“Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying” (Luke 10:38-39).

An unexpected knock on our door on a Sunday afternoon revealed Igor, whom we hadn’t seen for a while. He looked different, very much like a normal 20-year-old. Teens living in the streets tend to have a style of their own: the same haircut; similar clothes; and a distinctive way of standing, walking, and speaking. All these characteristics were absent in the person outside. He wore a dress shirt and was clean-cut and well-groomed. Igor looked like an average person, and this was excellent. He entered our home and hugged us.

It had taken him almost two hours to get to our place because he lives on the outskirts while we are in the old center of town. He is staying in a halfway house for drug addicts run by a Pentecostal church. The church has offered him a temporary place until he is ready to find a place of his own. He worked briefly restoring furniture in a used-furniture store. Igor was the last one employed, and when they downsized, he was the first to go. Thankfully, he wasn’t discouraged. He believes something better will come along. For now, he helps out wherever he can in the halfway house.

Life in the halfway house is very structured. Everyone follows a strict schedule, including Igor. Having the structure he never had in his life in the streets is helping him. He has changed the way he dresses and looks; he felt it necessary to leave behind everything that he learned in the streets except for those who inspire him to improve. I suppose we are one of the latter.

Igor has been able to stay away from the street life for an entire year. For most of us, a year is not a long time. However, for children and teens who could not bear to be in a new environment for more than an hour, one year is quite a significant period.

Igor still feels a strong attachment to his friends. This is understandable, since they were the closest thing to a family that he had. He visits them whenever he can and wants them to know that there is life beyond homelessness. This is a beautiful thing.

I asked if he ever felt tempted to return to the streets; after all, it was his comfort zone. He told us he never felt comfortable in the streets but that at the time it was his only option. Now he has others.

We were used to the old Igor, but this new person was beaming with hope and life. He came to share a special event that had recently taken place: his baptism. He said this was a decision that he pondered seriously. He did not want to be one of those people who find religion and then go back to their old way of living. He wanted to make a life-changing decision, and it is evident that this was a genuine one. We cannot but rejoice with him.

I asked Igor what made him take this bold step of leaving everything in the streets behind. Throughout his time there, many religious and social workers worked with him. He told us that these people were also present, but it was very rare that someone would actually listen to him and help him express his own thoughts and understandings. It was only recently that he met people who took him seriously and allowed him to open up to them.

In a simple way, Igor put some flesh and blood to the concept of the ministry of presence. It is not just being there, but also being available to the person we serve and allowing him or her to open up to us. There are many people who want to help, but only a few are available to those they serve.

Martha and Mary in the text above invited Jesus to their home, but only one made herself available to him. Martha was busy trying to make sure everything was perfect. She didn’t even ask Jesus what he wanted but assumed that she knew best. Mary did nothing more than sit and listen. She waited for Jesus to let her know what he desired.

Being available is more than listening. I have known people who are good listeners, but they are not available. Being available means we genuinely believe that the person to whom we are listening has something to offer us.

However, being available does not mean pretending the vacuous things people say are truly profound. Such an attitude is condescending in itself. We must genuinely believe people have something to offer, even if they appear to be superficial. And this is where the Christian faith makes a big difference. A Christian believes in the active presence of the Holy Spirit. He or she believes in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all peoples as narrated in the Acts of the Apostles. Therefore, we must also believe that the Holy Spirit is present and working in the lives of all people today.

Being a Martha in this world is far from easy. It takes time and energy. But it is even harder to be a Mary. It means putting aside our prejudices and preconceived notions to listen and believe that the people we serve can actually help us to understand God even better.

Igor met people who were available to him, who helped him understand his struggles and doubts. They helped him understand that his growing discomfort with the street life was the prompting of the Holy Spirit to move on and seek something better.

We hope that we were some of these people who were available to him. The fact that he traveled two hours to see us is a good sign that he considers us as such.

For our part, I can safely say that we are receiving something from him. Igor enriched our lives. When we saw him sitting in our living room sharing about the new things in his life, we felt privileged to have a small part in God’s work. We cannot take credit for the things that are happening. We did not find a place for him to live. We did not get him a job. We did nothing for him in this sense, and yet he considered it important for us to know all these good things that are happening in his life.

The ministry of presence has power and value as long as we understand it is more than just being there. We must actively make ourselves available to listen and learn from those we serve.