We came across a rough sleeper, usually a reasonably cheerful man. That night he was quiet, low and subdued. Listening to him, he told me he felt there was no future, no hope.
I offered to pray with him and he readily accepted. So, as sometimes happens, I found myself holding the hands of a homeless soul, amid all that rubbish and debris of discarded burger wrappers and beer cans, while the noise of Plymouth night life sounded all around. Yet all seemed so quiet, so peaceful and still to me. What prayers can be voiced, raised, for a man who had nothing except the contents of a carrier bag and who felt he had no hope, no joy, no happiness, no future, no safety?
So, I prayed that our Father would give him somewhere safe for the night where he would be sheltered, where he could find some peace and some happiness in his future. When prayers were finished the man turned to me and said he didn’t know if he would ever find peace and happiness while he was alive but had suddenly realised that there was a future where there would be peace and safety, where he would be loved. Perhaps not on this earth but in another world, eternity. He realised there was something more that this life on earth. Thankyou Lord for the privilege of being a carrier of your message of Hope to so many who have none
We were called to a night club to assist a young girl having a panic attack, as she’d realised she was drunk and was hyperventilating at the thought of her mother beating her up when she got home, and this was in turn bringing up memories of her father trying to choke her when she was 12 years old. I watched, feeling God’s love for her, as our ladies hugged and reassured her and the panic subsided. I was so grateful when we got her much calmer; safely with a friend to get a taxi back to the friend’s house for the night. An hour well spent and again I came away thinking “What would have happened to her if we hadn’t been there?
We were talking to a street sleeper who was telling us that his estranged wife had suddenly decided to deny him access to see any of his 3 children after he had spent time with his daughter for her birthday As we listened he began to cry, then apologised for doing so. We re-assured him that rather, we were honoured that he trusted us enough to cry in front of us and hugged him as we left. We made sure we told the Prayer Pastors so that he could continue to be prayed for and prayed for him ourselves as we continued our patrol. Overall it had been quite a quiet night but if he turned out to be the only reason we’d been there, that was fine by us