Experiences & Observations on Charity moving closer toward Thanksgiving
Summer 1994: My mother was never a charitable person. In fact I often joke that she, as a Thai woman was a Buddhist turned capitalist. Thus it was extremely insightful when I saw her quickly stop on a pedestrian overpass in Bangkok, reach into her bag and pull out a baht note and place it into the cup of a beggar who was sitting in the middle of the over pass. I recall that the man looked in his 20’s and was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. What made him stand out was the fact that he had no arms or legs, as he held up his metal bowl with two stumps and an understandably sad, begging expression.
Thanksgiving Day 2005: the City of Orange. I decided to take part in an independent charity event with some coworkers. The group doled out an entire Thanksgiving meal to all who showed up and asked. That morning I saw all types of people. Everyone from the typical shopping cart lady to a man wearing Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses that were noticeably worn to another man who drove-up in a working 80’s Nissan sedan. My boss was there and I remember asking her that if some of these people we were actually serving were actually “in need”.
Spring 2009: For the first time in my life, I decided to put my money where my mouth is as far as religious service by participating in a ministry through my church and Azusa Pacific University. I spent a week camping, attending worship services in the morning and the evening then driving out to a remote church “Voz que clama en el desierto" about 40 miles east of the city of Mexicali. The trip coincided with areas spring break so there were always children at the church. However what was most moving was the humble conditions under which this church was operating, an outhouse with a cesspool and a rudimentary chapel and play room for services. It seems like all we did was play with the kids whose appreciation for our visit was felt on an extremely deep level. By the end of the week I found it difficult to say goodbye and left wondering if our visit had actually made a difference. After all was anything really accomplished by showing-up saying some prayers, handing out ham & cheese sandwiches and playing kickball with the kids? I remembered that when I returned home and attended service at my home church two days later, I felt I was living in the lap of luxury just because there was indoor plumbing.
The more hearts that are involved the greater the impact. Although we came together in a religious context our motivations were that of kindness & contribution.
Fall 2009: After attending a Men’s Christian Conference I was moved by the sermon given by Pastor Poncho Juarez of Cavalry Chapel Montebello and became a subscriber to the church podcast. During one the podcasts he spoke of a time he and his wife were walking by a liquor store and encountered a man who was begging for money. The pastor then said he took out his wallet and gave the man the first bill he had which was a 10. As he and his wife kept walking, his wife rebuffed him by saying “Why did you just give that man 10 bucks?!?! You know he’s just going to go in that store and get booze, or maybe even get some meth and get high.” Poncho’s response was something to the effect of “Maybe he will, maybe he won’t. Maybe he will get food with it, I don’t know. All I know is that he asked and I was moved to give. If he wants to sin with it, that’s his choice. What I did was give charity to someone who was in need. Praise be to God.”
Winter 2013: Had to go down to the uniform store in Seal Beach for a patch on my dress blues. Patch secured, I visited my two favorite piers in both Seal Beach and Huntington Beach despite the fact that the sky was gray with a slight drizzle, and constant sea breeze that made me thank god that I owned a hoodie with hand pockets. As I walk out to the Huntington Beach pier there is a man standing to the side of the entrance who asks me if I want to do a conga line right now, just me and him. I give a slight laugh and tell him I’m good. Curious at this request I turn around to look at the man who looks to be making the same request to a group of three people. As they walk away I see, another man jacket with a clipboard approach him who then points to another man with ball cap and a beta camera resting on a bench and slightly concealed under a jacket, his face looking down into the eyepiece. Proceeding to the end of the pier, I see a woman sitting on a bench bundled in a green North Face jacket, a small basket with wheels at her side. A couple passes her going the opposite way as I am and I hear the woman say “Can you spare some change?” as the couple just keeps on walking past. A few more steps and I am at the end of the Huntington Beach pier, my thoughts meandering between how much I love the beach, how much I love the rain and the surf, the woman sitting on the bench and how the cold wind coming off the sea is getting old real quick even with a hoodie on. My pier walk done, I proceed back to the shore knowing that I am going to get the question from the woman sitting on the bench. I recall Pastor Juarez sermon and feel four of the fourteen dollars in cash I have on me. As I pass the woman she asks with a superfluous, whispered quality “Spare some change?” I remove my hand from my pocket and brandish four folded one dollars which I hand to her. As she accepts the bills from me she tells me “God Bless you.” With a quality of surprise, slight embarrassment and gratitude.
Today: I’m sitting here writing a bLog about my experiences with charity. I sit here drinking coffee, knowing full well what it feels like to sleep on a floor. I sit here typing on my laptop, recalling times I didn't know where I was going to live or where my next meal was coming from. I sit here looking at my bike locked outside the window in front of me, remembering how I wasn't selected for a job and how deeply it affected and sent me into a depressed state. An hour into that depressed state I encountered my neighbor who was in a leaving her house in a full torso brace. Just happening upon one of her thrice daily walks. She went on to tell me how she was in the middle of a relapse of the same cancer that she thought she had beaten just the year prior. Along with my company, came my sincere words of encouragement: "Keep Fighting.".
Today I am sitting here writing knowing what it is to give charity. I am sitting here having been a charity recipient upon request and the rare occasions when I didn't need to ask. Someone saw me in need and simply provided. thank you Today I have written a bLog about charity and how in either giving or receiving from the heart, the evolution is invariably the same: Gratitude. A deep, heartfelt sense of gratitude.
thank you
Video Summary (3 minutes)
*Author's integrity check: I also want to make it clear that although practices of Christianity were discussed, I am no longer Christian. I am Buddhist. Which is to say I believe in charity and kindness not because God said to do it in some book, but because I am responsible for my own actions and I feel it is the right thing to practice.