Sometimes it is visible.
Sometimes it consumes the mind. Sometimes it is reflected in in their eyes.
Through our door to door screenings, this mission trip has shown me painful stories and deep wounds.
I saw the hurting gaze of a homeless man with an open wound covering over half of his leg. He was injured from a dog bite one and a half years ago and had not gotten medical care.
A lady quivered as she told me her accidental needle stick injury. She was merely throwing trash out when a needle pierced her skin. She hid this news from her abusive husband and lived in fear that she might be HIV positive.
From door after door, I ask if there is anything I could pray for.
There is a mother that lost her son to gunshot. There is a grandmother who is waiting for her grandson to be released from jail. There is a lady who had lost her mother and aunt within the past two years. There is a man who walked away from church because his sexuality was not welcomed.
There were times when my heart sunk as I heard the magnitude of their agony.
God, you’ve allowed me to experience your greatness, so will you be the healer and savior in these people’s lives? You are our almighty Father who forgives our sins, who redeems us through your blood, and who lavishes us with abundant grace. May your saving grace pierce their lives, and may your name in Jesus forevermore be glorified.
We may never hear the rest of the story of the people we meet on the streets, including how God changes lives of the drug addict, the prostitute, or the homeless. But God is at work in their lives already, swooping down with His love and healing them of their pain.
His grace is enough.
—Jehanne Hou
SMI 2018