Renewing of Minds

So just this past night me and Isaac slept over on the streets again to try and build more relationships and try to just give people hope. We were able to talk to a young 19 year old named Ryan who is having troubles at home and has a child that he is having trouble raising because of disputes with the mother. He definitely needs prayer and we were able to give him a bible and pray for him. We also got to talk to Bruce some more and he was drunk as usual but told us that what we are doing gives him hope. He says he has 10 kids that he tries to take care of and talk to. He also told us that Greg is a con and smokes crack. This is something that i am struggling with. Everyone has a different story to tell and I don't really trust anyone. They know how to talk the talk to get what they want. I don't know what to do to help because it's hard to trust anyone. You can't just give them something because they could just be conning you. It's been really tough. I'm starting to realize that these people are not poor, they are mostly just lazy and choosing harmful lifestyles. This may not be correct for me to say but it's what I am feeling. All the people on the street are able to get three meals a day, they have a paycheck coming in from the government the first of every month, and they don't have to do anything throughout the week. The extra money they get from the government goes to drinking and drugs because they don't have to pay for anything else. They are given blankets and basic supplies without having to work or do anything. I know that as Christians we are given grace and salvation for not doing anything but accepting Christ in our lives but in return Christ asks for our lives. On the streets, homeless people receive gifts from charities and the government just to abuse them. There is no accountability as to how they use their handouts. As Christians we should not be like this and that is the message that I want to give to the homeless living on the streets. There needs to be a renewing of their minds to be able to truly help them. It's been getting hard to do ministry in this type of situation because it's really hard to change how people think. It's also hard because you don't know who you can trust. I hope that this makes sense, it's really hard to describe the whole situation but I hope this paints a picture of some of the problems that we are facing.

Andrew Breighner