Cedarville Students Connect With the Forgotten

By Sam Sofio

As Richard rode his bike through Xenia, Ohio, his vision went black, he crashed to the ground and he lay motionless – his heart had stopped. 

For at least six minutes, Richard remained without a pulse. It was one of seven heart attacks he suffered in a span of four months.

His most recent heart attack sent him into a two-and-a-half-week coma. His doctor recommended that Richard’s son terminate life support and pull the plug on his father. 

He agreed and made plans to return to say goodbye to his father. 

Meanwhile, in his coma, Richard heard his granddaughter say, “Come on, Grandpa, you can do it! Come on, Grandpa, you can do it, Grandpa!” 

In that moment, Richard jolted awake to find himself tied to a bed, with a tube down his throat and in his nose. He was alone in a hospital room. 

He sprang out of his coma on the same day his family planned to pull the plug. Now, two months after his last heart attack, he’s living with a defibrillator in his chest and sharing his story with Landon Mock, a junior molecular biology student and president of Cedarville’s Hearts for the Homeless. 

Cedarville’s Hearts for the Homeless chapter welcomes students of any major and experience level to share Christ’s love with residents of Bridges of Hope’s Christian homeless shelter in Xenia, Ohio.

Every Saturday morning, students screen residents’ blood pressure, build relationships and evangelize. 

Students in the ministry typically interact with residents in a room, much like a living room, stocked with TVs, couches and tables. 

Students speak with residents either alone, with one other or in a small group; it’s a team environment. 

Mock hopes Cedarville students will pursue the work of serving the forgotten in society just as he’s done. 

Two years ago, during Mock’s second semester of freshman year, he contacted Cedarville’s Hearts for the Homeless organization to learn more about serving opportunities. 

He soon accepted an invitation to join the group on one of their weekly visits. 

“I was nervous for sure,” Mock said. “I was nervous about going up to random strangers I’d never met before, introducing myself and trying to have a normal conversation. The social dynamic is very different from going up to a random college-aged student and saying, ‘Hey, I’ve seen you in my class,’ or ‘I’ve seen you around, what’s your name?’” 

Still, Mock embarked on his first trip, and on Saturday morning, outside the Stevens Student Center, he joined the team and drove 18 minutes to Bridges of Hope’s homeless shelter in Xenia, Ohio. 

Mock observed the members and officers of Hearts for the Homeless – like servers at a restaurant on a Friday night – bolt into action, greet every resident with a smile and record their blood pressures.

“They didn’t just stay and sit in the chair and wait for people to come to them,” Mock said. “They went to the residents to talk to them, to connect with them. Eventually, I was like, ‘Okay, I’ve got to try that first step, first action, direct approach.’ And so, I did.”

One Saturday morning, during his sophomore year, Mock noticed a gray-haired elderly lady sitting with her purse. She gave off the appearance of a pleasant, well put-together grandmother. Curiously, he approached her. Her name was Judy. 

Mock learned that she’d once been married to a man who professed faith in Christ. Throughout the conversation, she kept hinting that she’d never made that same profession of faith. 

She described how her husband, before he developed Alzheimer’s disease, was ridiculed for his faith. 

After his diagnosis, his family and acquaintances continued to ridicule him and suggested that Alzheimer’s prompted his faith in Christ. Their accusations hurt her. 

When she finished sharing her story with Mock, she paused.

“I had never really shared the gospel with someone directly like this, but I was like, ‘Lord, this is it. This is the opportunity.’ So I took it,” Mock said. “I said, ‘Well, that’s why we’re here. We’re from Cedarville University, and we’re here to spread the love of Christ.’”

Mock asked her if she felt confident she would go to heaven after death. 

She responded, “No, I don’t think I would. How can I know?” 

Thrilled, Mock shared how Christ died for sinners and freely offers salvation to all who believe. 

“I think I want to do that,” Judy said. “I want to make that decision.” 

Mock was in shock. 

“At this point, my heart’s beating 180 beats per minute. I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’” Mock said. “But I’m smiling from ear to ear. I said, ‘No way this is actually happening. This is awesome! Praise the Lord!’” 

Judy prayed to God and professed faith in Christ. 

Other students experience similar opportunities.

“I was kind of nervous at first,” said Sarah Humphrey, a junior molecular biology student. “Because I don’t know how it all works or if I do a good job explaining the gospel, but the relationships with them come naturally, and then they open up to you about their lives.” 

At a homeless shelter back home, Humphrey saw how meaningful it was to the homeless to see people serve them food and decorate cards.

“God made us for relationships from the very beginning,” Humphrey said. “A lot of them, I’ve noticed, don’t have a relationship with Christ. So, they try to fill that longing for community with those around them.” 

Humphrey noticed that for most of the homeless, they have traumatic pasts – broken relationships, abuse and health issues. Humphrey believes the homeless find relief from their burdens when they share their stories. 

“Jesus commanded us to go into all the world, and I feel like those who are homeless are often neglected, almost because of the stereotypes,” Humphrey said.

Sofia Hawk, a sophomore nursing student, recognized that in many ways the homeless are similar to Cedarville students, with their own hopes, dreams and plans for their lives. 

Mock, Hawk and Humphrey, as well as others on the Hearts for the Homeless team, value spending an hour each week applying what they’ve learned from Cedarville. 

They enjoy serving alongside each other and building genuine relationships with the residents who long for it. 

They also recognize they don’t need to be perfect to serve.

“I think a lot of times people think there’s some right words you have to say, and so I think they oftentimes don’t feel qualified,” Hawk said. “It’s not about us being so good at having a conversation. He’s the one who’s working in their lives.” 

For Humphrey, Romans 15:13 – “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope,” has motivated her service. 

“Because I experience that,” Humphrey said. “I hate to think that other people aren’t.” 

If Cedarville students run out of money, they go to their homes, their churches, their cousins or their friends. Many homeless people can’t. 

Cedarville’s Hearts for the Homeless organization acknowledges that fear can hinder students from serving and rob them of greater joy.

“Some of the best things in life are sometimes the things you’re most scared of,” Mock said. “God has blessed this ministry and will bless the ministry through you.” 

Sam Sofio is a junior Professional Writing and Information Design major. He enjoys spending time with his brothers and sisters in Christ and aspires to write for a Christian organization.