I understand that you’re afraid that if you give that woman food this time, there will suddenly be a line of people waiting for food and you don’t believe you can accommodate them. I understand that currently there is no soup kitchen, no infrastructure in place with the capacity to serve them. I understand that you feel robbed when after you give someone money, they go over to someone to ask for just the same.

The truth is there is no quick fix, it’s not just food or money, our fellow neighbors need. It’s love.

Not just any ol’ kinda love, but the radical, boundary crossing love of Jesus.

If there is no soup kitchen in place, have you thought that the repeated number of people coming to your church show that there is a need for one? You say “God helps those who help themselves,” but where in the Bible does it say that? Surely the Word says “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,” but in the same vein, the Word says to care for the poor, oppressed, and foreign, does it not?

“…their abundant joy and deep poverty overflowed into rich generosity. For I testify that they gave according to their ability and even beyond it. Of their own accord, they pleaded earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And not only did they do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us, because it was the will of God…

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

…Now finish the work, so that you may complete it just as eagerly as you began, according to your means. For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.”

The truth is, I too, have been desensitized to the plight of those experiencing homelessness, poverty and oppression.

Time after time after time after time, I have passed by people holding signs saying “homeless.” Ignoring them, refusing to make eye contact for fear of feeling guilty and cold-hearted.

During this past two and a half years, I only remember stopping by to talk and share my blessings with someone once.

Once.

So Jaime visiting our church was a rude awakening for me.

All it took was a man without a home, without a family to love and support him, without a means to make it through the day to day to shake and wake me up.

All it took was for me to step in his shoes for one second and imagine having lost all of my documentation affirming my identity. Without documentation, I could only live at ONE shelter out of all the shelters in the Research Triangle area. I couldn’t even obtain many social services, such as help in finding a job.

All it took was for me to make phone call after phone call after phone call to ask who could help him for me to realize how much more relentless is the love of our Father?

All this led me to wonder, as a friend once prompted: are we primarily driven by fear or love?

What is our motivation for life? What is our purpose for each and every day?

This week has been very tiring. But it’s also been the most enlightening and convicting.

The truth is, most of us have never needed to use a picnic table, bench or soiled ground as a bed. Most of us have never had to wander around the streets at 3 or 4 A.M. because it was too cold to sleep. We have never experienced it. So it is all the more easy to ignore it.

Who knew it would take meeting someone in person to wake me up from my constantly self-centered thoughts and desires? From my lack of generosity?

My heart breaks not only for this brother, but for my other brothers and sisters in similar situations.

Yes, we can give them food, we can give them money, we can give them shelter, but is that truly enough?

What is the love of Jesus?

Truly truly how would Jesus treat that brother, that sister you see holding that cardboard sign?

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During our last days together, as we were filling out paperwork at a shelter, I tried my best to translate the forms from English to Spanish. There were twelve pages. As you can imagine, after a while I got tired from all the translating and started making up words. In Spanish, there are quite a few words that sound like it would in English (e.g. papá = papa in English). So when I saw the word “purpose,” I naturally translated it to “purpusa.”

He looked at me and said la comida? The food?

Then it clicked.

¡OH PUPUSAS!

We spent a good minute or two laughing out loud about it.

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Me sharing this story does not serve to glamorize helping others. I knew it was hard, but I didn’t know it would be this hard.

We had to call the consulate three times to retrieve some sort of documentation.

The first time I called. I was told that Jaime had to obtain a birth certificate from his home country by either asking a family member to mail it to him or getting it directly from the registry.

The second time he called. He was told the same thing. That night it all seemed hopeless. My head felt like it was going to burst with all the what-ifs and dead-ends. We had exhausted all of our options and it seemed like everything required documentation, and the process to retrieve documentation would mean months of waiting that we could not afford.

The third time I was desperate, so asked a friend of law school to call the consulate.

In a three-way conversation, I listened to my friend as he explained the young man’s complicated situation. Through his fluency in Spanish and persuasive advocacy skills, we managed to get a walk-in appointment. Shortly after we hung up, my friend called me to let me know that if we went to the consulate, we could get the ID in the next week or two.

When I heard that, I almost cried.

There were many unanticipated, disheartening moments. When we were told yes, we rejoiced and put forth all our efforts, only to be rejected. When we heard what felt like contradicting statements from the man we were trying to help. When we thought the situation was resolved, only to go back to square one.

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In the end, his experience taught me how real and personal are the struggles that people go through every day. It’s so easy for me to go through my every day, binge watch movies and tv shows, so focused on myself and my immediate situation and community that I lose sight of the pain and suffering that is happening a couple miles down the road.

It taught me to question what is truly means to love, even when it is difficult. To ask myself, truly truly what would Jesus do?

As my pastor said:

All in all, God indeed will make a way when there seems to be no way. We thank God that He kept opening doors (from the big to the small) throughout the past week and a half. He trained us in a love that is to be patient and kind. He gave us grace when the drain of physical and emotional strength was all too real. He gave us protection on the many miles traveled. He gave us hope when we seemed to have hit dead ends and road blocks. He orchestrated the various resources that had to come together, even if on the very last minute. He too opened our eyes to the very real struggles of life, the stark brokenness and helplessness that is out there (which God brought to our doorstep). He too opened our eyes to see that indeed, for the sake of Jesus Christ, we can respond as the Good Samaritan, that we can do it unto our Lord as we serve our fellow family in Christ.

*name changed for reasons of confidentiality