What does homeless bring to mind? Indigent street people, addicts and alcoholics with mental issues that are not to be associated with, like the Samaritans in the first century CE? While many of the homeless individuals you might encounter on the street have serious issues that contribute to their often perpetual homelessness, there is another, almost invisible, side of homelessness — homeless families. Homeless families tend to be “normal” people who have had some kind of catastrophic event that caused them to become homeless. Fortunately, there is Family Promise of Albuquerque (FPA) to help. FPA is made up of churches that temporarily house homeless families and volunteers who help support the families. Instead of ignoring these families, FPA, offers them life sustaining water.

Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? (John 4: 4-11 NIV).

Central United Methodist Church hosted two families this past week, and Laurie and I volunteered to help yesterday afternoon. When we got to CUMC, we had a pleasant surprise — there were four students from UNM playing with the kids as part of the 11th Annual Spring Storm Event put on by the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico (ASUNM) who volunteer in a one day service project.  The students, Katarina, Jackie, David and Rudy, were wonderful. They played and played the the kids, and had a lot of fun. I was really impressed that they took a day off from their heavy class loads to play with kids — the kids were so happy, and their mom got a nice break. By giving up some of their precious time yesterday, Katarina, Jackie, David and Rudy helped make earth a little more like Heaven.