Oh the little things

Today was the first day that we had on our own, but we still had a task that had to be fulfilled. We were supposed to go to the Mission District - mainly Hispanic- and with $10 meet the need of someone there but try to do something other than buy food. So we went and walked down the street of our boundaries to get a feel. Met a random guy who kept trying to speak Spanish to us - which is when I realized my Indonesian had overridden my little bit of Spanish. Then we finally found this group of seven guys and decided to talk to them. We split up a little and found out through conversation that the guys needed some socks and water (Mind you we talked to them for about 5 minutes before even getting to the topic of needs). So we told the guys to stay where they were (though apparently the corner they were on is "their" corner) so we walked a few blocks and found a dollar store. We were able to buy 8 pairs of socks, 3 reusable water bottles and 2 boxes of chewy bars for $9.63. SCORE!! So we took them to the guys and talked to them for a while long. The most beautiful thing happened in the midst of all of this. One guy was passed completely out and our friend Carlos went over to him, took his shoes and socks off, put on the new pair of socks and then put his shoes back on for him. It was just such a generous thing that I probably never would have thought to do and he did it without a thought. Sometimes we try to think that we are the only ones that have anything to offer, then things like this happen and I'm reminded that these people have so much to teach me about community and love.