Minnesota 2010

Deuteronomy 8:3

Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

When I found out that I was going to be working with kids at a homeless shelter for my 5 days in Minneapolis, I'll be honest, my heart sank a little bit. Seeing as my summer job is part time at a day camp, I was kind of looking forward to the time away from the little ones. As I was complaining to one of my friends about my predicament, she simply looked at me and said, "Maybe God has something He wants to show you." And she was right. 
As you have seen, the theme for our week in Minnesota was "More or Less" and I think the children I worked with for a week were perfect examples.
There were two groups; the 10am -12pm group, and the 12pm-2pm group. They were picked up by school buses, and chapel was first. 30 minutes of almost 100% worship. Then came gym; another 30 minutes of dodge ball chaos in a gym no bigger than the size of a large bedroom. Then it was lunch. These kids didn't bring a lunch like the kids at my work. No, the shelter fed all of them. They then finished up the day with a lesson and were driven back home on the same bus they came on. 
The first day was uneventful. I really didn't know what to do so I stood in the back hoping someone would ask me to do them a favor so I wasn't just standing around. I remember thinking that where I worked was so much more professional and organized and that I was glad I worked at a church, and not a homeless shelter. 

The week went on, and I began to notice subtle differences in the kids, and my surroundings. Two little brothers, came the second day with the same wrinkled clothes on they had worn the day before, obviously having slept in them the previous night. When the kids asked what was for lunch, or saw the food on their plate and wrinkled up their noses, they ate it without complaining, because they were hungry. When a teacher asked for prayer requests, one little boy asked for his family's safety, because his dad and sister had recently been shot. Then there is one girl I won't forget. Her name was Destiny. On the third day, during gym, she sat on the floor, tears rolling down her face. I sat by her and asked what was wrong. She would not speak, she would not look at me, she would not receive a hug. After sitting with her for at least 10 minutes, she wiped the tears from her eyes, stood up and promptly began to laugh and play with all the other children as if nothing was wrong. I can only imagine what type of things Destiny has seen, or experienced within her household and neighborhood. 
But in the midst of all that brokenness, I saw something else. These kids weren't just physically hungry. They were hungry for the Word of God. During the daily lesson, I watched them as they quietly listened to their teacher, quietly being the key word. I can hardly keep my kids at work quiet long enough to explain a simple activity. These kids had a desire to learn about Jesus, such a desire that I have never seen before. By the end of the week, my heart was completely changed. I found myself wishing I worked at that homeless shelter, where the

focus was not just entertaining them for a day, but to feed them with something more than physical food. It made me realize once again that nobody can ever be satisfied with the things the world offers, but only with the things of God. There is more to this life than money, the best house in the neighborhood, a job to be proud of, because in the end, none of that will matter anymore. I may have a roof over my head, plenty of food, a car, and even a trip to New York City with my drama department, but I don't see myself as more privileged than those kids. I see them as more privileged than me, because they understand the love of Christ. Which, to me, that understanding is the most important possession we can ever have. Less world, more understanding; that's what I saw this week. I challenge myself and all of you to look around in our lives and see what we may be valuing more than our relationship with God. I think that if we allow God to open our eyes, we might be surprised at what we will find.