Building relationships

Building relationships is elemental. Listening to individual stories, getting to know their hearts, and encouraging them along the way are important parts of our daily lives. By building relationships, we build trust and as a result, people increasingly begin to ask us questions. This often gives us the opportunity to speak into their lives and encourage them to take further steps. However, it usually takes some time to build trust because these people have been hurt and abused so many times in their lives. It's a risk, but it's worth it. Just as this is true in our personal lives, it is also true for those who live on the streets.

A story to building relationship:

As we walked through downtown, we saw Karen. We had met her a few times beforehand and talked together. She usually tells us a little about her life, but today she seemed hesitant. When we greeted her that day, she made a particularly sad impression on us. We asked her if she was burdened with something special today. She answered that today is her birthday. Karen told us with sad eyes how disappointed and lonely she feels, because nobody celebrates her birthday or sings for her. We took our time listening to her and tried our best to comfort her during the time spent together.

After saying goodbye to her, we decided to buy her pink flowers and delicious ice cream to celebrate her birthday. We went back to her place and sang the Happy Birthday song as passionately as we could. She looked out of her tent and tears rolled down her cheeks. She was so surprised and gave us a soft and warm smile while thanking us from the bottom of her heart. Since that event, we always encouraged her to take steps. Since then, she has signed up for the housing list.