My husband, son and I visited Hawaii in December and were looking forward to staying on the Gold Coast. I had always wanted to vacation there over the years but felt it was out of our price range.

After searching the Internet, we found a place that was within our budget, and we rented it for one month.

One week before our departure to Hawaii, I read a newspaper article about the homeless camped across from Kapiolani Park. It didn't look like the vacation spot we had hoped for with all the tents. I was concerned about safety while walking past the area at night, to and from Waikiki. I tried to cancel our reservation, but it was too late.

My apprehension vanished after arriving at our condo and walking past the people in the tents. Many of them had a smile for us, and we encountered no problems walking by the area day or night. My fear turned to compassion. Most of the people there were victims of the economy. Some, of course, were there for other reasons, but they taught us to be thankful to have a roof over our head, food on our table and family to help us in time of need.

ON OUR last day in Hawaii, we had four large bags of unopened groceries and items left over from our stay. I had them packed to leave with my hanai daughter, but she was ill and called to say she wasn't able to meet us. My son spoke up and said, “;Let's take these things down to the homeless.”;

“;Great idea,”; I replied, although I worried that they would feel offended.

We walked down to the tents with two heavy bags each. I approached a young man who was raking the lawn at the entrance of his tent. Beside his tent were large plastic bags full of aluminum cans neatly tied. I told my son, “;This man is not lazy. He's trying to make money by cashing in cans. Look how clean his area is.”;

Just as I approached, the man went inside the tent. I looked back to see that my son had stayed behind me on the sidewalk. I called out “;Hello, could you please help me?”;

The young man came out, looking puzzled. “;Help YOU?”; he asked.

Yes, I continued, telling him we had bought more than we needed and would not be able to take the extra food on the plane.

“;Could you please distribute them to someone that might be able to use them?”;

He looked down at the contents of my two bags.

“;I could use them,”; he said.

I motioned to my son to bring the other two bags and thanked the young man for helping me.

With tears in his eyes and in a quiet voice, he replied, “;God bless you.”;

Just then a young woman with a beautiful smile peeked out of the tent and said, “;Thank you, have a good flight home.”;

I can't begin to tell you how much that young couple helped me that day. They taught me about humility and about not judging others. They taught me that we are all brothers and sisters and that the feeling of helping others fills your heart with a feeling of love and compassion that is indescribable.

Walking by and pretending not to see the need is not a good feeling. I couldn't help but think that if even one-hundredth of the visitors to Hawaii gave one small bag of their surplus items to a shelter, it would make a big difference to those in need.

Joyce Russell is a resident of Ohio who was also grateful to have a brief break from snow. “;The Goddess Speaks”; is a feature by and about women. Essays of about 500 words may be sent to “;The Goddess Speaks,”; 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813; or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).