More Salem

Over the past week I have learned a lot of stuff and now I guess I have a whole different view of homeless people. When I went downtown pretending to be the single mom looking for shelter for the night, I watched as the more upper-class people walked right past homeless people asking for money, barely acknowledging that they were there. I realized that that's what I normally do. After all the work I did with the 1304 house people, I know that it will be different now. Also, I used to feel very uncomfortable around homeless people, but I don't really know why though. But over the past few days I was sent out to talk with and give to lots of random homeless people. Now I am able to have a normal conversation with a homeless person without being the least bit uncomfortable.

After talking to a few people I met downtown, I think I became more thoughtful about what I did with my money. Last time I was in Seattle I went into an expensive store and came out with this really expensive purse----one that I really didn't need. This time I walked by the same exact store and noticed a homeless person sleeping outside and it made me feel really bad. It made me want to make better decisions about how I spend my money.

_____

I think that God used me to show people that people care about them a lot still, and to show them the bright smiles we bring, and that even though they smoke and drink, they are still people.