“One night of the [Social Issues] trip really sticks out to me. A group of us were walking around Georgetown, enjoying the freedom that was granted to us on that trip. After getting Panda Express, a group of us remembered a homeless man who had been outside. We were talking about bringing him dinner and giving him any cash we could spare. As we opened our fortune cookies, we were inspired by the words “lend a hand to one less fortunate than yourself.” Jake, Rina, Mindy, Liz, Shane, and I all went out to the man and asked if he’d like dinner. As Liz, Shane, and Jake went to get it, Mindy, Rina, and I stayed back and talked to him.
“When we sat on the sidewalk, he looked at us, surprised, and said, “You’re going to sit? With me?” He told us about all the places he traveled to and tried to guess where we were from. The rest of the group came back and handed him the food and some change we were able to gather up. He kissed our hands and thanked us. Rina asked him, “Do you believe in God?” and he answered, “Sometimes.” We asked if we could pray over him, and as we did, someone walking by joined our prayer and added a few dollars to our collection. He held our hands and thanked us, asking if we could come back to talk tomorrow. But we were leaving the next day. That was one of the defining moments of my life. That one man really changed my ideas about the homeless and made a big impact on me.”
-- Excerpt from a Social Issues class journal by Brynn Ramsay '17
