Love Hearts and Homelessness

"Let me teach you how to draw a love heart."  

The last thing I wanted to do after one of the most stressful weeks of my life was interact with the 4 year old Grace that I sat across from on the train. I was beyond exhausted. But of course it wasn't possible to say no to this tiny human being with big blue eyes full of imagination and spunk. Our conversations started out with her being a little weary of me. She thought I was going to steal her sausage roll or her Smarties or her lip balm. I told her I would because I try to be funny with kids, and I'm not good at it. That caused her father to give me a concerned look. She soon warmed up to me, though, and crawled under the table to sit next to me and play I Spy. Then, when that got too boring for her, we got out my journal, and she carefully taught me how to pointy draw love hearts and wobbly stars. And it was just what I needed.

     I had really been looking forward to this week. We were given a bit of money and told to go somewhere with no connections or places to stay and live solely on God's provision. It sounded like an adventure to me. And as they say, adventures only come in one variety, "daring". There is no such thing as a "safe adventure". I could be homeless and be happy.

     So, my team of 4 bought a one-way flight to Dublin, and left Wales with a head full of dreams and heart full of excitement. We arrived in Ireland Monday afternoon, and after having to tell a tiny lie to customs about having a place to stay (most nervous I've ever been), we hit the ground running. Through a couple different recommendations, we found a place called Dublin Christian Mission. We walked in, set our stuff down, and immediately started walking around the walls of Jericho with about 20 5-year-olds. After a couple hours of hanging out with the kids, we finally got to talk to the director of the building who told us he already had an entire flat set up just for us (with a closet full of free food!!!). All of it was free as long as we hung out with the kids each day from 2:30 to about 6. In the mornings, we cleaned some of the place and did prayer walks. In the evening, we helped out at a homeless shelter and tried some evangelism.

     It seemed like the perfect setup. God was providing, and we were happy. Yet, it wasn't enough. Our situation was too easy. So for a reason that is hard to describe (other than God told us to) we left the comfort and security of Dublin Christian Mission. We walked with all of our stuff out to the streets of Dublin and began the search again. We found Christ Church (the oldest cathedral in Dublin) for morning prayers, where we met the loveliest bishop. He gave us a free and extensive tour of the whole place and then later recommended us to another church who might have programs for us to get involved in or even a place to stay. We set off again. We headed to a church called CORE and talked to their children's minister for a long time about all the programs the church does and how we could get involved. Two people on the team decided to do some different evangelism in the city center, while myself and one other girl stayed with him to do house visits to the kids in the area. We all felt like there was a reason that we were at that church, but the day quickly became evening and we were told there was no place for us to stay there. We were pretty discouraged and tired. Back at Christ Church, we listened to their choir and tried to collect our thoughts. After lots of walking and praying and worrying, it was 10:30 at night, it was scary, and we were frustrated. We stopped at McDonald's with low spirits. As we were talking, I spotted a couple next to us that had a binder with a cross on it on their table. Rachel was bold enough to talk to them, and they offered us a place to stay! All of our eyes got a little teary at that point. They drove us to their home outside of town, offered us food and beds for Thursday and Friday, and then drove us back into town Friday morning. Mind blowing.

     Friday we went back to CORE for a community coffee morning, where we told our sob story to a couple of sympathetic people. That day we ended up receiving 80 euros! It was just enough to get a taxi, ferry, bus, and train back home for Saturday. It was beyond crazy how God provided for us.

    This week taught me that you only get places and have adventures if you are bold and willing to be outside of your comfort zone. Not every moment was enjoyable, but it was so worth it. I, also, learned that at their core, most people are good and want to help each other out.  

 My only disappointment of the week was that I had been praying to see a whale in the Irish Sea on the ferry home and that did not happen. I guess things could have gone worse.