“Who are we as humans if we ignore the suffering of others?”(anonymous). If you were to show me this quote about 4 years ago it would of had very little meaning. Four years ago I didn't see the world that was crumbling and suffering everyday, I didn't see the people living in boxes on the side of the street as any person at all. I viewed them as different, alienistic, separate from society, and the funny thing is that is exactly how they feel most people just don't know it. It is important for us as humans to understand eachothers battles and sufferings so we can all step in to help each other, we are all human and should have eachothers back.  

It was the summer of 2014 and 2015 in Portland, Oregon when my eyes were as open to the world as they have ever been. The two weeks in August showed me something i had never witnessed before. I was on a mission trip where I tried my best to work as hard as I could to focus my attention on serving others, which I achieved and according to my leaders, I did very well. What the program leader and my youth leaders didn’t know was how much this one trip would impact and affect me for the rest of my life.

I will start off by talking about the activities we got to partake in over the course of those two weeks. One was called The Blanchet House, a free restaurant for anyone in need of a free meal that serves breakfast from about 7am-12pm every Wednesday morning. It was an incredible experience to see 100s of people so happy to receive a bagel, pancakes and a cup of coffee. For some of the guests this was the only real meal they would receive in a course of a whole week. It was an important experience to participate in, making so many people so happy in a course of a few hours. Another experience I was given was to tour a community called Dignity Village. This small community consisted of couples and singles who were formerly homeless, out living on the streets. Each of them had a similar story of how they got to where they are today, I lived on the streets for years scared and worried not able to really trust or connect with anyone. I heard of dignity village and interviewed to see if I was able to enroll as a part of the community. Hearing the stories and outcomes was an amazing experience because all the members had so much hope for the future, even during the hardest times.

Some stories I heard over those two weeks  weren’t so positive. Thursday night on both weeks we went to a weekly event that occurs in Portland called Night Strike. This non profit organization brings in about 50 volunteers each week to serve all of those who are living out on the streets. The service they provided include, haircuts, dental care, soup and salad, hot coffee or water, community walkabout groups handing out socks, juice and sandwiches and many other services. The first summer I was there I participated in a walkabout group where we got to hand out sandwiches, socks and juice, this was also a time for us to connect with the people we met and get to know their stories. One guy in particular stood out to me and really opened my eyes to a world I was completely blinded to before

. I have met people in my life who believe homeless people are out on the streets because they screwed up, the committed crime or they made a costly decision and it's all their fault. For some of the people out on the streets this might be true but for over 75% of the homeless population, the life the have now is based off of horrible situations they were put in. I learned on this trip that we as humans don't really understand one another, we think we do but once we learn more we began to realize how much we don’t know. After talking and connecting with the homeless and suffering people I realized how much those who are privileged in today's society are blinded to. We don’t understand peoples struggles to find food, warmth, and a place to clean off, and we never will fully understand it until we walk in their shoes. What we can do is listen and learn from one another to do our very best to help each other. We are all so blinded, but when we take off the lense of society we create a new picture for ourselves, one that is understanding and sympathetic to what occurs around us.

That Thursday night after night strike my whole youth group decided to go out and buy candy, soda, popcorn and more junk food to bring back to eat while we play games. I walked around the store watching all my friends grab item after item to place in the cart, it ended up to be a total of about $50. I rode the bus back and couldn’t get the thought out of my head, I really am lucky with the life I have, A roof over my head, a heater and air conditioning system, a pantry, fridge and freezer full of food, and money left over to play soccer and have a car. This was when it hit me, I basically ran into the church in tears, wondering why all those people I met over the past 4 days couldn't have even a portion of what I have. I felt so guilty and didn’t know what to do and kept wondering, how I could help all those people.

My reason for sharing my experience isn't to scare you or make you feel worried about the future, but to help all of us to better understand each other. I was blinded and still don’t completely understand the struggle others face, but what I do understand is that being able to connect with others and listening to other people's stories gives us a better understanding of one another. No one will ever be able to fully understand someone else because they never live the life of others, they only experience their own, however building connections, relationships and conversations can help each and every person to deepen their understanding of humanity. We will never live the life of someone else, but we can always hear the life of someone else.