One of the greatest poverties in this world today is the poverty of loneliness. Mother Teresa called this poverty of loneliness “the greatest disease in the west today.” In her words, “the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love.” This is the mission of Christ in the City: to love, know, and serve the poor.

My name is Ashley Ortiz. I grew up attending Mass every Saturday at San Miguel in Midland, Texas, where my faith was first fostered. I am so excited and humbled to share that I have the opportunity to serve a year with the beautiful Catholic non-profit Christ in the City, based out of Denver, Colorado.

I have always been excited about the faith, but it was not until I attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock that I decided I wanted to make my faith my own. I quickly learned how to navigate what that meant with the help of Raider Catholic, and by my sophomore year I became more and more excited to learn more about my faith and what being Catholic means. I was introduced to Christ in the City at a conference called SEEK2019 in Indianapolis. That is where I learned that there was a group of young adult Catholics that were seeking to love, know, and serve those who call the streets their home.

I had no intention to serve with this group, and it was not until I got back home that I decided to watch a short video about this group. After I watched that video, I just knew Jesus was calling me to love his people — those who do not feel loved, known, or seen. I had this desire to radically love our friends on the streets. The Lord is so faithful and provided the best team; I was sent to Oklahoma City. With only three short weeks, I learned not only how to love our friends on the streets but also how to love those that were in my community. That summer in Oklahoma was when I first experienced what it was like to have an authentic community.

My very first street walk, we stopped to talk to a man, and there was a woman right next to him that was not really paying attention to us or what was happening. The man was very curious about what we were doing and why we were in that area. As he said, “People don’t just hangout around here.” My teammate Peter explained it so beautifully by saying, “Well, sir we are here to just talk and hang out with those that go unnoticed.” As soon as he finished, the woman looked up, made eye contact with every single one of us, and said, “Thank you. You see, most people will stop by and drop things off for us, but they never have conversations with us. They treat us like animals.” I smiled at her and immediately felt tears running down my face. We quickly affirmed her by saying she was seen and was loved. And that our only agenda was to get to know her.

We never want to make our friendships with our friends on the streets transactional, which means we bring you goods and you sit and talk with us. We will always want to make it clear that we want to authentically know them and provide them with friendships that they may have been missing for a while, even if that means by simply calling them by name. This is what Christ in the City is all about.

In Denver, there are many resources for the poor, but very few people who seek to know them, love them, and offer them authentic friendship. As Christ in the City missionaries, we seek to affirm their God-given dignity and provide them with conversations that remind them of their worth.

I will be living with a community of about 34 missionaries. I will be put on a street team and will be walking the same route every single day to intentionally create friends that stay on that exact route. This helps create some consistency, especially when our friends experience so many inconsistent things in their life. I am excited to continue to grow in relationship with the Father by loving and knowing his sons and daughters on the streets. It is through the homeless that I have seen Jesus’ face shine forth. And what a blessing it is to be called his Christ in the City missionary.

I encourage anyone and everyone to simply smile at those that are experiencing homelessness, to be Jesus by getting to simply know the person that God has intended for you to encounter. If you are discerning missionary life, I say discern it boldly. The Lord does not call where he does not lead. He will provide for his most perfect will for you.

If you are interested in knowing more about the mission of Christ in the City, you can visit christinthecity.org. There are amazing videos that show what it is like to love, know, and serve the poor. I am also fundraising 100% of my year. If you feel called to support me, you can contribute at https://christinthecity.org/ashleyo/, or you can Venmo me at @ashleyortiz3. Please me pray for me as I prepare my heart for a year of service. Please pray for those that are experiencing homelessness. Thank you in advance and God bless!