Bethesda Mobile Mission
Yesterday I had the opportunity to volunteer with a local organization run through the Bethesda Men's Mission in which a huge van is loaded with supplies which are then passed out to homeless people all around the city of Harrisburg. I wrote all about the experience in my diary, so I shall share some thoughts straight from there:
"I headed to Eisenhour Campus Center to wait for the Mobile Mission group. Everyone who ended up going last night was me, Maddie, Maddie's friend Tricia, Lex (who I worked with last year), Carlos, and Aileen (who is the coordinator for the Mobile Mission through Messiah). We all loaded into a Messiah College vehicle and drove to the mission building where we waited awkwardly for a little while until Karl showed up. Karl is the dude who's the head of the Mobile Mission ministry, and he's a man of very few words, but is so kind and sincere-- you can tell how much he cares for and is rooting for everyone he helps.
So once Karl got there, we loaded the van with sandwiches, coffee, ice water, blankets, soap, hygiene kits, and bottled water, and there were already quite a bit of supplies in the van too, like some clothes and pillows and bags and more hygiene items. It is worth noting that the Mobile Mission van is literally the largest van I have ever laid eyes on.
But despite being so massive, the 6 of us students and Karl and Linda (a lady who helps out at the mission) were quite jammed together, sitting tightly thigh-to-thigh, on top of piles of clothes and blankets.
When we pulled up to the first stop, which was under a bridge, there were about ten to fifteen people and they immediately crowded the van as soon as Karl parked. When the van door opened and we had to get out, Aileen said to me "Do you want to get out or stay in? And you can be honest." Well, I didn't sign up for this just to stay inside the van and root through supplies, so I said, "No, I'm getting out." and hopped out literally into a throng of what one can only describe as hobos. My first impression was this: that movies actually aren't too far off. The people were smelly and dressed in ill-fitting, ragged clothes, all carrying bags or pushing carts of some sort. But as I pushed past the people to get to the back of the van and retrieve the box of hygiene kits to pass out, and started actually interacting with the people, I decided that maybe movies get homeless people right from an aesthetic perspective, but they definitely don't capture their humanity. There was not a single moment the whole night that I felt scared, because the people weren't scary. They were just people. Many of them wanted nothing more than to talk to us about what we were studing in school, where we were from, etc. Others just wanted to tell about themselves-- that it was their birthday soon, that a friend of a friend had promised to get them a car or a house or whatever.
I quickly ran out of the packaged hygiene kits after about one and a half stops, which was sad because they were really nice and had everything you might possible need, but after they were gone, I just had to plunge my hand into a huge bin of random toiletries and dig around till I found toothpaste, toothbrush, razor, shave cream, shampoo, lotion, soap. I discovered that I actually really loved talking to all the people, asking them if they wanted any toiletries, and then getting them set up with everything they need. Just being that up close and personal to these homeless people really humanized and de-stigmatized them for me.
We made five stops total, and by the end we were out of blankets and clothes and bottled waters, which was sad because I wanted to be able to give everyone everything they wanted but it just wasn't possible. Not a single person got boisterous or angry or anything though. In fact they were all so grateful, I've never heard so many hearty "thank you"s and " God bless you"s. And everybody knew and loved Karl and flocked to him. I would say Karl is probably one of the most truly Jesus-like men I've ever encountered. He was quiet, and gentle, and in now way overly sentimental. But he was just so genuine and generous: at first I was wary of giving too many hygiene kits to any one person, because as I mentioned before, there weren't many to begin with, and we did soon run out. But then I saw Karl giving out multiple food bags to anyone who asked, and even stopping the van in between official stops when he was individual people sleeping or sitting in doorwells, so I decided I had no place to be stingy with the hygiene supplies either. I was also incredibly impressed when this one woman asked Karl if she could have his phone number in case she needed anything and without even batting an eye he said "Sure" and got out his phone. Like, that's what it means to be a true man and a true follower of Christ. And I'm ashamed to say I know for a fact I would not have given my phone number out to any of those people, nice as they all truly were.
If I had to pinpoint the two biggest takeaways from the night, it would be these:
Number one, the saddest thing about the homeless people by my estimation isn't the lack of resources or shelter or possessions, but rather the fact that, because their whole existence is now revolved around obtaining those things and simply surviving, they've had to completely suppress their personalities and put any dreams and passions to rest in order to just focus on the day ahead. Like, I wanted to ask them about their hobbies and interests, but what could they say to that? That's why I think it would have been cool if we'd been able to bring along books to give out. Some of them were so intelligent to speak to, and showed so much interest in everything we had to say that I'm sure they would have appreciated some reading material. I mean, from what I could tell, many of them spend all the time that they're not searching for food and supplies just sitting on their tarps or in their tents. That has got to get dull, and then it's no wonder some of the women are pregnant (which was very depressing for obvious reasons). What else is there to do?
Number two, (the second takeaway I had) was that it seemed like for many of the people, their homelessness was the result of many different people throughout the course of their lives letting them down or not following up on promises. And I'm certainly not condemning other people for "making" them become homeless, because ultimately how you live your life is your choice. But aren't good choices like 100 times easier to make when you have people who love you and are invested in you and support you along the whole course of your life? I mean, I owe so much of my success to my undyingly supportive family and friends and church. But none of those people I handed little shampoos and toothbrushes to have a nice big cushy support circle to fall back on.
Anyway, it was a very meaningful experience and I wish I could help out more often and actually get the chance to make real, lasting connections with some of the people I met--but unfortunately (or, perhaps, fortunately) there were too many volunteers so everyone who signed up only gets to go one time.
I would not say that I feel like the experience was "life-changing" or "humbling" or that I feel like I "got more out of it" than the people we were serving, because I think if you claim those things then you're making the experience all about you. I didn't volunteer so that I could come out the other side feeling good about myself or feeling like I got blessed. I just signed up because there was a need and I am not above meeting that need. Plus, God told me (and everyone) to help the poor, so I will do so out of obedience to Him, and not so I can get some philanthropic high out of it. Because these people were not just destitute charity cases. They were real people."
VaughnDL
"I headed to Eisenhour Campus Center to wait for the Mobile Mission group. Everyone who ended up going last night was me, Maddie, Maddie's friend Tricia, Lex (who I worked with last year), Carlos, and Aileen (who is the coordinator for the Mobile Mission through Messiah). We all loaded into a Messiah College vehicle and drove to the mission building where we waited awkwardly for a little while until Karl showed up. Karl is the dude who's the head of the Mobile Mission ministry, and he's a man of very few words, but is so kind and sincere-- you can tell how much he cares for and is rooting for everyone he helps.
 |
| This is pretty close to what the van looked like. |
But despite being so massive, the 6 of us students and Karl and Linda (a lady who helps out at the mission) were quite jammed together, sitting tightly thigh-to-thigh, on top of piles of clothes and blankets.
When we pulled up to the first stop, which was under a bridge, there were about ten to fifteen people and they immediately crowded the van as soon as Karl parked. When the van door opened and we had to get out, Aileen said to me "Do you want to get out or stay in? And you can be honest." Well, I didn't sign up for this just to stay inside the van and root through supplies, so I said, "No, I'm getting out." and hopped out literally into a throng of what one can only describe as hobos. My first impression was this: that movies actually aren't too far off. The people were smelly and dressed in ill-fitting, ragged clothes, all carrying bags or pushing carts of some sort. But as I pushed past the people to get to the back of the van and retrieve the box of hygiene kits to pass out, and started actually interacting with the people, I decided that maybe movies get homeless people right from an aesthetic perspective, but they definitely don't capture their humanity. There was not a single moment the whole night that I felt scared, because the people weren't scary. They were just people. Many of them wanted nothing more than to talk to us about what we were studing in school, where we were from, etc. Others just wanted to tell about themselves-- that it was their birthday soon, that a friend of a friend had promised to get them a car or a house or whatever.
I quickly ran out of the packaged hygiene kits after about one and a half stops, which was sad because they were really nice and had everything you might possible need, but after they were gone, I just had to plunge my hand into a huge bin of random toiletries and dig around till I found toothpaste, toothbrush, razor, shave cream, shampoo, lotion, soap. I discovered that I actually really loved talking to all the people, asking them if they wanted any toiletries, and then getting them set up with everything they need. Just being that up close and personal to these homeless people really humanized and de-stigmatized them for me.
We made five stops total, and by the end we were out of blankets and clothes and bottled waters, which was sad because I wanted to be able to give everyone everything they wanted but it just wasn't possible. Not a single person got boisterous or angry or anything though. In fact they were all so grateful, I've never heard so many hearty "thank you"s and " God bless you"s. And everybody knew and loved Karl and flocked to him. I would say Karl is probably one of the most truly Jesus-like men I've ever encountered. He was quiet, and gentle, and in now way overly sentimental. But he was just so genuine and generous: at first I was wary of giving too many hygiene kits to any one person, because as I mentioned before, there weren't many to begin with, and we did soon run out. But then I saw Karl giving out multiple food bags to anyone who asked, and even stopping the van in between official stops when he was individual people sleeping or sitting in doorwells, so I decided I had no place to be stingy with the hygiene supplies either. I was also incredibly impressed when this one woman asked Karl if she could have his phone number in case she needed anything and without even batting an eye he said "Sure" and got out his phone. Like, that's what it means to be a true man and a true follower of Christ. And I'm ashamed to say I know for a fact I would not have given my phone number out to any of those people, nice as they all truly were.
 |
| Here's Karl, and an example of what the back of the van looks like when it's all loaded up. |
If I had to pinpoint the two biggest takeaways from the night, it would be these:
Number one, the saddest thing about the homeless people by my estimation isn't the lack of resources or shelter or possessions, but rather the fact that, because their whole existence is now revolved around obtaining those things and simply surviving, they've had to completely suppress their personalities and put any dreams and passions to rest in order to just focus on the day ahead. Like, I wanted to ask them about their hobbies and interests, but what could they say to that? That's why I think it would have been cool if we'd been able to bring along books to give out. Some of them were so intelligent to speak to, and showed so much interest in everything we had to say that I'm sure they would have appreciated some reading material. I mean, from what I could tell, many of them spend all the time that they're not searching for food and supplies just sitting on their tarps or in their tents. That has got to get dull, and then it's no wonder some of the women are pregnant (which was very depressing for obvious reasons). What else is there to do?
Number two, (the second takeaway I had) was that it seemed like for many of the people, their homelessness was the result of many different people throughout the course of their lives letting them down or not following up on promises. And I'm certainly not condemning other people for "making" them become homeless, because ultimately how you live your life is your choice. But aren't good choices like 100 times easier to make when you have people who love you and are invested in you and support you along the whole course of your life? I mean, I owe so much of my success to my undyingly supportive family and friends and church. But none of those people I handed little shampoos and toothbrushes to have a nice big cushy support circle to fall back on.
Anyway, it was a very meaningful experience and I wish I could help out more often and actually get the chance to make real, lasting connections with some of the people I met--but unfortunately (or, perhaps, fortunately) there were too many volunteers so everyone who signed up only gets to go one time. I would not say that I feel like the experience was "life-changing" or "humbling" or that I feel like I "got more out of it" than the people we were serving, because I think if you claim those things then you're making the experience all about you. I didn't volunteer so that I could come out the other side feeling good about myself or feeling like I got blessed. I just signed up because there was a need and I am not above meeting that need. Plus, God told me (and everyone) to help the poor, so I will do so out of obedience to Him, and not so I can get some philanthropic high out of it. Because these people were not just destitute charity cases. They were real people."
VaughnDL
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