Casey posted something about the homeless a while back, and it got me thinking about sandwich runs and soup kitchens, and all those good times that I had doing them back 2002-2003. Plus 3 people have asked me why I got into podiatry in the first place in the last week, so I figure its a good time to reflect. During that year I was struggling with trusting God, struggling with knowing what God had in store for me in the future. I was entering my fourth year of university, studying a subject that I wasn't particularly passionate about (Biochemistry), and had absolutely no idea what I would do after that year. (Biochemistry is a cool subject though - its amazing how many molecules are in our body and how they interact with each other to maintain life; to carry out life functions... but it wasn't for me.) So I did what any Christian would do at that point.. PRAY. I prayed that God would lead me in the right direction, to show me his plan for me, and that I was going to trust him to provide me a future. So basically I applied to pretty much everything and asked God to close and open doors as he wished.
So 1 week or so before 4th year started, I went on my first sandwich run. Honestly, I was a little nervous. I didn't know what to expect, how I would interact with them, etc. I had been conditioned by culture and society to ignore them when they asked for money or other things. I guess reflecting back it was because they seemed "unlovable" or "too much of a hassel" to love. I would learn later that year while going through the Purpose Driven Life that God puts the "hard to love" people in your life so that you can learn to love them. Its easy to love those that are easy to love, or do things for people who can "return the favour". And loving the homeless really taught me to love with no expectations of any "return favours". So that first sandwich run I met a guy named Mad Dog on the corner of University and Queen in Toronto. He looked kind of like Bruce Willis. And he was the leader of this group of friends that were there - I remember Houston and Cecelia were part of that group too. So I started talking with Mad Dog and I realized he had no shoes on and the bottom of his feet were all black. He wore the same size shoes as me so I told him I'd provide him some shoes. So we set up a time, and we got the shoes to him that Friday. :)
Another story I want to share is one about Brian and Evelyn. They were a couple that I regularly saw at King between Bay and Yonge. We had developed a nice relationship with them. One particular instance really stood out to me. The day before one of our sandwich runs, I was playing basketball with a few buddies and I twisted my ankle. I ended up wrapping it up in a tensor bandage, elevating and icing it that night. However, I was still in pain the next day, when we were scheduled to go for another sandwich run. But I really wanted to go so I decided to ride downtown and suck it up. On the subway my foot was killing me. It was really throbbing. When I got downtown we did our prayer, and for some reason I decided to take off the tensor bandage on my foot. Turns out the tensor bandage made my foot way too big for my shoe! When I put back on my shoe there was no pain at all! So I put the tensor bandage in my pocket and we went on our way. So that day we saw Brian and Evelyn. We were talking and we asked them if we could get them anything. It was the winter time so Evelyn asked for socks. I remember Matt going off to the side to take off his socks to give to her. Brian asked for shampoo and a comb. And Tif was for some reason carrying shampoo and a comb. (Do girls always carry shampoo with them? hehe) At this point Evelyn had taken off her shoe and we saw a deteriorating bandage on her foot. (It looked like tissue paper wrapped over her foot). She said that she had hurt her ankle on a construction site down the street. At that point I realized I had a tensor bandage in my pocket, and so I was gladly able to give it to her to replace her old bandage. Its cool how God was able to provide for this couple. He knew what they needed and he was able to use us to provide it to them.
There are a few more foot stories, but I'm going to get to the meat of the story now :P In January of 2003 I started volunteering at a school, helping an occupational therapist who worked with some children there. I would go in once a month to help this girl Amanda with her hand writing and play games that would help with her motor control (She had some sort of motor dystrophy). So one week in March, I was riding the subway and I started noticing all these signs about March Break specials for the subway. I didn't think too much of it - I was in university and had my reading week already. I get to the school, and the doors are locked. The lights are out. I'm wondering what is going on. So I pretty much stand there for 5 minutes, looking for any form of civilization in the school when someone down the street sees me and tells me that if I want to get into the school, the preschool is open that day! I say thanks and I head to the preschool and make my way up to Amanda's classroom. To my surprise, all the chairs are stacked and all the lights are out. I'm super confused now so I start walking around the school. Then some construction guy comes up to me and asks me what I'm doing there (I guess I looked suspicious). I explained everything and then he asks me "Hey Buddy, you know it's March Break right?". D'oh. I felt stupid. So I hung my head in shame and left. Later that night I was reflecting on my day and an analogy came to me. God talks to us softly sometimes. God whispers to us. Sometimes we just have too much going on to realize that he is talking to us. So he'll whisper and whisper some more. He'll leave hints for us to figure out. But sometimes, its not until he slaps you in the face with the answer that we realize what he's trying to say to us. There were many hints for me to pick up on to figure out it was March Break. My brothers were on March Break, the subway signs, the locked doors, the stacked chairs - but I didn't put all that together until that guy slapped me in the face with the realization that it was March Break.
Two days later, I got accepted into Foot school. It was my first acceptance letter, so I was happy, but I was still waiting to hear back from more schools. I didn't know if feet were for me. That night I told one Steph at fellowship that I had got into Foot school. She told me that was so cool and that there were people who drive around in trucks to give footcare to the homeless. At that point I was thinking "cool, I like dealing with the homeless, maybe footcare is for me". So I reflected more on it that night, and I realized all the little foot stories God had put into my life. And with that analogy I had just learned - God was really slapping me in the face and telling me "Podiatry school is where I want you to go". God really had my feet in his hands - He was leading me to Podiatry school all along.
Since then, God has reaffirmed his placement of me in the world of podiatry. I love the profession. God also gave me a mentor in Dr. Goldberg who I was able to work for and spend time with. I have realized that podiatry also fits my lifestyle. I am laid back and calm, just like the profession. There rarely is any stress with the job (except for maybe difficult patients), and on the whole there aren't too many life-threatening things that we treat.
Reflecting back, I really believe that that year was one of the most rewarding times of my life. It really wans't about the sandwiches, and it really wasn't about the homeless. Although our goal was to develop relationships with the homeless and show them the love of Jesus, these experiences have shaped who I am. I am on the path that God has put me in. And everything that started that year has led me to where I am today, a podiatry student in the city of brothery love.
At this point of my life, my future is again, uncertain. Right now there are many presentations on residencies at our school. I know pretty much next to nothing about most residency programs. The only information I am using to narrow down my choices so far is location. After these 2 years in Philadelphia, where will I end up? Will I still be in Philadelphia? Or will I be in Vancouver, Boston, Miami, or some other city? I am well aware that God can send me to wherever he wants. I never thought I'd end up in Philadelphia, but it has been an amazing learning experience as well as blessing for me. Its exciting to see where God will lead me in the future. As I noted in my previous post, reflecting on the past really does show God's faithfulness.
"Tomorrow is always better with Jesus Christ." Pui Wing Wong
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
~Psalm 100:5
