This was the first really long conversation I’ve had in a while. Actually, I was so engaged that I didn’t notice when someone called my phone (which was on silent) and it stopped the audio recording. I’m thankful that I took good notes.
When I came across Christina at Mission Possible, she was sitting in one of the side booths, eating a donut while holding a wrapped-up baby, while a small boy crawled all over her. To the side of the table was a stroller holding another baby girl (as soon as I walked over, she beamed up at me, and it was such pure, unbridled joy). I ended up talking with Christina for nearly three hours.
My main takeaway? That faith is powerful and prevalent. She constantly mentioned God, Jesus, forces woven into her past and informing her perception of the present. And she trusted that they held her future. She told me the details of everything, and her faith seemed to permeate it all, in a peaceful way that I can’t quite describe.
Here was a woman, not yet homeless, but on the brink of it. Paralyzed by unfortunate circumstances. I’m praying that she recovers before she and her seven kids become homeless for good, and I’m wondering whether I can expand this project to do more tangible acts of service for people like her.
Thanks for reading!
-Isabella, 8/5/17