Stay Sweet!

     It was another great day in San Francisco! Sadly I didn't get to see Cricket today, but her stuff was still there, so I'm hoping I'll get to see her tomorrow! I saw a lot of other familiar faces, which I always love! One guy that I saw that I met yesterday was Randolf. He actually just got in town last Friday and he's having some trouble in San Francisco. Once you're homeless and you lose your identification and social security, it can be really hard to recover. He's trying to get his social security, but in order to do so, he has to have a mailing address, which he doesn't have because he's homeless. In a lot of cities, homeless ministries will have P.O. boxes that the homeless can use for purposes like this, but San Francisco's homeless ministries seem to only do that for residents. It's kind of a vicious cycle and makes it really hard for homeless that are trying to get jobs or homes to do so. It can be very discouraging for people who are trying to improve their situations.
     I met a new friend today named Earnest. He's really new to living outdoors, too. He's also really trying to get back into a home, because it's been really rough for him so far; getting jumped, robbed, and not being able to find work. Earnest was a really sweet and open guy and it was fun getting to talk and pray with him and offer him some hope and encouragement. Something I thought was kind of funny is a lot of the people in San Francisco, when I'm leaving them, say, "Stay sweet!" I don't know if that's a San Francisco thing or what, but I like it!
     I meet so many people that totally break the mold of the stereotypical homeless person, and I love that! It just proves that we're all just people, despite the fact that society dehumanizes the homeless. People living on the streets are people. They're people with stories, interests, personalities, and a lot of them with high educations and a lot of job experience. I just love getting to hang out with them all the time! I meet so many beautiful, open, warm people!
    Go love on some people, and stay sweet!