This Saturday was the day we had anticipated, prayed about and sowed into over Easter as a church! Our desire with the day was to show the cross equals love message in action in our own backyard! Items to cover some basic needs for a homeless person was collected and put in care packs with encouraging notes in each one of them. And off we went – as one team we gathered to then scatter to three different strategic locations in Copenhagen.
What met the street team was deep amazement all over. It’s amazing what a toothbrush can mean for someone who has not had his or her teeth brushed for 10 days. Wet wipes were immediately taken to use and body lotion applied on dry, cold hands. A woman was commenting how she saw this pack as her Christmas present as she did not receive one last year.
From Copenhagen over the bridge to Malmö, we visited a women’s homeless shelter, and a volunteer, Anett, describes her experience of sitting with a girl high on drugs. She was hard to reach with a distant look on her face, not looking Anett straight in the eyes, but as Anett started to pack up the pack and show her the items one by one, something happened. The girl started loosening up, looking Anett in the eyes and she even wanted to try the face cream. Anett says: “My heart cried when I looked at her. Somewhere did something go wrong where no one has been there to help her. I was so glad I could be “the one” to her that day as we held hands and gave each other a hug.”
Not only were the homeless people uplifted. We were too.
“Being able to stand in the park and chat and experience our shared humanity and how laughter connects us was eye-opening,” Lauren says.
We truly experienced that those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed, and enjoyed the opportunity to practice living out God’s heart for the poor:
“It’s criminal to ignore a neighbor in need, but compassion for the poor – what a blessing!”(Proverbs 14:20 MSG)
Our heart is to build relationships and love people to the point of them asking: ”Why do you want to do this for me… a stranger?”From that point on we have the invitation to share our story and the hope we have in Jesus!
For those friendships to be built, consistency is key! That’s why this Easter initiative is just the starting point of a regular homeless street team we are launching in May – simply because we care and because we can.
You can sign up here to be part of it: citycare.hillsong.dk
Thank you church for your amazing willingness to be part of the answer – it all matters!
Sandra Hultén
CityCare Coordinator
Published on www.hillsong.dk’s blog, April 2017.