You Never Know...

I love the story about the man who sees a boy throwing starfish back into the ocean after they had washed up on the shore after a storm. As the story goes, the man asks the boy why he is bothering to throw the starfish back into the water since there were hundreds of starfish on the shore and there was no way to save them all. The boy turns and throws another starfish into the water and tells the man that he made a difference to that one.

Going for a few hours, twice a month into the worst parts of downtown San Francisco where there are countless homeless, sick and broken people with the expectation of making a difference may seem unrealistic. How can giving someone a hot meal and pair of socks hold them over for two weeks until you see them again? How can you expect one short conversation to change their lives? It is completely unrealistic to expect these things if you are trying to do it without love.

I was walking by a woman a few weeks ago while out at Night Strike. We had just started our evening and were starting to walk to the area of the tenderloin where we were going to minister. As we approached a corner I noticed a woman who had just crossed the street and passed the rest of the team. I asked her if she would like some food, something I had done hundreds of times before and she turned to me and looked almost shocked. She graciously accepted the food and juice. I asked her if there was something she needed prayer for. (We try to pray for every person we can while doing Night Strike.) She looked at me and started crying instantly. She told us that she was going home to kill herself that night but that running into us gave her hope to keep going to tomorrow. We prayed for her and encouraged her, then continued on down the street. While we can't reach every person in need on the streets of the city, we made a difference in her life by showing the love of Jesus.

When you go out on Night Strike you are offering to serve and pray for people that are ignored or forgotten. More than a hot meal and clean socks, they need someone to show them love by taking the time to listen to them and pray for them. Though I have seen people healed and broken to tears while in the tenderloin, most of the time we never know the difference we have made. We just need to be obedient in showing love and Jesus will do the rest.

- Catie Hootman