Quer um abraço??

Two days ago was Monday which means that ZOE went to Paulista to give out free hugs and then meet at Starbucks to talk about God.

Free hugs never bugged me, but this was my first time doing it on Paulista in about a year and God really stretched me. Free hugs is not an easy thing to do, but it's so worth it. Through free hugs, we brighten people's days as well as get a chance to meet people, build relationships, and share the gospel.

However, it's a risky business! Men... can be gross.

And there are always people who are just strange -

transvestites, too much plastic surgery, and people who haven't taken showers in literally months. I was never affected by any of this and just hugged whoever wanted one. Monday night, though, was tough. Two men, one after another, hugged me in inappropriate ways and that just made me mad and I didn't really feel like hugging any more.

But, I decided to continue. I brushed it off and went back to asking people if they wanted a hug. I went a minute or so without receiving a hug when two police officers came up and made fun of me because I wasn't getting any hugs! I was getting very discouraged and then I turned around and saw a homeless man rummaging through the trash.

I told God I didn't want to hug him, but I knew God's love was for everyone and I would hug

him if God wanted me to. Being arrogant and spoiled, I turned back around and started offering hugs. The homeless man walked past my back and out of the corner of my eye I could see

him walking away. I felt bad, but decided to continue hugging.

He came back not five minutes later and I knew I had to offer him a hug. He didn't want one, but wanted to know why we giving out hugs to everyone. Carlos told me all about

Catholicism and I had the opportunity to tell him about the love of Jesus.

Free hugs is so legit, but so hard sometimes. However, one thing is for sure - God works through free hugs and He is blessing it and it's and awesome and scary thing to be a part of.

(oh, and these pictures are from a long time ago... I didn't have any from this

week)