Hooray for sunshine! This is more like it. It was warm today and sunny and so nice to be outside. England really is beautiful when the sun shines. Today I met my friend Jo who I’ve not seen for 2 years. We went to Starbucks and sat outside. I got a bit burnt but it was a small price to pay for a banana caramel frappucino and a lovely conversation.

This afternoon, after getting my hair coloured, Sam and I attempted to sort out our garden which had nearly taken over the street in the time we’ve been in LA. (ok, not quite but nearly!)

This evening we joined our friends from Antioch community church as they reached out to people in Sheffield by bringing people from the streets into their home and feeding them. I got chatting to a guy called Gary who has been homeless for about 10 years and sleeps in a garage nearby. He sells the Big Issue, a magazine that homeless people can buy and sell at a profit. He gave me such insight into his life and the community of those who don’t have a home. He spoke with eloquence and dignity and shared his story of how his separation from hs wife led to him living in an alien city in a sleeping bag on the streets. I like the sun. He doesn’t because he got really sunburnt. He didn’t ask for anything and spoke about all the things he was grateful for. All the people he meets around the city centre. He spoke like it was a privilege to be able to be in such a diverse city. He was interested in us. He gave us advice about how to tell who the people are who are really in need.

He inspired me. I want to know the story of every homeless person in Sheffield. They need to be heard and not just walked past all the time. Maybe they don’t want food or money today. Maybe they just want to be acknowledged and listened to and to be given an opportunity to be interested in you.

Here is a montage of our day:

Sheffield City Hall - not a cloud in the sky. Not one.

People chilling out in the park in the city centre

Our garden before…..

And after (we’re not done yet!)

Barbequeing with Antioch community church and guests

Gary (Big Issue seller), Daniel (Church planter from Texas) and Sam enjoying the weather this evening

Tomorrow I run/walk/jog 5km to raise money for cancer research! Hoping it’s not really hot!

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 3rd, 2006 at 10:07 pm and is filed under Faith, Sheffield, Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.