“Thank you, Lord, for bringing me out from being homeless to what I am today, from a nobody to a somebody - being in the Lord’s family and enjoying the Lord’s love. There are so many brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles who love me. Thank you, Lord, I want to go home and bring the gospel to my parents.” Lele, who was homeless from a young age, was wearing clean clothes, speaking of thankfulness with a little timidness into the camera. Next to him was his carry-on luggage as he was for his hometown.
He suffers from epilepsy and was abandoned by his parents. So, he has been wandering for several years. He never begged for food but only sustained himself by picking up leftovers. At that time, he had only one hope - when the weather was warm, he would pick up unwanted household appliances and sell them for cash. Unexpectedly, with the help of volunteers, half a year later, he did not only accept the gospel, but also restored relations with his family, and he is soon returning to his hometown.
Outdoor: food delivery
After more than eight months of development, the homeless ministry has grown much. In the past, we only sent meals once a week, and went to railway stations, subway stations in commercial areas, and other places to look for them one by one. At present, a meal is delivered at a fixed time in a fixed place every day. When the scope of service is at its largest, there are four fixed food points. When the service was at its peak, more than a hundred people received food.
Before the meal, the people in need sat by the fixed location, a flower bed in a small square. The volunteers would give a short talk to these “road friends” that they were still valuable and loved. Later, the homeless people lined up with metal bowls provided by volunteers to get food in turn. Some of these “road friends” helped distribute disposable chopsticks, while others served rice. After the meal was served, everyone was scattered in different places in the square. They were either sitting, standing, or squatting somewhere, eating their only full meal of the day.
When they were having dinner in the square, sister Wang was concerned about a one homeless person in particular who had been hospitalized. She packed a meal for one and rode off on an electric scooter to deliver it to him alone. He said that he was much better, and he testified the grace given to him by God to his ward mates.
During the interval when sister Wang went to the hospital to deliver food, there was a disturbance in the square. Two homeless people got into a fight because they did not have enough rice. One of them threatened to kill the other with a brick. Other volunteers and several others of the homeless pulled the two apart in time. Sister Wang said with guilt that if only she had been there. She encountered the situation of insufficient rice before, and buying some steamed buns could quickly solve the problem. After returning to the residence, sister Wang was still thinking about the matter, saying that she would find time to help them mediate and make up. After the unpleasant event, the volunteers who cooked immediately took out a bigger cooker and said that they would use it later.
Indoor: Bathing, eating, and studying the Bible
Apart from delivering meals outdoors, the homeless ministry also provides some indoor services according to the needs of the groups it serves. For example, homeless people can find a place to take a bath, have meals, and study the Bible. Most of the homeless people who are taken care of are relatively hygienic.
Once, volunteers organized a special fellowship - ten homeless people and several volunteers formed a circle, and everyone tried to communicate with each other.
A young man from Yunnan said that his luggage and documents were stolen when he changed trains at the railway station, and he had been wandering for three months. He heard the gospel in his hometown earlier, but he did not believe it at that time.
A thin and neat guy told of the uneasy story of being homeless. For example, if he went to a residential community to pick up unwanted things, people would worry that since he was homeless and he would steal things. If they called the police, most of the homeless people could not answer the police properly. What was originally a trivial matter could turn into trouble.
Another brother said that he followed his family to believe in the Lord when he was a child. He has believed for more than ten years. As for why he wandered, he said it was difficult to talk about it in front of so many people, but he could talk about it in private.
There is an 82-year-old brother with glasses who looks rather like a scholar. When the volunteers first met him, he was reading a Taoist book. Unlike most homeless people who collect food for a living, he asks for it. In the process of begging, he met warm people: once, he took only 50 cents to the vegetable market to buy bean curd. The stall owner gave him a piece directly, and then he caught up and sent a packet of dried bean curd. “This tastes good”. He found the limit of human love: the first time he gave you two steamed stuffed buns and a bag of soybean milk, the second time he gave you a steamed stuffed bun and a bag of soybean milk, and the third time he might wonder why you came again. He also met people who hurt him deeply: once, when he just wanted to say “Boss, can you give me some …”, the other person shouted “Get away!” Later, he concluded a way to survive: eat as little as possible, so it is easy to get; It is best to have only one meal a day, and even more perfect if you can have one meal every two days. The most common question he encountered was, you were not like a tramp, but why are you homeless?
After they told their stories, they read the Bible together. One by one, they took turns reading. Some people had a hard time reading at first, while others who could read showed pride.
In a blink of an eye, it was time for dinner. Some brothers helped to serve the table and some set the chairs. When dinner was served, everyone was quiet and absorbed in eating, and it was delicious. For the remaining rice, two brothers divided it happily between them.
The fruit of ministry
After dinner, the volunteers shared the good news - they bought second-hand smartphones for several homeless people. Five mobile phones were bought this time, which cost 1200 yuan in total. Volunteers gave the mobile phones to several beggars who often came over and told them not to use their mobile phones for games or pornography. Everyone who accepted the phone nodded yes.
Sister Wang said that nowadays, all people needed mobile phones to find jobs. She hoped that these homeless people could find stable jobs later. Among the homeless people who were helped by volunteers, some have found stable jobs such as security and logistics. Some have returned to their hometown. There are also old people living in nursing homes in their hometowns. Some got into the homeless ministry.
At present, the one who cooks for the homeless is a brother with a pension, who was once homeless himself. With the help of volunteers, he lives a normal life and has stopped wandering. To be grateful, he decided to dedicate a year to cook for the homeless for free. Apart from cooking for the homeless, he spends most of his time reading the Bible. It is said that he reads the whole Bible once a month and has read it eight times so far.
The hardship of ministry
At the beginning of the ministry, the economy and manpower were difficult problems. At that time, volunteers who participated in the service did their best to help, hoping that at least these homeless people would not starve to death, and they could also have clothes and quilts. As the ministry developed, more volunteers took part, and contributions from brothers and sisters were remitted, so the economic and personnel problems were no longer the top problems.
Sister Wang has been engaged in the homeless ministry for more than ten years. Although she suffers through many things, she does not quit. Meanwhile, she sees more groups that need to be served — lonely old people sitting around in KFC, people with disharmony in family relations, people with various psychological problems, and so on. When she sees that many Christians only meet in church and do not practice God’s Word, she feels anxious: “Faith is not just singing hymns in the church, how much work needs to be done! Brothers and sisters, get ready to serve!”
- Translated by Charlie Li
“感谢主，让我从一个流浪汉变为今天，让我从一无所有变为今天——能在主的家庭里，能够享受主的爱，有这么多弟兄姐妹、阿姨叔叔来爱我。感谢主，我要回家，把福音带给我父母。”曾经的青年流浪汉乐乐，此时穿着干净的衣服，在镜头里略带羞涩地说着感恩之言，身旁放着即将带回老家的随身行李。
他患有癫痫病，被父母抛弃，已经流浪了好几年。他从不向别人乞讨，只靠捡食别人丢弃的食物生活。当时他有个仅存的盼望——等天气暖和了，就去捡废品，靠这个赚些生活费。没想到，在义工们的帮助下，半年后他不但接受了福音，还跟家人恢复了关系，即将返回自己的老家。
户外：送餐
经过8个多月的发展，流浪汉事工壮大了不少。以前是每周只送一次餐，到火车站、商圈的地铁站等地去挨个寻找他们；如今是每天在固定地点固定时间送一餐，服侍的范围最大时有固定的四个点，服侍的群体多的时候逾百人。
分餐前，流浪汉们在固定的小广场的花坛边坐着，义工会进行一个小短讲，告诉这些“马路朋友”，他们仍然是有价值、是被爱的。随后，流浪汉们拿着义工们提供的金属钵排队打饭，有的流浪汉帮助发一次性筷子，有的帮助盛饭。盛好饭菜后，大家分散在广场的不同位置，或坐或站或蹲，吃着一天中唯一的正餐。
在广场上的流浪汉们就餐的时候，王姊妹牵挂着仍在住院的一位流浪汉，她准备好一份饭菜，骑着电动车单独给他送。那位流浪汉说自己病情好了许多，还跟身边的病友见证了神赐予他的恩典。
在王姊妹去医院送餐的这个间隙，广场这边闹出了乱子。两位流浪汉因为米饭不够打了起来，其中一位扬言要拿砖头砸死对方，其他义工和几位流浪汉及时拉开了双方。王姊妹得知后愧疚地说，要是她在那里就好了，以前也遇到过米饭不够的情况，赶紧买些馒头就能解决问题；回到住处后，王姊妹还想着这件事，说要找时间过去帮他们调解、和好。发生了这件不愉快的事情后，做饭的义工赶紧把一口更大的电饭锅拿了出来，说之后用这个。
室内：洗澡、就餐、学习圣经
除了在户外送餐，流浪汉事工还根据所服侍群体的需要提供一些室内服务，比如，流浪汉可以过来洗澡、用餐、学习圣经。得到照顾的流浪汉大多比较干净。
一次，义工们组织了一场特殊的团契——十位流浪汉和几位义工围成一圈，大家尝试一起交流。
一位来自云南的小伙说自己在火车站换乘时行李以及证件被偷，目前流浪了三个月；早前在老家有听闻福音，只是当时没有信。
一位瘦瘦的、白净的小伙诉说了流浪的不易，拿捡废品来说，如果你到小区里捡，人家看你是流浪的，会担心你偷东西；如果对方报警了，流浪的人遇到警察大多啥也说不明白，本来没事儿也成有事儿了。
一位胖胖的弟兄他说小时候就跟着家人信主，已经信了十几年了。至于为什么流浪，他说当着这么多人的面不好讲，私下里可以细谈。
一位戴着眼镜的82年的弟兄颇像读书人，义工们第一次见到他时，他正在看道教的书。跟大多靠捡食为生的流浪汉不同，他喜欢找人要。在乞讨的过程中，他遇到过温暖的人：一次，他拿仅有的5角钱去菜市场要买豆腐，摊主直接送了他一块，随后又追上来送了一包豆干，“这个有味道”。他发现了人爱心的有限：第一次给你两个包子一袋豆浆，第二次给你一个包子一袋豆浆，第三次可能觉得你怎么又来了。也见到过令他深受伤害的人：一次，他刚想说“老板，能不能给点……”时，对方大声地呵斥“滚！”后来他总结了一条生存之道：尽量少吃，这样容易要到；一天最好只吃一顿饭，要是能两天吃一顿就更完美了。在乞讨的过程中，他遇到最多的问题是，你不像流浪汉啊，为什么会流浪呢？
大家都分享结束之后，两位义工提议大家一起读圣经，一人一节，轮流着读。有的人起初读着很费劲，有的识字多一些的显出了自豪感。
转眼到了吃晚饭的时间，有的弟兄帮着搬桌子，有的帮助摆椅子。待开饭时，大家安静了下来，都在专心吃饭，吃得很香。最后剩的米饭，两位弟兄互相谦让了一下，分着吃了。
事工的果实
大家吃完晚餐后，义工们分享了一个好消息——为几位流浪汉买了二手智能手机。本次买了五部手机，共花费1200元。义工将手机送给了几位经常过来的流浪汉，并且叮嘱他们，不许用手机打游戏、看色情信息；接受手机的人都点头答应。
王姊妹说，如今找工作都需要手机，希望这些流浪汉之后可以找到稳定的工作。在义工们帮助的流浪汉中，已经有人找到了诸如保安、物流等稳定的工作；有的是回到了自己的老家；也有老人住进了老家的养老院；还有流浪汉参与到流浪汉事工中来。
目前给流浪汉做饭的是一位有退休金的弟兄，他曾经也是一位流浪汉。在义工们的帮助下，他过上了正常的生活，不再流浪；为了感恩，他决定奉献一年时间给流浪汉们免费做饭。除了给流浪汉做饭，这位弟兄把其他的时间大多用来读圣经，据称，他每个月读一遍圣经，目前已经读了八遍。
事工的艰难
在事工的初期，经济和人力是难题，那时参与服侍的义工尽己所能地给予帮助，希望至少这些流浪汉不至于饿死，也可以有衣服穿、被子盖。当事工发展起来后，更多的义工参与了进来，也有弟兄姐妹的奉献款汇入，经济和人力的问题不再是头等难题。
王姊妹已经从事流浪汉事工十几年，虽然吃了不少苦，但她非但没有停下来的意思，还看到了更多需要服侍的群体——在肯德基闲坐的孤独老人们，家庭关系不和睦的人们，患有各种心理问题的人们……当看到许多基督徒只是在教会聚会而不践行神的话语时，王姊妹内心很着急：“信仰不只是在教会里唱赞美诗，有多么多的工作需要做啊！弟兄姐妹们，赶紧起来服侍吧！”
【特稿】流浪汉事工一位义工的呐喊：弟兄姊妹们，起来服侍吧！
“Thank you, Lord, for bringing me out from being homeless to what I am today, from a nobody to a somebody - being in the Lord’s family and enjoying the Lord’s love. There are so many brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles who love me. Thank you, Lord, I want to go home and bring the gospel to my parents.” Lele, who was homeless from a young age, was wearing clean clothes, speaking of thankfulness with a little timidness into the camera. Next to him was his carry-on luggage as he was for his hometown.
He suffers from epilepsy and was abandoned by his parents. So, he has been wandering for several years. He never begged for food but only sustained himself by picking up leftovers. At that time, he had only one hope - when the weather was warm, he would pick up unwanted household appliances and sell them for cash. Unexpectedly, with the help of volunteers, half a year later, he did not only accept the gospel, but also restored relations with his family, and he is soon returning to his hometown.
Outdoor: food delivery
After more than eight months of development, the homeless ministry has grown much. In the past, we only sent meals once a week, and went to railway stations, subway stations in commercial areas, and other places to look for them one by one. At present, a meal is delivered at a fixed time in a fixed place every day. When the scope of service is at its largest, there are four fixed food points. When the service was at its peak, more than a hundred people received food.
Before the meal, the people in need sat by the fixed location, a flower bed in a small square. The volunteers would give a short talk to these “road friends” that they were still valuable and loved. Later, the homeless people lined up with metal bowls provided by volunteers to get food in turn. Some of these “road friends” helped distribute disposable chopsticks, while others served rice. After the meal was served, everyone was scattered in different places in the square. They were either sitting, standing, or squatting somewhere, eating their only full meal of the day.
When they were having dinner in the square, sister Wang was concerned about a one homeless person in particular who had been hospitalized. She packed a meal for one and rode off on an electric scooter to deliver it to him alone. He said that he was much better, and he testified the grace given to him by God to his ward mates.
During the interval when sister Wang went to the hospital to deliver food, there was a disturbance in the square. Two homeless people got into a fight because they did not have enough rice. One of them threatened to kill the other with a brick. Other volunteers and several others of the homeless pulled the two apart in time. Sister Wang said with guilt that if only she had been there. She encountered the situation of insufficient rice before, and buying some steamed buns could quickly solve the problem. After returning to the residence, sister Wang was still thinking about the matter, saying that she would find time to help them mediate and make up. After the unpleasant event, the volunteers who cooked immediately took out a bigger cooker and said that they would use it later.
Indoor: Bathing, eating, and studying the Bible
Apart from delivering meals outdoors, the homeless ministry also provides some indoor services according to the needs of the groups it serves. For example, homeless people can find a place to take a bath, have meals, and study the Bible. Most of the homeless people who are taken care of are relatively hygienic.
Once, volunteers organized a special fellowship - ten homeless people and several volunteers formed a circle, and everyone tried to communicate with each other.
A young man from Yunnan said that his luggage and documents were stolen when he changed trains at the railway station, and he had been wandering for three months. He heard the gospel in his hometown earlier, but he did not believe it at that time.
A thin and neat guy told of the uneasy story of being homeless. For example, if he went to a residential community to pick up unwanted things, people would worry that since he was homeless and he would steal things. If they called the police, most of the homeless people could not answer the police properly. What was originally a trivial matter could turn into trouble.
Another brother said that he followed his family to believe in the Lord when he was a child. He has believed for more than ten years. As for why he wandered, he said it was difficult to talk about it in front of so many people, but he could talk about it in private.
There is an 82-year-old brother with glasses who looks rather like a scholar. When the volunteers first met him, he was reading a Taoist book. Unlike most homeless people who collect food for a living, he asks for it. In the process of begging, he met warm people: once, he took only 50 cents to the vegetable market to buy bean curd. The stall owner gave him a piece directly, and then he caught up and sent a packet of dried bean curd. “This tastes good”. He found the limit of human love: the first time he gave you two steamed stuffed buns and a bag of soybean milk, the second time he gave you a steamed stuffed bun and a bag of soybean milk, and the third time he might wonder why you came again. He also met people who hurt him deeply: once, when he just wanted to say “Boss, can you give me some …”, the other person shouted “Get away!” Later, he concluded a way to survive: eat as little as possible, so it is easy to get; It is best to have only one meal a day, and even more perfect if you can have one meal every two days. The most common question he encountered was, you were not like a tramp, but why are you homeless?
After they told their stories, they read the Bible together. One by one, they took turns reading. Some people had a hard time reading at first, while others who could read showed pride.
In a blink of an eye, it was time for dinner. Some brothers helped to serve the table and some set the chairs. When dinner was served, everyone was quiet and absorbed in eating, and it was delicious. For the remaining rice, two brothers divided it happily between them.
The fruit of ministry
After dinner, the volunteers shared the good news - they bought second-hand smartphones for several homeless people. Five mobile phones were bought this time, which cost 1200 yuan in total. Volunteers gave the mobile phones to several beggars who often came over and told them not to use their mobile phones for games or pornography. Everyone who accepted the phone nodded yes.
Sister Wang said that nowadays, all people needed mobile phones to find jobs. She hoped that these homeless people could find stable jobs later. Among the homeless people who were helped by volunteers, some have found stable jobs such as security and logistics. Some have returned to their hometown. There are also old people living in nursing homes in their hometowns. Some got into the homeless ministry.
At present, the one who cooks for the homeless is a brother with a pension, who was once homeless himself. With the help of volunteers, he lives a normal life and has stopped wandering. To be grateful, he decided to dedicate a year to cook for the homeless for free. Apart from cooking for the homeless, he spends most of his time reading the Bible. It is said that he reads the whole Bible once a month and has read it eight times so far.
The hardship of ministry
At the beginning of the ministry, the economy and manpower were difficult problems. At that time, volunteers who participated in the service did their best to help, hoping that at least these homeless people would not starve to death, and they could also have clothes and quilts. As the ministry developed, more volunteers took part, and contributions from brothers and sisters were remitted, so the economic and personnel problems were no longer the top problems.
Sister Wang has been engaged in the homeless ministry for more than ten years. Although she suffers through many things, she does not quit. Meanwhile, she sees more groups that need to be served — lonely old people sitting around in KFC, people with disharmony in family relations, people with various psychological problems, and so on. When she sees that many Christians only meet in church and do not practice God’s Word, she feels anxious: “Faith is not just singing hymns in the church, how much work needs to be done! Brothers and sisters, get ready to serve!”
- Translated by Charlie Li
[Feature] Voice of Tramp Volunteer: Brothers and Sisters, Get Ready to Serve!
