Socializin'

I have my own comfortable social network of family, friends, church, work, etc. But I basically don't ever venture outside of that. I'm not into small talk. I don't chat with the cashier. Or the person working out next to me at the gym. I don't make conversation with the person sitting in the next seat on the plane. Not to be rude, I just tend to do my own thing, in my own little world.

Sunday turned out to be a big day for me. I was serving as a "greeter" at church, which is really a stretch for me. Being a holiday weekend there weren't a whole lot of people, especially new ones. But I thought I saw a girl who looked to be there alone & when she sat down I went over & introduced myself. She was so sweet & we chatted about downtown, books, houses... it was great! Then Pastor John asked us all to move up together & so she sat by me. We ended up sharing some things to pray for each other about, and talked about churches & needing a fresh start. I left feeling really good about meeting this new person & really connecting. I hope she liked it & will come again when we have music!

Also, a few people got up & talked about how they've been going to Patriot's Park downtown to hang out with homeless people. They go once a week & take a dinner for someone and one for themselves. Then they hang out & "break bread" together, listen to them and help where they can. This really struck a chord with me. Providing food to the hungry is great, but really getting to know them and developing a relationship is even better!

So I headed downtown after work tonight and I stopped at onePlace to get a picture of their wall. While I was snapping away a gentleman asked me what I was doing and struck up a conversation. He was telling me that he was having a rough time lately, his wife was in jail, he was dirty and needed a way to get clean, he had just missed the free food they were handing out on the corner, he needed a job and a bus ticket uptown to go see some friends that could give him a place to stay. I offered him a bottled water I had in my car & told him I thought I had enough for bus fare. I asked him his name, he said Tony, and I put out my hand & introduced myself. He said he was dirty & I didn't want to shake his hand. I told him I didn't care about that. I told him I had heard that onePlace had a shower and washer & dryer that he might be able to use, gave him $1.25 and a cold water. He was so thankful. I pray he really does get across town to some friends and things start looking up for him.

After that I went to order a pizza and head to the park. There was a Suns game downtown, so parking was scarce. I made it to the park and no one from church was there. So, I just walked up with the pizza and told the folks there that I heard my friends like to come here and this was a great hang out for dinner! About 6 people came over to eat and they loved the pizza. One man in particular was really chatty with me. His name was Myron, he is 61 and super sweet! It took Howard quite awhile to warm up and talk to me, but he was really sweet and quite knowledgeable about the happenings around town. "Happy" or Jose, was an interesting character. He came over and asked me my name, said he knew I was a good person because he could feel it in his heart, and then he told me he was a little drunk and he had a problem. A little drunk was an understatement. He could barely stand up or talk! I could smell alcohol on all of the guy's breath, but this guy was smashed. Tonight was the first time I ever thought, ya know, if a drink is what gives them a little pleasure or comfort then that just doesn't seem so bad.

Anyway, overall it was a great experience, and I'm so thankful to have met these new people this week and I look forward to more!