The Midnight Run. . .

i have been to the belly of the beast, and i have survived.

There is a land in our country so foreign to me that the idea of living there makes me shutter. You look up to the night sky and see no starts. There are no fields or gardens and all that is left of what was once a heavily forested island is now imprisoned in a small section at the center of the city. Yet for all of my aversion to it, this land boasts one of the highest populations in the country.

The Midnight Run has been using volunteer assistants for the past twenty three years. It started with the pastor of a small fellowship in Dobb's Ferry just outside New York City. He started by taking nightly trips into the city with food, clothing and toiletries to give to the homeless folks in Manhattan. Over the subsequent years what started with one person has grown in to nightly runs in the heart of the city, organized by the Church, but staffed by volunteers from various fellowships, high school groups and other civic organizations.

Amy and i had the pleasure of accompanying St. Joseph's College on their run. The College is (so far) the farthest outpost of volunteers to the mission. . . and they are nuts!!! We left Sunday afternoon a little around 1 pm. After a healthy drive and stop at the mission in Dobb's Ferry, we pulled into downtown Manhattan (is there a part of Manhattan that isn't downtown??) right around 8 pm. With two full sized vans we navigated the city, heading to predetermined stops where the homeless are known to congregate for the night to sleep. Some of the stops were small, with just one or two people coming out. At other stops, like Penn Station, we were mobbed with people coming for warm soup, coffee, blankets and whatever other clothes they needed and could carry.

It was a great experience. The kids got to see that homelessness is not just a statistic, but living breathing people with needs and joys, happiness and sorrow. The homeless had an opportunity to connect with people who cared. For a few hours they were not the invisible, outcast, unknowns of the city. For a few hours they could have a warm belly on a cold winter night. For a brief moment in life they didn't have to "disappear" for the benefit and comfort of the many who consider them a nuisance or social inconvenience. . .

At about 2 am when we were all out of food, with only a few clothes left. We packed back into the two vans and made the run back to Maine. Yup. . . we drove back (still haven't slept mind you) and pulled back into St. Joseph's College right around 7 am. A night without sleep was well worth the return of seeing love at work, seeing those smiling - otherwise marginalized - faces, and seeing God at work!

Next time you see a homeless person give them something more than money. . . don't ignore them. They are people with feelings; happiness, sorrow, pain, contentment. Perhaps they need money, perhaps they need jobs, but what they DON'T need is to be forgotten, ignored and left all alone. A greeting, a conversation, maybe a meal or your coat. . .you can afford a new one anyway! Like so many others in this economy are discovering. . . one day the homeless person you once ignored could be you. . . .