Training!!!!

It’s only Wednesday and I have so many stories but because
of time I’m just going to tell you about my crazy first day. I wish I could
tell you about everything that’s going on with the team and how much we are
growing together but the word that we found that describes us is “dangerous”.
You may find that weird but our group has so much potential to fully serve God
and I know everybody will have a purpose. We know that there are no limits with
God and He is going to use us in so many ways.

Well, I landed in the Atlanta
airport at 1:30 p.m. on Monday the 25^th.  I met up with the group and it was finally nice
to see everyone and hear their voices. We were at the airport until 7 and at
that point is when all my expectations changed (for the better). They broke us
up into our mission groups and gave us a letter. If you have ever watched the
“Amazing Race” T.V. show that’s exactly what they had in store for us. The
letter gave us an address saying we have to get to that location together with
all our bags and 20 dollars for transportation. We were all surprised but ended
up working through it and found transportation on the “martar” which was like a
small subway. As soon as we got off the train we started seeing homeless
people. As we got closer to the building we saw a line of homeless people
getting food but still had no clue what was going on. We walked inside the
building called the “Safe House” and they took us to some bedrooms where we
dropped our entire luggage. My first thought was I hope we are not sleeping
here. The Safe House was a place for the homeless to get food, sleep, and
worship. We got our next assignment after a tasty peanut butter sandwich and
some chips. It said to leave your wallet, phones, and all of your belongings
but to dress warm (which most of us didn’t pack for). We were to live as homeless
people until 4 O’clock in the morning and then return to Safe House. All we got to bring was a blanket, gloves and
some water bottles. Talk about an eye opener!! I wish I could tell you about
all the homeless people we interacted with and how although they have nothing
some still praise God for what they have. While we were out we tried to help
people for example: we cleaned a parking lot that was full of garbage, gave
away our blankets, gloves, water, and everything we had to offer. By midnight
we had given away all our supplies and that’s when reality set in. I’m from Wisconsin so I’m used to the cold but the Georgia weather was just as cold
and windy. We tried walking around to stay warm but couldn’t find a place to
get out of the wind. We tried going to the subway terminal for the warmth but
we only sat for ten minutes and we got kicked out. The hours seemed to drag by
and the cold was really playing with our minds. By the end we were all huddled
together trying to stay warm. Finally, time came where we headed back to Safe
House and they told us that we were spending the night there. The uncomfortable
bed that I saw when we first put our bags down looked like the best thing that
I could have had at that point. As I laid there my toes and fingers started to
unthaw. That night I thanked God for the reality check. I finally fell asleep
and I didn’t wake up once through the night.

We only stayed out there for 6 hours and my mind was torn
up. There are people everyday trying to stay warm and not knowing where they
are going to sleep or get there next meal. I’ve heard that same line my whole
life but now I got to experience it. It was so hard and I don’t know how they
can manage it.

My heart has been torn already but I’m relying on God for what’s
to come!!

2 Timothy 2:1- “You then, my son, be strong in the grace
that is in Christ Jesus”

In His Grip,

Brian