From the Flying Thoughts blog:
Anka volunteered at our recent Birthday Party for the Homeless.
I’ve drove [sic] past the Portland Rescue Mission many times and saw the long line at it’s entry door, only I never dared to stop by and say ‘hi’ to any of the people waiting in line, mostly because I never knew what else to say and I didn’t wanna look stupid stopping by just for the simple reason of saying ‘hi’ or asking someone ‘how’s your day going?’…
Today, though, I can say that I have finally conquered my unjustified fear and have spent a good 3 hours volunteering with the K-Love team at the Portland Rescue Mission for the ‘Birthday Party for the Homeless’.
As I was saying ‘hi’ and ‘happy birthday’ to each guest passing by, I was able to see deeper into their souls and my heart felt with them and the situation they were in. Some would quietly take the card, avoiding looking into my face because there was so much shame and humility deep into their eyes. And there were some that have embraced their situation and it almost came as part of their nature to be there…
And some that by their own behavior, mistakes and addictions have put themselves in that situation but helplessly they were going day after day not knowing how to get better and help themselves. And then I saw families with small children and it made my eyes fill with tears that I so often forget how blessed I am and I take everything for granted and on top of that I complain for the smallest of things if they’re not the way I want them to be.
But this was more of a lesson to me than anything else and I embraced it and I hope what I learned from it, I won’t forget…
>> Read Anka’s full blog post
>> See the Birthday Party video and photos