Riley and Sarah

Have you ever felt like you’re losing faith in humanity? For me this feeling usually creeps in after a long day of negative interactions with others. Usually the cause of this disheartenment doesn’t stem from one bad encounter, but each encounter is compounded by the next.

How dare they butt in line…They can’t speak to me that way…No one stopped to help…What is this world coming to! It may have been something that happened directly to you or perhaps you saw it happen to someone else. Either way, I often find it easier to dwell on the negative parts of life, especially when experiencing this kind of day.

Thankfully, every once in a while I have an experience that restores my faith in humanity. One of these positive experiences usually towers over the negative and if I hold on to that experience, it can last long after the moment has come and gone. I had one of these experiences on December 17 and have been holding on to it ever since.

Every Christmas Siloam Mission puts together a Christmas Gift Room and this year I had the opportunity to be a part of it. It was set up like a store; full of Toys and other donated goods. We worked hard to provide a dignified shopping experience for each parent or guardian who had registered. Each child received a toy, stuffed animal, blanket, treat bag, and a variety of personal items as chosen by their parent or guardian. Thirty-three families were represented and ninety-four kids received gifts that otherwise may not have had anything under the tree on Christmas morning.

It was December 17 and one of the last people on my list was a parent with 6 children. We wanted to make sure all the children received a Christmas gift, but we didn’t know if this individual would be able to make it down to Siloam; it all depended on when they would be released from prison.

I was pleasantly surprised when a friend of this individual came by to pick up the gifts on their behalf. But, as he arrived a look of worry came across his face. Most people appreciated the opportunity to pick out gifts themselves, but I could tell this man was intimidated by the idea. He had thought each gift would be prepared and he would simply have to pick them up – not pick them out.

Luckily I had a list of the children’s ages and genders. We worked together to pick out appropriate gifts and I was amazed at the care he put into each choice. We eventually figured out a gift for each child and as we put it all into bags I could tell it would be a lot for one person to carry. He told me where he had to walk to; it wasn’t too far under normal circumstances, but it would have been a challenge with the many bags full of gifts.

This moment meant so much to me because this was a man who makes use of the services at Siloam and is himself experiencing poverty and homelessness. I could tell he hardly knew the family, yet he was picking out gifts with as much care, if not more, as anyone I’d seen that day. He walked block after a block with his arms full of bags to ensure that a parent had gifts for their children at Christmas and that the children would have something to open on Christmas morning.

I encourage you to hold on tightly to your own positive experiences so the next time you’re having “one of those days” and your faith in humanity starts to decline, you can reflect on the positive. I know I’ll be holding on to this experience for quite some time. 

- Riley