Urban Plunge - Part 3...aka come on people can't you take a little suspense?

The cop pulled up and asked us what we were doing. Another leader approached the side of his car and shared with him what we were all about. I overheard the officer tell him that he thought we were homeless kids wandering around. I'm sure we looked like it at this point (a big bunch of ragamuffins). Anyhow, we told him where we were going and why. He smiled. And let us go.

Another mile down the road we saw a homeless woman sitting on the edge of a sidewalk with her shopping card and ragged blanket around her. Her hair was stringy and streaked with gray; her baseball cap torn and stained. We asked her if she knew about the Baptist church down the street that serves breakfast on Saturday mornings. She nodded. "Hope to see you there." She looked straight through us, avoiding any kind of eye contact. That was all.

We got to the rescue mission and for the first time I felt unsafe. I was like a momma hen with our students- especially the girls. It was an environment I had never been in. People were pulling up in their cars (with dogs in the back, along with the stench of urine) or on their bikes (piled high with their only belongings), hungry and anticipating breakfast and a warm shower. We met them, shook hands, smiled, and prayed with them. Some of them were very drunk. And some very, very high. I confess I was scared- there was an element of fear in not knowing what some of them would do next. But God's truth kept ringing in my ear.

After that we made our way into the kitchen. On the menu? Breakfast burritos. Tortillas, cheese, beans, corn, eggs, and jalapenos, topped off with coffee and orange juice. We were still fasting at this point, so we prepared all of the food with growling tummies. I was incredibly impressed with our students- they are such servants. They never complained, never rolled their eyes, and were so willing to serve in any way possible. It was a sweet moment for me to step back and watch them be the hands of Christ.

A line of our morning friends went through and packed their tortillas full of food. They came back 2, 3, 4 times and when it slowed down we went out to fellowship with them. (At the last minute they told us we could eat [in humble portions]. We didn't want to offend the others by telling them we were doing a homeless simulation.) We all sat at different tables, hearing the stories of these grown up children of God. It was a beautiful time.

We cleaned, stacked chairs, and started the walk back to our original meeting place. At this point the sun was blaring and we got sweaty and smelly. (Unfortunately, no one picked deodorant as one of their three items!) When we got back we had a "scavenger hunt" to do for the next few hours. It was hands down absolutely the most eye-opening and difficult thing that I have ever done.