our people

For the first time after years in the Salvation Army I feel fairly far away from what William Booth labelled "our people": The people living on the streets, living a kind of life totally different to ours, way beyond our so loved comfort und life quality. Encountering people like those every one of us meets on the streets in all of Germany's inner cities William Booth knew he has found out a lot about God's calling for the Salvation Army. "These are our people!", he exclaimed. And I know what this newly gained knowledge feels like. Again, for the first time after meeting street people daily in our homeless drop-in in Hamburg for years I'm now living and working in a place where they seem to be as far away as they were when I lived my life not knowing that God has planned more. Temptation is high to simply walk by and follow one's daily business. It's so easy to ignore them, although God taught me to really love them. But, thank God, I still know, that these are "our people", and that they have a special place in God's kingdom and especially in the Salvation Army.