Seeing His Beloved

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I was raised in a Christian home, in the suburbs of Indianapolis. I never would have said that I had a "sheltered" upbringing, but the truth is, most of my friends growing up were from Christian homes or at least held what one would consider moral values.

I attended public schools until my sophomore year of high school when I transfered to a Lutheran school. Even there, I knew that many of the students around me didn't exactly share the Faith, so to speak.

And then one day, God called our family to serve overseas in a big city. I know the statistics about this country when it comes to Christianity. I know that there are numbers of homeless, addicted, and hopeless people here. But I didn't realize how seeing these people would change me so much.

I joked with my husband one afternoon, that I had seen more things in the last year, than I have seen in my entire life. Not the type of things a good Christian girl would like to brag about, but rather the type of things a missionary sees when they get their hands dirty in God's kingdom. This past year I have seen the drunk, the prostitute and the desolate. I have seen people having sex in the park, the car and can hear the girl next door. I witnessed my first drug deal and been the victim of theft many times over.

Do I find these moments shocking? Sometimes yes, but unfortunately sometimes no. This is the culture in which we live...in which we are trying to minister. It is reality in Budapest, Hungary. God puts us in places that sometimes make us very uncomfortable. Why? To stretch our reliance on Him, I think.

A few weeks ago, I went with our young adult group to feed the homeless on a Thursday afternoon. I took along my camera wanting to capture our group at work. Little did I realize the powerful feelings that would come over me. Suddenly, these people were not just "homeless" to me. Watching them accept the soup, the drink, the bread...I realized these people need the Bread of Life. My heart broke. It seems there are so many in need and we can only do so much. Their need is so great. Emotionally, physically, spiritually. We offered them a meal. And for one afternoon, we could share Christ's love with them. The young and the old. The broken and the tired. The lonely and the needy. Christ calls them all to Him and they are his beloved.

Looking Closer,

Corinne