When I was a sophomore in high school, I went on a mission trip to North Carolina. We went to this church that helps support the homeless population. Once we got there, we were assigned a “counselor” who was part of the homeless community, and they were our leader for our week. We walked around the city and walked through the life of a homeless person.
This truly opened my eyes to how difficult it is to be homeless and that there aren’t very many resources available. The church we went to provides meals, a place to mail items, a safe place for legal documents, and much more. Having these supports helps them make a good life for themselves. I saw God truly work during this trip by seeing how many people still show God’s love even though they are struggling in life. They were some of the nicest people I have met, and most people would ignore them.
This has opened my eyes to not treating people based on what others say and also not based on what someone looks like. God loves everybody, and we all need to treat people with kindness and spread God’s love. I would relive this experience over and over again, and I highly recommend everybody to have an experience like this in their life.
Lauren is from Sioux Falls, SD and is majoring in elementary education and special education.
