Not long ago, I had the opportunity to go to a homeless community in the heart of Baltimore.  I wouldn’t have expected it, but the park where the homeless gather is right next to the Metropolitan Police Station and lies on the property of St Vincent de Paul’s Catholic Church.  Initially I couldn’t figure out why they chose to stay in the place they were, but after spending some time with the people there, I realized that they had nowhere else to go.  In fact, they are still facing a forced move from the city and government officials.

As I talked with the men of the homeless park, I could see the hurt in their eyes and their desperation for food and water.  Although I was able to take a case of water with me, I still felt like there was so much more that needed to be done. I don’t know what that is in all honesty.  I’ve been thinking about what it looks like to help the poor and needy, but it’s a pandemic that is so much bigger than me.

The backgrounds of the people at the homeless park were so vast, I struggled to understand what their old lives were like.   Many of the men and women at the park left homes and families for one reason or another.  I knew there would be people who were evicted from their homes, caught up in drugs, and those who left for domestic disturbance reasons, but what was most shocking were the people who were so hopeless that they just simply didn’t care anymore.  They didn’t have motivation to live.  Perhaps the most tragic moment in a person’s life is that moment when purpose of living is lost—when the mountain of having true life in  Christ is so distant that life loses meaning.

I believe as we, as the Body of Christ, reach out this community and welcome them with loving arms, we can restore hope to a people who have none and share with them the true life of following Jesus.  I’m looking to go back soon and meet with these wonderful people again…very soon

For all of team Baltimore,

Blaine