Out on the Streets

Every day when I walk down the street I am confronted by the reality of poverty and disease and physical deformities; sometimes like I have never seen before. Every day the question stares me in the face, “What are you going to do, Lydia?”

What do I do with the elderly men and women who sit on the side of the road and ask for money? If I saw these elderly people at home, people just like my grandparents, would I just pass them by? Would I let them sit there begging? They are someone’s Grandpa and Grandma.

What about the mother with her nursing baby who sends her toddler to beg for money from pedestrians? If this was my sister, would I not bring her to my home and take care of her?

What about the crazy man who throws rocks at people?

What about the street kids who roam around all day, not going to school, playing in the streets, trying to sell packs of tissues? If these were my nieces and nephews, or even my own children, how could I let them go unattended and uncared for all day?

What about the man who has no legs, who sits on the roadside begging, but when I give him a birr, or even sometimes if I just greet him, his face just lights up with a big smile. Or the middle aged woman, Ababa, who sits outside the grocery store nearly everyday, with sadness in her eyes? What is her story?

What about all the people I see who have physical deformities that you would rarely see in western countries because they would be easily fixed at birth with a simple operation? What hope do they have for opportunities in life?

Most days I just don’t know what to do. People are always asking for money. Sometimes I give to them…usually to the elderly people or the disabled…and sometimes I don’t. But is money really what they need? Is my 1 birr (the equivalent of about 7 cents) really going to help them in life? Am I giving out of guilt? Shamefully, sometimes I just walk past, saying or doing nothing, because I get too overwhelmed. My heart cries when I walk down the street, “Oh Christ, what would you do for these people? You wouldn’t just walk past, would You?”

I don’t think there are easy answers for these questions, but what I do know is that I can find some of the answers by looking at Christ’s life. Looking through the Gospels, I don’t find Christ handing out money to the poor and needy. But what I do see Him doing is giving dignity. He spoke to them. He looked them in the eye. He knew their names. He spent time with them. He loved them. And I think that this is what He asks of me. I may not be able to help every person that I encounter, financially or otherwise, but I can give what has so generously been given to me…the love of Christ. And it is His love that compels me.

How You Can Pray:

–for our team as we plan the summer activities at the youth center

–that our team will have lots of energy, patience, and love for the hundreds of kids who

will come to the youth center every day

–for me as I continue seeking God for the future and what the next step will be…that I

will have His wisdom

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