Bobs Magical Adventures

hey all
Well last night i got home from the seed. The Seed in a homeless shelter in downtown Calgary. I went down with my all the fisrt year studence from ABC (well most anyway). It was a really good week, but fair hard. What we where doing down there was firstly learning about addictions, and child apuses which are why a lot of people are on the streets. This was very hard as a number of people in the group had been abused earlier in life. the second thing we did was help out, i did most of my work in the kitchen because that is what im a good at and i didnt realize how much i missed it and like doing it. The third thing was to learn what it is like to be homeless. One morning we had to find breakfast for yourselves with only 3 dollars, which i though was to much money but owell. I walked about 17 blocks to a safeway and got a warm french stick and a bottle of water for $2 this would have been enough for both of us but he was a ceiliac so could not eat the bread. We also went out just as everyone was leaving work to see how people in society treat the homeless. We went in a group of 3, 1 person would do something and then the other 2 would watch from a distance. This is included just walking and seeing peoples reactions, colecting cans from the bin, Pan Handerling (asking people for mony) or just sitting down and seeing how people reacted to you. Now i dont know if i have said this already but we where not aloud to shower and we got to pick some cloths from the seed store (cothes for the homeless) so i looked the most homeless in the class and we all smelt. It was a really interesting exersize tho. I asked one what you would probly class as respectable couple for some money for a coffee. (i couldnt bring my self to say anything that i wasnt realy going to use the money for because if i had said that i was homeless that would have been a lie, i know that may sound silly as i was asking for money which i didnt really need but that was still important to me) they where chatting happily to each other linked arms. When i asked they both went silent Looked straight down pulled closer to each other and walked very fast, not even looking at me or giving me an answer. But Compare that to how another homeless person. Bobby-marrie and i where sitting under a bridge just quietly watching people as they walked passed. Another homeless guy walk up to as and bent down to our level and asked if we had had a hot meal yet. When we said no he told us where to go and get one and that they would sort us out and even give us more warm cloths. The way he told as this there was nothing but consern for us. It was amazing to see the difference between the "recpectable" members of societly who you would expect to see sitting in church on sunday. and this (homeless Bum" who was probly a crack attic.
Most of the people reading this blog are Christians. The things we can learn from the homeless are amazing, yes they have so many problems im not discounting that. But the love and execeptance they have for each other is way more than the church has. The church in general the wider church, gossip, back stab and often are very clichi. As a homeless person I was shown more love and exceptance straight away from these street people than is found in the church.
So what did i learn from my week as a bum. It has given me a new energy to work with youth, and not just youth in the church (although i still want to work with youth in the church as well) but just youth everywhere including the street. Also Gods love and the faith that these people have. One guy i talked to left Liberia on a buisness trip when he got off the plain in New York he say a TV report saying the city where he lived (the capital of Liberia) had been taken over by rebles, he never returned and does not know what happened to his family. He then lived in the US for 10 years and married a woman who became sick and lots use of her legs so he had to look after her and there son with little to no suport from the government because he was not a resident. He came down to Canada and was not aloude to return. Again leaving his family behide. He can still talk to his son and he thinks he will be in a posision to have him come down and visit now that he is in Calgary and has a Job. He just got an apartment and was at the seed for a feed and to see people again as he has lived there for 2 weeks. There is more to the story that i wont go into now. But this guy loved God and did not blame him for anything. I am so selfish sometimes and blame God for every little thing that goes wrong in my life.
Also i want to work down at the seed. I think that i might be able to with my visa coz its a not for profit orginasation so that would be rad
I hope you enjoyed reading about my adventures email me and leave coments
love you all Brendan