UNDER THE OVERPASS
By Jeremy
Reynalds
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (ANS) -- It’s
an “adventure” that some people – make that most – might justifiably
call terrifying.
 Just a couple of years ago, Christian college
student Mike Yankoski and a friend voluntarily plunged themselves into
the unfamiliar world of homelessness.
(Pictured: Cover: Under The Overpass).
In addition to learning more about the often forgotten world of
America’s homeless, the result was a compelling read by Yankoski titled
“Under the Overpass” (Multnomah 2005).
What did they experience? As a portion of the book’s web site reads (www.undertheoverpass.com/book_detail.aspx?ISBN=1590524020),
“After meals from garbage cans and dumpsters, night after night Mike
and Sam found their beds under bridges and on the streets. They were
forced to depend on the generosity and kindness of strangers as they
panhandled to sustain their existence. For more than five months, the
pair experienced firsthand the extreme pains of hunger, the constant
uncertainty and danger of living on the streets, exhaustion,
depression, and social rejection - and all of this by their own choice.
This is their story. Through Mike's firsthand account, ‘Under the
Overpass’ provides important insight into the truths of the street, and
calls the younger generation of believers to take great risks of faith
to bring Christ's love to the neediest corners of the world.”
HOW DID A CHRISTIAN COLLEGE STUDENT END UP “UNDER THE
OVERPASS?”
How did this all come about? Yankoski explained in an extract from the
book (www.undertheoverpass.com/book_excerpt.aspx?ISBN=1590524020).
“The idea had dropped into my brain one Sunday morning while I sat in
church. The pastor was delivering a powerful sermon about living the
Christian life. The gist of it was, ‘Be the Christian you say you are.’
“But we were created to be and to do, not merely to discuss. The
hypocrisy in my life troubled me. No, I wasn’t in the grip of rampant
sin, but at the same time, for the life of me I couldn't find a
connecting thread of radical, living obedience between what I said
about my world and how I lived in it. Sure, I claimed that Christ was
my stronghold, my peace, my sustenance, my joy. But I did all that from
the safety of my comfortable upper-middle-class life. I never really
had to put my claims to the test.
“I sat there in church struggling to remember a time when I'd actually
needed to lean fully on Christ rather than on my own abilities. Not
much came to mind. What was Paul's statement in Philippians? ‘I have
learned what it means to be content in all circumstances, whether with
everything or with nothing.’
“With nothing?
“The idea came instantly—like the flash of a camera or a flicker of
lightning. It left me breathless, and it changed my life. What if I
stepped out of my comfortable life with nothing but God and put my
faith to the test alongside of those who live with nothing every day?
“The picture that came with that question was of me homeless and hungry
on the streets of an American city.”
In a recent e-mail interview, I asked Yankoski to tell me how his
family reacted to his idea.
He said, “My family is somewhat used to thinking out loud about really
crazy and different ideas. However, the idea to become homeless and
live on the streets was a little bit too extreme for them to just pass
off. When I explained to my parents the idea and vision, there was a
long silence on the other end of the phone as they thought about what I
had just explained to them. They weren't too excited about it.”
He added, “The next 16 months were filled with in-depth research,
conversations with rescue mission presidents, and hours of volunteer
work at local shelters. During these months my family began to embrace
and support my idea to become homelessness.”
BEFORE THE OVERPASS
I asked Yankoski to describe the thoughts going through his mind the
last night he spent in his own bed before embarking on his odyssey.
“My emotions were raging my last night in the quiet and familiar
comfort of my own bed,” he said. “Intertwined with the excitement that
is always present before any venture begins was a growing sense that I
had bitten off far more than I could chew. Yes I had done research, and
lots of it. But research rarely if ever completely prepares us for a
real life experience. How was a 20- year- old kid from upper-middle
class America going to survive the harsh street life I was diving into?
The fear quickly morphed into sadness as I realized I was leaving all
that I cherished for something utterly foreign.”
However, Yankoski added, “But simultaneously, I felt the leading hand
of the Lord, and the assurance that while the journey would not be
easy, it was what I was called to do.”
I asked Yankoski to tell me both the best and worst parts of his first
night living as a homeless person.
THE FIRST NIGHT
 He said, “The best part
of actually being homeless the first night in Washington D.C. was the
realization that the months of planning, prayer, and preparation had
actually become a reality. It was no longer merely an idea, or a
desire, or a curiosity to experience homelessness, but was now actually
taking place. (However), the thrill of the journey was very quickly
overpowered by the humidity, cockroaches and rats. All the months of
research in comfortable libraries and in the offices of rescue mission
presidents truly seemed a world away.” (Pictured:
Yankoski
during His Homeless Odyssey).
Yankoski said he and his traveling partner Sam quickly began to
experience a lot of situations that they had never anticipated.
“One of the low points,” he said, “came pretty quickly in Washington
D.C. when we had so little money for food that we actually dove right
on into a dumpster and raided the remains of someone else's lunch. Not
every moment was a struggle, though. The relationships helped to redeem
the monotony and the harshness of street life. Playing the guitar under
a bridge on a rainy Portland night with a couple of drug addicts while
trying to share the Gospel stands out as a really memorable moment.”
RELATIONSHIPS AND REACTIONS
Knowing that we all have personality “quirks,” I wondered how
Yankoski’s relationship with Sam progressed during their venture.
He said, “Almost immediately Sam and I began to realize that human
beings are not meant to spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with
another person. Early on, the sheer length of time Sam and I were
spending together began to negatively affect our friendship. However,
as the weeks wore on, Sam and I learned how true the Biblical statement
that ‘two are better than one’ really is. For all practical purposes, I
was Sam's only friend on the streets and he was mine. The togetherness
of our time on the streets even helped make the burden of what we were
witnessing day in and day out more manageable.”
Yankoski’s fellow students, he said, reacted with a range of emotions
from “disbelief to shock to energetic support. Even those who were
taken aback by the idea were not trying to convince me otherwise.
Several professors were supportive as was the campus pastor, although
it took a few meetings to convince them the idea was solid. Within
nearly every conversation, though, there was a sort of distanced
interest in the whole endeavor. Christ calls us to live our faith out
loud, and the hunger to see this done by others and then to do this
themselves was a prevalent in most of my classmates.”
LESSONS LEARNED
I asked Yankoski what he has learned about the homeless.
He said, “Every human being on the face of the planet is created in the
image of God, and thus we have a responsibility, a command from Christ
Himself in fact, to reach out in love. Homelessness is one of the most
overlooked and forgotten corners of the American landscape, and yet in
doing so we literally ignore some of Christ's most powerful teachings
on loving others as we would want to be loved.”
But homelessness is a very complex issue, Yankoski said. “And thus the
question of merely meeting immediate needs versus working to implement
strategies which help draw people out of desolation is an important
question to ask. But regardless of whether the focus is towards long
term life-change or immediate meeting of needs, it is critical that
Christian workers realize that with every person they interact with
they are interacting with Christ Himself” (c.f. Matt 25).
YANKOSKI AND RESCUE MISSIONS
Having been in rescue mission ministry myself for almost 23 years, I
wondered what Yankoski had learned about missions.
He said, “Most of the missions visited in the cities were functional,
strong places where the legitimate and immediate needs of street men
and women are being met. Yet, the mission world is a very complicated
balance between the needs of the homeless / drug addict community and
the surrounding local community. Both from the experience on the
streets and the preparatory research, it became obvious just how
essential and necessary missions are to the downtown areas of our major
metropolises.”
I asked Yankoski if he felt that missions are keeping pace with our
rapidly changing culture.
“Some homeless communities are filled with older men and women who have
probably lived in one location for 10-15 years,” he replied. “The
missions who minister to these corners of society don’t really have to
change their model or approach which they are undertaking simply
because their clients aren't changing. However, in cities where the
homeless populations are younger and more transient, I do believe that
many missions are having a difficult time really engaging this new
culture.”
According to Yankoski, if there is one thing that missions improve it
is their “relationship potential.”
He said, “I believe firmly that Christ works through His people in
order to promote and effect change in the world. Many of the rescue
missions which Sam and I encountered during our time on the streets had
very simplistic models of volunteerism which really left a large gap
between the Christian worker and the homeless addict. An increase in
the ‘rubbing of shoulders’ and relationship potential between strong
followers of Christ and the desolate man or woman within faith-based
homeless organizations is key to effectiveness.”
WHAT LIES AHEAD?
 Yankoski, who is getting married in a few weeks,
said his fiancée’s “support and excitement about the journey
really helped to strengthen the conviction that this was what I was
supposed to do.”
Tying his experience of homelessness into his upcoming marriage,
Yankoski said, “Everyone I talk to says that the homeless journey
doesn't even compare to the journey of walking together with the person
you love for the rest of life.”
As to what lies ahead, Yankoski said that once married he and his new
wife will be returning to Southern California where she has one
semester of college yet to complete.
“Beyond that, we are continuing to discern where the Lord would lead
us,” Yankoski said. “ Thoughts of serving overseas are nearly constant,
although there is a prominent question regarding continuing education.
(My wife to be) is an English major and may continue on that route, and
I would be honored to attend a seminary and perhaps begin doctoral work
someday.”
Yankoski said, “This season of life is similar to the season of
homelessness two years ago in that both require complete dependence and
trust that the Lord is leading us where He wants us to go, and that
means that despite the circumstantial difficulties or confusion, we
ultimately rest in His mighty hand.”
I unequivocally recommend Yankoski’s book.
| Jeremy Reynalds is a
freelance writer and the founder and director of Joy Junction, New
Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org or http://www.christianity.com/joyjunction.
He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New
Mexico and is a candidate for the Ph.D. in intercultural education at
Biola University in Los Angeles. He is married with five children and
lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy
Reynalds at jgreynalds@aol.com.
Tel: (505) 877-6967 or (505) 400-7145. Note: A black and white JPEG
picture of Jeremy Reynalds is available on request from Dan Wooding at danjuma1@aol.com. |
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