"So many lost souls"

As a staff member here, I was pseudo required to write an article for our newsletter that will be mailed out soon. This is what I wrote:

"Allow me to start by introducing myself. My name is Gilbert, you can call me Gib. I joined the new Core Community back in the beginning of August. I hail from Pennsylvania, so yes, I am having a hard time with the weather. Back then in my wonder years, I never dreamed that I would be working every day at a place like Andre House. So far, I have completed two years at the US Military Academy and I have had a good time with that. Even for the first year and a half of that experience, I never dreamed I would end up here. I like to do outdoors stuff- camping, hiking, shooting sports, fishing, whatever as long as it is outside. I love to have fun, so tell me a good, clean joke the next time we meet.

This past spring break, something changed in me. I spent my break in New Orleans working in a neighborhood called Lakeview. Lakeview was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. Much of it was under twelve or more feet of water, but Lakeview is a very wealthy area and has rebounded quickly compared to other areas of the city. I came to realize a few things. First, the work I did inspired me to want to do service work on a more permanent basis, not just for one week. Secondly, if I was going to take a substantial amount of time to serve, I was not going to spend that time helping a rich neighborhood plant trees and shrubs in their town. I wanted to serve the neediest of God’s people. The details of my search are irrelevant. What matters is that I found a place that I felt right about. That place was Andre House, a place that we all have come to find something special about.

I have tried to keep a steady correspondence with friends, teachers, relatives, mentors, and the like. Recently, I emailed an old teacher from high school (if he is reading this, I mean absolutely no offense by any of this). I did so to ask for something, but also filled him on what was new in my life. I gave him the standard rundown on how we operate and the people we serve. He congratulated me on my decision and then made a comment that really touched a nerve in me. To paraphrase, “it’s sad how many lost souls we have in this country.” I am making the assumption that he was in general referring to the guests that Andre House serves. I know I have only been here for a short time and still have a lot to learn, but I felt the need to respond to his observation. I would like to share with you my thoughts on this.

First of all, I think the term “lost souls” is loaded and needs to be avoided. Christianity teaches us that there really is no such thing, that there is always a chance of redemption and salvation for everyone. To think that the poor and homeless throughout the country, the drug addicts, the prostitutes, the criminals, many of whom we serve, are “lost” is absolutely absurd. This is I would have responded pre-Andre House and how I would like to think I would respond now. But now that I am here, I feel it easy to see things as such, that many of the people that spend every waking moment of their lives in the zone just might be lost. It is compounded when you see a respectable person dealing drugs outside our property, a decent fellow drunk beyond comprehension, or parents with their newborn baby on the street. It is easy to get caught up in those moments, to think “don’t these people care at all for their lives, for their health and wellbeing?”. I have learned that cynicism can set in quickly.

This is all a trap, though. It is one of the many challenges that face us as servants of God’s people. These “lost souls” are at the very center of Andre House’s existence. It would be naïve and sinful for us to begin to think that any one of our guests is “lost.” At the same time, it would also be naïve to think that we can “save” everyone in the area. Nevertheless, if we can, like the Good Shephard, bring just one lost sheep back to the flock, we should rejoice and be glad. Sure, we serve dinner to anyone who is not drunk, high, or violent, but knowing that a simple meal might give one out of 300 or more people the will to move on with life is enough to validate our work. If one person in one year can get a decent suit in order to secure a job and a better life, than we should all be able to sleep peacefully at night. And at the same time, there is no good reason why we should not continue to try to give everyone a better life. So for the foreseeable future, Andre House will continue to do just that- provide for God’s neediest people here in Phoenix.

And so I would like to issue you all a challenge. Do not ever become a cynic when you come to Andre House. Do not be discouraged when you see the same guy belligerently drunk in the street at dinner time. Do not get down on yourself when you see a guest taking advantage of our goodwill. Let that be your motivation! Reach out to those people. See them as God’s children, your brothers and sisters. Work as often and as hard as you can to bring back the flock’s lost sheep, whether it be at Andre House or elsewhere. And always go with God!

To close, I would like to leave you on this occasion and all of those to come on a more serious note: Go Army, Beat Navy!"