Emmy Johnson's Blog
April Update. / Apr 18, 04:17 PM
LOVING CINDY.
“If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
1 Corinthians 13:3
Living where we do there are a lot of faces from the streets that become familiar quite quickly. One of these faces is a lady my roommates and I continually saw on the corner begging for money. What distinguished her from other familiar beggars was that she held a sign saying she was deaf. All of us were curious if that was in fact true, or not, until after we got back from Christmas break.
On our second night back from break, two of my roommates and I were walking back from a MARTA station after a meeting. This familiar lady was walking a few paces ahead of us and we decided to catch up and try talking to her.
After finding out “Cindy” truly was hearing impaired and could read lips, we also found out she was staying in an abandoned house not far from us. We all talked almost the entire walk home, at times resorting to writing notes in a journal back and forth to aid communication. By the end of our walk, Cindy and I had plans to meet up one of the mornings the following week so she could walk with me to Crossroads and get her identification card. One of my roommates gave her a watch to use to ensure Cindy would make it on time to meet me and walk to Crossroads. We gave her a hug and were on our way home.
I never saw Cindy that following week and often wondered what became of her. About a month later the same roommate that gave her the watch told me she saw her across the tracks at a MARTA stop; Cindy mouthed that she was in a program and doing well. I assumed that night in January was the last I would see of Cindy and was glad to hear she was alive and doing well.
Towards the end of March I saw Cindy on the same corner on which I first saw her, only this time she was not begging for money. She looked better, but still quite weathered. We gave each other a big hug and she said she was still in the program, but that she was waiting for someone to pick her up. We chatted for a few minutes and I was on my way again, happy to have seen her.
A couple of days ago I was walking home from Crossroads on my way to New Life for S.A.Y. Yes! when I saw Cindy back on her corner, begging with the sign I grew accustom to seeing attached to her before we met. Like usual, Cindy came over and greeted me with a big hug. She told me she was still in the program, but there was only a week left. She was just begging to get some money for lunch. I asked her what would happen after that week, and Cindy mouthed that she wasn’t sure but she would be alright. I handed her an apple, told her to take care, and to come visit me at Crossroads if she needs help finding a place to stay once her program was over.
After this last interaction with Cindy, a part of me wonders if she was telling me the whole truth. I want to trust her and believe she actually is in a program and trying to get things together, but I have no way of knowing for sure. But I’ve realized that ultimately it does not matter if she is or not. My job is not to judge where she is at in life, but to love her and let her know someone cares about her in our brief visits with one another.
PRAISES *I have met my financial goal and our team continues to get closer to our $60,000 goal. *I had a great spring break with my family in Albuquerque. *I am getting closer to figuring out life after Mission Year.
PRAYER REQUESTS *Pray for the remaining $10,468 to come in for our team. *Pray for the S.A.Y. Yes! summer program in the works for the months of June and July. *Pray for Saturday outreach to continue to go well and relationships to strengthen for the time remaining.
TEAM TOTAL
Amount Raised: $49,532
Amount Remaining: $10,468
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