o the places you will go.
boardering the seventh week of my season in new jersey/philly has brought on some new friends:
tommy the mute: Thomas is a loveable man, he runs up with huge wide brown eyes and smiles and just hugs people. He always helps people clean there places after lunch at the shelter where I volunteer and he loves watching me get slaughtered at chess. Tommy is mute and when we first met him, he showed us his ID that said Thomas on it and had his picture. Tommy also has other problems which disable his sense of direction and he can't remember where places are very well. One day he had a doctor appointment with a local homeless outreach clinic that has free health care for homeless people (AMAZING!!!!). it is right by our house and so we told tommy we'd walk him there. we arrived, but then, he couldn't tell people who he was, so he showed them his ID and then pointed to a piece of paper in which the words " 1pm appointment" were written. The lady at the desk was sort of unsure of what to do because she had to ask him alot of questions about who made the appointment and alot of other nessicary data. so after we answered everything the best we could and the nurse came to get tommy, the nurse asked if tommy knew the way back to the shelter. He shook his head confidently in the negative horizontal manner. My Teammate Josh and i just thought about waiting with him, and telling our after school program sites that we'd be late, but the nurse said that she could see to it that he would be back safely.
This was two weeks ago and we hadn't seen him since. I tend to get attached to folks, so i began to wonder where he was. day by day i would turn corners on the street hoping to see a huge smile and a big hug, but not until yesterday did i receive them, and it was glorious.
the hard thing about being here is wondering if you will see people again. sometimes, we are told by our supervisor, people just don't come back and nobody hears from them. there are some people that i haven't seen again, some people that i've spent hours talking with about life and sports and vietnam and God. It's a beat life out on the streets, with little hope.
i know Jesus is here. he's gotta be
tommy the mute: Thomas is a loveable man, he runs up with huge wide brown eyes and smiles and just hugs people. He always helps people clean there places after lunch at the shelter where I volunteer and he loves watching me get slaughtered at chess. Tommy is mute and when we first met him, he showed us his ID that said Thomas on it and had his picture. Tommy also has other problems which disable his sense of direction and he can't remember where places are very well. One day he had a doctor appointment with a local homeless outreach clinic that has free health care for homeless people (AMAZING!!!!). it is right by our house and so we told tommy we'd walk him there. we arrived, but then, he couldn't tell people who he was, so he showed them his ID and then pointed to a piece of paper in which the words " 1pm appointment" were written. The lady at the desk was sort of unsure of what to do because she had to ask him alot of questions about who made the appointment and alot of other nessicary data. so after we answered everything the best we could and the nurse came to get tommy, the nurse asked if tommy knew the way back to the shelter. He shook his head confidently in the negative horizontal manner. My Teammate Josh and i just thought about waiting with him, and telling our after school program sites that we'd be late, but the nurse said that she could see to it that he would be back safely.
This was two weeks ago and we hadn't seen him since. I tend to get attached to folks, so i began to wonder where he was. day by day i would turn corners on the street hoping to see a huge smile and a big hug, but not until yesterday did i receive them, and it was glorious.
the hard thing about being here is wondering if you will see people again. sometimes, we are told by our supervisor, people just don't come back and nobody hears from them. there are some people that i haven't seen again, some people that i've spent hours talking with about life and sports and vietnam and God. It's a beat life out on the streets, with little hope.
i know Jesus is here. he's gotta be
posted by willyinphillie at 10:55 AM
2 Comments:
i agree. jesus is there.
Hi William!! I just read your blog and the letters sent to Mom and Ron (Aunt Janet and Uncle Ron) and I am so impressed with you, your visions and what God has lead you to do. You are quite a remarkable young man and I am so glad to know you, so proud to call you family and blessed you are my cousin. My thoughts and prayers are with you, your team and everyone at Mission Year. I wish I could say it was easy knowing you are where you are but I understand the drive and internal mission you have and commend you for it. If we don't reach out and become vulnerable to make a difference, who will. We all can't wait to see you at Christmas and hear all the stories you have to tell. I hope that while you are there you will take plenty of pictures so we can all understand the magnitude of how things are there. Sometimes people can't imagine it unless they see it. You will have an incredible story to tell and share with us and maybe you will be lead to write a book and help spread the word of the need that is out there. I just wanted to send you all my love when you feel lonely, encouragement when you need it when you are down, and faith when things seem "hopeless". I love you William
Tricia
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