The first week in November, I took part of an experience called Urban Hike. With 20 other students, I went to Edmonton to live with the homeless for a week. We spent the week helping out in soup kitchens, wandering the streets, hanging out with the homeless people and sleeping in a church. It was a really good experience and time of learning. I was able to see first-hand the hopelessness that was portrayed in the eyes of the homeless. A lot of the people I met seemed stuck in a place that they couldn’t get out of. Some of them didn’t like the way they were living but were unwilling to do anything to change it or weren’t sure how to change. Many of them were bound by addictions.
The people that I met on the streets needed basic possessions that I often take for granted. Some that stuck out to me were: shelter, food, and relationships. For many of the people I talked with, they went to the soup kitchens every day to get meals. They couldn’t provide food for themselves. Some of them had a place to sleep at night but even then it wasn’t a very nice place to be. I observed that when these people were eating their meals, they would usually keep to themselves. It seemed to me that something they need but weren’t getting enough of was friendships.
My favorite thing about Urban Hike was the conversations I had with people who came into the soup kitchens. One conversation that a couple people and I were able to have was with Darryl. We met him while waiting in line for food at a soup kitchen. Afterwards we took him out for coffee to hear about his life story. He is about 50 years old and going through the Herb Jamison rehab program downtown Edmonton. He used to be a farmer until a couple years ago. When his wife left him and took the kids, he turned to alcohol to find relief. He spent at least 10,000 on alcohol. After he lost everything he owned, he came to the city. Soon after, he enrolled in the drug rehab program. Darryl is a very wise, theological man. He understands the value of life and had real hardships in life.
When we first sad down with our coffee at Tim Hortons, he held up a $20 bill. One of the first things Darryl did when we sat down for coffee was pull out a $20 bill. “What is this worth?” he asked us. He then began to crumple it and form it into a ball. “Is it still worth $20?” Darryl asked. “Yes, it’s still the same amount,” we responded. Darryl replied. “Just like this bill, people can’t always see that they are valued. They might be all crumpled and bruised, but that doesn’t change their value. Even when I throw this money on the ground and it gets trampled, it hasn’t lost any of its value. Many people who are living on the streets cannot see their own value. They’ve been hurt and damaged by other people or even themselves that they forget how valuable they are.” Darryl reminded me that someone on the street is not of any less value than me but is equal. They need reminder of how important they are and how valued their life is.
A lot of other things happened this week which I was able to take and learn from. We went on a rose walk, where we gave roses to prostitutes. That was definitely an interesting experience. One thing I struggled with during Urban Hike was realizing that it was not up to me to change these people. The only thing I could do that would have an impact on them was to love them. I wanted so badly for these people to find freedom in Jesus, to not be bound by their addictions or struggles. But it was not up to me to stop their addictions, get them off the streets, turn their life around or make them be a Christian. This is something that only God can do. Urban hike. I learned a lot and grew in my understanding of who God is and who he calls us to be.
