Eldon’s RITI Story
June 25, 2021
One of the reasons I joined University Christian Church was due to how impressed I was with the church’s ministry to the homeless through “Room in the Inn.” As I volunteer to be a greeter, I not only greet the guests, but I have the opportunity to visit with them and hear their stories. I have a story from my time serving this ministry—a story that happened during the Christmas season.
The homeless guests were arriving and came into the room when one of them spotted an undecorated Christmas tree. He ran over to it and asked, “Can I help decorate the tree?” “Of course,” I said, as I dug out the boxes of decorations. With a big smile on his face, for the next forty-five minutes before dinner, he painstakingly decorated the tree. Then he said to me, “This is great. I never had a Christmas tree when I was a kid. This is the first Christmas tree I have ever decorated.”
Most of us have decorated Christmas trees more times than we can remember, but for this guest, it was a unique and memorable experience. I am glad that through “Room in the Inn,” our church gave him that opportunity as well as gave him a hot dinner, a safe and clean place to spend the night and a breakfast in the morning. As Jesus said, “As you did it to one of the least of these…you did it to me.”
