Embrace Being Uncomfortable

"A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there."
Back in the beginning of the year, I joined the DC ABST group because it sounded like a good way to get involved with the Center for Social Concerns. I am already a member of OPEN and I have done mission trips in the past, so I felt as if this experience would be similar. As I sit here on this Thursday night preparing for tomorrow, I am realizing how wrong I was.

This trip has not been the usual mission trip. Because if what I was looking for was something easy, I would not find it in the heart of DC. If I was looking for always feeling comfortable, then I would have to tear that feeling down. If I thought that I could return back to Erie and not have a changed heart, then I would be so wrong.

For in a span of a few days, I have been able to feel a shift in my mindset and heart. Facing homelessness right in the face is not easy to do. It takes strength to hear the stories of these men and to realize that we are all just one choice away from being in their shoes. For most of these men, it only took one choice, one wrong step, or one bad streak of luck to end up where they are.

We all think that homelessness is so far away from us that we won't ever have to face it. I know that I thought that. But the truth is that it's right outside our doors. And these men are just like everyone else in this world. They are intelligent, funny, and kind individuals who deeply care about our personal stories too.

I had a little space called my comfort zone and I was perfectly fine just living in it. Life is easier that way and I was accepting of that fact. But in the end, life begins at the end of our comfort zones. There is so much pain that is in this world that we can fight. But in the midst of all this pain, there is beauty. This is evident by the smiles on all of the men's faces each day at the breakfast line. As one very special man told us: "We are all angels here on earth, but some of us are just broken angels."

I thank God that He took me on this trip and I can't wait to help make more of a difference this coming year at Gannon. So, if you get the chance, take a step of faith and walk past the line of comfort into the unknown, because you never know how much you might grow.

-Rachel Nye