A Heart For The Needy

I've had this dream/desire in my heart to make some sort of survival kit filled with a toothbrush, toothpaste, bandages, shampoo, and wipes for the homeless. In my head this was just a thought, I'm just a student there's no way I have the budget to do that. Thursday night one of my really close friends, Diego, asked me if I wanted to go on a random homeless drive and give some food and prayer to them. As soon as I read the message God just said, "this is it". My birthday is around this month and I had 30 dollars to buy a new dress for my 21st birthday, in my heart I knew I didn't need that new dress so I went into Dollarma on Friday after school and bought everything on my list for 30 dollars. 

I packed them up and created a little survival kit with love, since I was on an extremely tight budge I only managed to make 10 and prayed over these 10 people that we're going recieve these little packages. 

To be very honest with you I never thought people would actually take this with thankful hearts, but boy was I about to be wrong! Today, May 10, 2014 started at 6:20am for me, I literally woke up as if someone shook me out of my sleep, I ran outside to my balcony with my bible to encounter Jesus this morning 

Jesus showed up like never before and he gave me this amazing verse that literally marked my whole day:

“Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. (Habakkuk 1:5 NIV)

These were the amazing people who were there bright an early serving the needy when Dylan (boyfriend) and myself arrived 

That picture unites Christians and Muslims together serving people, I love it. These are Diego's friends, they made sandwiches for the needy and were giving them out all morning! 

Most of them left and Dylan, Diego and myself went off to give some money, food and my survival kits. The first person we encountered was Shawn 

He was new in Toronto and just trying to get by in that picture you see part of my toothbrush sticking out, he loved the kit and that's when I really though "wow okay people might take these!" What got me the most about Shawn was another guy name Gor, he was a homeless for a very long time but he found a job and lives with his girlfriend in a hotel(for now) he goes through the streets of downtown  Toronto helping the new homeless people find their way and help them stay clean and get them up on their feet, how amazing is that!!! 

We then met Bowser and Brugetta, Bowser's love for his female dog was beautiful, he even had her name tattooed on his back, which reminds me he had the sickest tats ever! He was actually so thrilled that we cared enough to ask him about his tattoos. After them we met a man name Chris who was a social worker and had recently lost his money and work contract, he was removed from his apartment and had to go on the streets but his hunger to leave the streets was intense, next time we go back I'm sure Chris won't be there. The last one was Justin, black-eyed Justin. We didn't have change left but he was happy we had a survival kit left and a sandwich for him. 

Now before Justin we met another Chris and Tabetha with her dog Skeeter. Chris has Leukemia, a cancer in your blood, because of his cancer he had holes in his skin, he showed them to me and he knew that his time on earth was limited. Tabetha tabetha tabetha, this women with the most bluest of eyes has my heart. Her story touched my heart so much, this lady does not want to be on the street but due to a lot of circumstances she is. She showed us her youngest daughter's picture, the spitting image of her, her name is Layla. Layla is her world along with Skeeter the dog. Skeeter was not eating at all, he's a sick dog with a gentle spirit. Her life story rocked our world. When we left Tabetha my heart was hurting, I could see how people would look at her and all I wanted to do is scream at them and tell them they were wrong! That it wasn't as easy as "get a job" she told us she wished people would ask her why she was on the street instead of looking down on her. We were able to pray for her, her belief in God was crazy! She also wanted a Bible so bad, Diego gave her his personal bible, the joy in her face was beautiful. I walked away with the boys and I just couldn't hold my emotions anymore and cried like I never had before. All three of us were feeling Jesus like never before. I had just encountered Jesus through Tabetha, my heart was bursting. We stopped by a nearby TD where Dylan took out a large undisclosed amount of money and we ran back to her. He kneeled down and poured his heart out to Tabetha and gave her the money. 

I will NEVER forgot her tears gushing out of her beautiful blue eyes. I have never loved a stranger more than I did with Tabetha. We left her and sat down and just cried because that was God's grace and this is what we were made and created for. Many want to go out into other nations but there is so much we need to do at home first, "The change starts with changing our world, our city"- Dylan.

The church is not in four walls, the church is everything under the sky.