SOS Bus Last Night

From SOS Bus

A picture of the bus from across the street. The doors on the left end open into the paramedic bay. You can see the TV in the middle of the bus. On the far right is the large van ("mini-bus") we use to go pick up people from bars or take people to the hospital (no calls last night).

From SOS Bus

A picture closer up to the side of the bus. This was as the night was winding down. You can see the group hanging around watching "The Simpsons Movie" - which is a whole lot better than them walking around drunk, getting in fights, etc. You can't really see it, but there's a row of two tables that run parallel to the bus and that's where the coffee, tea, soup, rolls, and candy bars are. The slogan, that's cut off is "SOS Here to Help". We served roughly 300 people last night from 11:30pm to 2:30am.

"Spider pig. Spider Pig. A spider pig does whatever a spider pig does." :-) The flatscreen TV on the side of the bus was playing the Simpsons Movie last night - we got through it twice. It was fun, we all had a good laugh at the jokes and then singing along to "Spider pig". It's amazing how something like the Simpsons worked powerfully to not only put people at ease - because it was something they could connect with - but, in so doing, really broke down walls and raised curiosity.

I thought the night would really drag on, especially as it got closer to 3am, but it went by really fast and was a great time (although, it hit me about 4 this afternoon and I had to take a nap). Some things that stand out:

*the drunk man at the beginning of the night who pointed out "truck" as a truck drove by. Had to laugh inside at that one. :-)

*the guy in his early 20s early in the night who was a self-confessed Satanist and was convinced it was a Christian thing and we were just out trying to convert people. He wasn't willing to except that, yes, while some of us were Christians, we really were there just love on people by volunteering our time and serving them free food/drinks - no strings (or conversions) attached. :-)

*when the "Satanist" (in quotations because I think he may have said it mostly for a reaction) asked Aneal (I think Indian by background, became a Christian later in life) what religion he was, Aneal, whose an incredibly solid Christian that helps lead the discipleship and prayer groups at church, said "I don't believe in religion." It was a beautiful answer - the guy asking didn't know what to do with it. :-)

*seeing friends who were more sober than their really drunk friends helping their friends home, whether that was holding them up or simply being their guide home.

*sadenned to see that most of the middle aged men who were out drunk were by themselves. An interesting contrast to the youth who, while being drunk, had friends with them.

*it was fun to see the women's eyes light up when we said "Free Chocolate" as they walked by. It was a nearly full-proof way to get groups to stop and grab a couple f chocolate candy bars on their way to where ever it was they were going.

All in all, it was a great night - although I have been exhausted today. I can't wait to do it again. It's amazing to see people's reaction to acts of charity and love. As well, the impact it has on local crime and being able to "save" people from things is huge. For example, on Halloween they had a call from a local pub to pick up a girl at the bar who was completely gone. Plus, she had no ID, cell phone, purse, or anything. The truth is, as sad as it is, anyone could have done anything to her and she never would have remembered, but would most definitely have lived with the grave consequences.

To add on all of that, two firsts for me since I left last night at 3am:

1. Had an egg thrown at me from a passing car on my way home. It missed me thankfully - but had to smile. They threw another one at another group of people in front me (missed again, lousy shots :-) - so it was just an indiscriminate "let's drive around town and throw eggs at people" kind of thing :-)

2. There was definitely a guy walking around in the alley behind our place during lunch today who only had a shirt on. Seriously, nothing else and he's walking around. Gross display of public nudity. Yuck! :-P

But hey, that's Belfast for ya! Gotta love it!