ightwatch
OPERATION
March-April, 2010
 Newsletter
FROM THE PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Recently I organized a “Wheel of Fortune” game night at Nightwatch during our regular hospitality hours.  The game was downloaded onto a computer and projected onto a screen in the front of the hospitality center.  A young woman in her 20s—who I will refer to as Rebecca—came in just a few minutes after we opened our doors at 7pm and signed up to play Wheel of Fortune.  She played two rounds with great enthusiasm and then gathered up her gear to leave for the evening.  She pulled me aside to talk before she left.  Rebecca opened up to me about her struggle with alcoholism.  She had stayed sober for two months until the previous night when she had a small relapse.   She said to me, “You know, after that, I was feeling pretty bad about myself before coming in here tonight.  But you all were so friendly, and that game was so fun.  I just really feel great about myself now.  I can do this.  Thank you.”  We both smiled, embraced hands for a moment, and then Rebecca went on her way.   
           Sometimes it is difficult to articulate—or even justify in some cases—exactly what it is we do at Operation Nightwatch.  Theologian and Community-Builder Henri Nouwen writes, “Hospitality is not about changing people, it is about creating a space where change can take place.”  We are not here at Operation Nightwatch to change people, or tell people what to do, or even to provide people with many tangible services.  We are here to create a space where goodness can prevail, a space free from violence and full of laughter and respect.  Certainly hospitality should not be romanticized as the perfect method for curing the ills of society,  but if we are able to help people see for themselves the beauty and the dignity that is already within them, then we are on the right path.

                                                                                               Jeremy Marks