‘The night I learned a little something by simply helping out'

Warwick - On Friday night, March 3, I was part of a group of 26 teens, under the direction of Father Michael ( Rev. Michael McLoughlin), pastor of St. Stephen’s Church in Warwick, and parents who set out in vans packed high with food and clothes that parishioners had accumulated over the past couple of weeks to deliver to the poor in Manhattan. All eight cars caravanned and we managed to arrive together at the first “stop” we had been assigned for this year’s Midnight Run. We unloaded ourselves from the vans. We stood on the somewhat empty streets of New York City in the cold, blustery, dead of night, doing our best to stay warm and keep a friendly smile on our faces. We passed out lunches and frantically dug through bags in search for the perfect scarf and sweater that would best suit the homeless man or woman patiently waiting next to us. The friendly, casual conversations that we had with those who “dropped-by” were enjoyable but often had to be broken up because of time - we had others waiting at the next stop. That night, I think we all learned a little something from simply helping out one another. As I stood outside under the big, bright sky and exchanged words with those strangers, I felt God’s presence working within me and these homeless people who had nothing. Like the wind which cannot be seen but felt, I sensed the presence and love of God wrap around me tightly like a hug or a warm blanket on a cold night. At the same time, I felt a surge of guilt circulate throughout my body and chill my every bone, as I watched these people who seemed so happy and were friendly, despite the fact that some of them did not have a place to sleep at night. I felt guilty for all the times I take the simple things for granted. I realized the simple things in life brought them the greatest of joys; one woman was telling me about a brand new brush with distinct bristles, that she had been in search of for quite some time that she had finally found and bought that day at the dollar store. She pulled it out of her backpack and proudly showed us all. Probably without even realizing it, this woman helped me more than I helped her. She taught me how to live each day as it comes, and live it to the fullest, to use the gifts given to me by God, my knowledge and my talents for not only me, but for the good of others. As we drove home that night in a toasty, warm car which had now been emptied from all the food and clothes, I was surrounded with loving friends and filled with the grace of God. The author is 14.