Hello from F

Tonight, a team of fifteen people headed out onto the streets of Budapest with 48 blankets, 80 packs of tissues, two pairs of pants, and two thermoses full of hot tea. We were split into four teams, heading out from a central location along two subway lines. The mission: to keep the homeless of Budapest warm as we head into the cold winter ahead. Each team also had a native Hungarian to speak with the homeless so that they did not just become someone we handed something so we could feel better about ourselves.

This is my team's story:

Viola, Johannah, Kirsten and I headed to Blaja Luiza Ter to search for our first blanket recipient. I will not lie to you, I was a little nervous as I had never just walked up to a stranger that I didn't speak the same language as with the intention of giving them something with no strings attached. My heart was racing and I'm sure I was running on a slight bit of adrenaline as well as we approached the first man.

He was sitting on cardboard and smoking a cigarette. He was also wrapped in a large and dingy coat with several layers of clothing underneath. We walked up and Viola offered him a blanket in his language.

"Nem."

"Nem" means "no." I was a little confused as we were offering this man a free blanket which would surely come in handy during the coming months. He explained that he wasn't sure how long he would be there and he didn't want to carry it. So... we said "Jó estét" (good night) and headed on.

The next two guys we came to were both lying down on cardboard. We walked up to the one that was awake and just finishing some sort of dinner and once again, asked if he would be interested in a blanket. The reaction was much different. He looked up, a little confused, and then smiled.

"Igen." (yes)

We then offered him some hot tea as well since he had just finished dinner and it might have been nice to warm his throat. He politely declined, so we asked if he thought his neighbor would be interested in a blanket. He said "of course!" and then slowly stood up with a slight bit of difficulty. He walked the two steps to his friend, and lightly smacked him on the leg to wake him up. His friend stood up a little bit confused, but when we put the brand-new still-wrapped blanket in his hand, smiled a mostly toothless smile and said "Danke schoen!" (He heard us speaking another language and figured it was German) He also enjoyed a cup of tea, and waved goodbye as we parted ways.

The next group of people we got to were at a place called Moskva Ter. Moskva Ter is known to be a bit of a rougher part of town, but it was still early enough where we didn't have to worry. We walked over to the other side of the tram tracks to two men sitting on the ledge of a stairway. "Jó estét!" we both said as we exchanged greetings. Viola offered them a blanket which they gladly accepted. They also said they would love some tea (and tissues). As I was helping pour the tea, one man (named J we would find out) heard us speaking in English.

"I do not recognize your accent." he said. "Where are you from?"

I answered in plain English "We're from America. I'm from North Carolina and the girls are from Virginia."

It lead to an interesting conversation where he asked us "Why are you helping us?"

I wasn't quite sure what to say. It was such an honest question that I was not prepared for it. I told him "Because that is what we are supposed to do. We see you guys all the time, and no one ever takes the time to stop and help out. We want you to know that we see you and we think you are important so we wanted to bring you something that will keep you warm."

He nodded and told us (in somewhat good English), "Thank you for doing this. When we have to sleep outside, it gets very cold, and this blanket will keep us warm. The hot tea is also very good for our throats. Thank you so much. We both appreciate it very much. I am J."

That is when I said "I am Will." and we held out his hand. I shook it and then introduced myself to G and I (both of whom spoke no English) while shaking their hands too. It made me think about how these guys rarely get touched. They are so looked down upon in society and people see nothing but a dirty hand coming their way to get them sick or at least smudge their gloves. People avoid these folks all the time and rarely are they treated like human beings. I think that the handshake meant a lot to them.

We parted ways and headed to a place called Déli Pályaudvar, a train station. We came up the escalator off the metro and met another J. He was sitting on a bench with a half-full bottle of beer next to him. We walked up and he said to us "Who won the football match tonight?" We all shrugged and told him we didn't know. He kind of nodded and said "Oh... okay." Viola then asked him if he would like a blanket. He said "Yes, I'm very cold." We then offered to give him some tea which he gladly accepted as well.

While we were pouring the tea, he just opened his life story to us. J is 61 years old and has been living at Déli Pályaudvar for the past ten years, and he has three children that he has not seen in the last six years.

At 4:30 this last morning, the police picked him up and took him to the station. "They treat the dogs better than us" he said. At 7:00 pm he was released and he made his way back to Déli. "I want to lie down on the train tracks and die sometimes.

We told J that we were Christians and asked if we could pray for him. He said he would love that, and Viola translated for me. While I was praying, J started to cry. His shoulders were shaking with every sob as I prayed and asked God for strength for J for whatever he was going through. I asked God to make it so that J would see his children again. I told God that He was a strong God and that nothing in this world would ever be stronger, and that He would look on his son J with joy. When we said "Amen," I opened my eyes and saw him crying. It absolutely broke my heart. We told J that we would be coming back again with food in about a month, and he told us he would see us then. It was one of the most moving things I could imagine.

Lastly, after parting ways with the team and meeting up with my fiance, Joanna Foley, we headed to Florian Ter to hand out the blankets to the two people that got this whole idea going. I shook hands with F and met K tonight for the first time. These are two homeless folks that have mattresses hidden behind a row of chairs in a public bypass that I see every day on my way to work. The fact that they sleep out in the cold and very obviously live there is what made me want to hand out blankets in the first place. We approached F and asked him if he would like to have a blanket to stay warm at night. A look of confusion immediately changed into a look of delight as we handed him two brand-new blankets. We stayed to talk to him for a while, and he explained to us with a large toothless grin that he always went to the catholic church up the road and asked God for help because he didn't know where it would come from. He told us that he knew if he would keep going and asking that God would bring him peace, and that we gave him that with the blankets. We explained that there was nothing attached, we just wanted him to have the blankets, and that got him tearing up. He explained with a breaking voice how hard it was to not know where your next meal was coming from and how much he appreciated that strangers, let alone strangers from another country, want to help him with nothing in return.

That's when he woke up K. The pile of blankets on the other mattress moved and up came a girl that could not have been older than 22 or 23. Most of Budapest's homeless are in their late forties to sixties like J. K was abnormally young. F kept saying "She's such a beautiful girl. I look after her and take care of her." We were pretty convinced it was his daughter as they looked very similar.

Needless to say, we talked with F for a little while and then as we were turning to leave after promising we would come again, F told us to say hello to our mothers for him. Mom, if you're reading, hello from F.

Tonight was a great night.