Union Gospel Mission

I think that many times its a lot easier for me to give up my money than my time. My life in twenty-first century American culture can get extremely busy at times. Trying to juggle devotions, school, sports, church, and friends isn't always easy. It seems as though some days I never have a quiet moment to just sit down and relax. So to give some more of my time up to help others out is a lot harder than dropping a couple of coins in a jar.
Every Sunday and Wednesday, my youth group supports the homeless men at the Union Gospel Mission (a.k.a. UGM) by passing around a container for the students to drop their extra change in. The theory is that if every high schooler contributes twenty-five cents each, we can keep the program going. So far, it's worked. Once a month, people gather in our church kitchen to help prepare bag lunches—consisting of a meat and cheese sandwich, crackers, and a couple cookies—which we then distribute to the men at the UGM.
Even though I contributed twenty-five cents every once in a while to the UGM, I had never actually spent the time to help make and pass out the lunches. This past Sunday, though, I finally decided to help out. Not because I particularly wanted to (although I was a little curious), but because I needed to do a project for school—one where I had to help others out and then write a paper on my experiences.
I can now stand before you and say that my experience was well worth the effort. When I showed up in the church kitchen at 3:00 that Sunday afternoon, I didn't know anyone my age. Nevertheless, I stayed and helped prepare about 150 bag lunches. Then I traveled with the rest of the group (about fourteen people in all) to the Union Gospel Mission in St. Paul. Once at the mission, we unloaded all the lunches and carted them into the mission's kitchen. Along with the lunches, we had also brought some grapes and bananas. We arranged the lunches and fruit so that when the men came filing in, they could grab a lunch, some fruit, and finally a styrofoam cup to either fill with water or punch. We also laid out some free tracks for anyone to take.
Dinner began at 5:30, so at 4:00 we took about a half an hour to sing a couple songs and listen to a devotional led by Andrew. Then, at 5:30, we again entered the kitchen and handed out the various items we had brought to the men filing through the line. My job was to hand out the styrofoam cups and also let the men know that the tracks in front of me were free.
Towards 6:30 (when dinner ended), we ran out of lunches. So we distributed the rest of the fruit, and then started some conversations with the men still left in the dining room. I was able to talk with three men and also give them a track. At 6:30, we cleaned up and headed back to church.
Driving back home, I realized that I had met some new people, conversed with homeless men about the Bible, and helped feed the needy. God used that experience to grow my faith in Him. He got me out of my comfort zone. Brought me into a situation where all I could do was trust Him. I now feel a burden for those I talked with that night. I pray that God would save their souls. Open their eyes to see how gloriously beautiful Jesus Christ is, and how much they need Him.
I encourage anyone who hasn't experienced something like this to get outside your comfort zone. Help those in need. And trust Jesus—He never disappoints.