When Paul started his ministry downtown at the Carpenter’s Cellar, many of the homeless told him that this was their church. Paul was quick to remind them that it was a ministry but not a church. He always encouraged them to become connected to a body of believers for fellowship and accountability.
But if our ministry had been a church, Eric Hall would be a charter member. As Paul mentioned in his last post, Eric was the first person that we met downtown. We called him our “street evangelist” because he would go on the street during the week and invite people to come on Tuesday. His motive may have been to let everyone know there was an alternative to soup kitchen food. He was our eyes and ears for downtown information. Many times if we had a concern about someone we could check them out with Eric. He could tell us if this person was a potential problem or not. Also, often people would ask us about other services that were available in Greenville for the homeless. Again we would turn to Eric and he could provide information such as where to get your clothes washed, how and when to get medical care, and any other organizations that was available.
We learned a great deal about living on the street from Eric. For instance, many carry all their clothes in a back pack. Others hide their clothes in different places and just retrieve them when they want to change clothes. This method prevents their things from getting stolen. We have a dresser to put our clothes into different drawers; they put theirs in different locations for storage.
Eric also taught us some of the slang on street. A “cat hole” is an abandoned building where one could stay for shelter. Another term used is “the Sally” which is the Salvation Army. We leaned that people predominately use nicknames such as “cornbread’ (Eric), “spirit” (not sure what spirit), “tiny’ who is not tiny, and many call Paul “Rev” which is short for Reverend.
Eric has shown himself very resourceful on finding places to stay. Many people have allowed him to stay in their home for short periods of time. This could be an actual room or he could sleep on the couch or even on the front porch. In between these short stays he may stay at the downtown mission in the winter or in a “cat hole” weather permitting. At times because of our relationship with him, Food for Life has provided short term housing for him as funds were available.
Eric earns money mostly from working at Labor Finders, which pays at the end of each work day. This seems to be the only option to earn money on the street. Applying for a job is not easy when you have no address or telephone number. Some even resort to selling their blood plasma to get money. It takes about 2 hours and you can earn about $25.00. The amount is doubled if you return the same week.
Eric gets along with everyone because he is so friendly. He hugs everyone. He loves to talk and eat sweets. We continually try to get him to attend our Bible study but he prefers to be in the kitchen for socializing and checking out what kind of food we are preparing.
He is as much a part of our ministry as anyone because we have developed a real relationship with him. He helps us and we help him. Each week we teach God’s Word and provide food for the hungry and pray for our downtown friends. I would like ask anyone reading this post to pray for Eric this week.
Because of Paul’s desire to help the less fortunate downtown and Eric’s continuous assistance during the week we served 92 meals with the assistance of 14 volunteers. We are very grateful for all who help each week and pray God’s blessings on them and their family. Without their help we could not proclaim the glorious gospel to those downtown. May God though Jesus Christ get all the glory.
But if our ministry had been a church, Eric Hall would be a charter member. As Paul mentioned in his last post, Eric was the first person that we met downtown. We called him our “street evangelist” because he would go on the street during the week and invite people to come on Tuesday. His motive may have been to let everyone know there was an alternative to soup kitchen food. He was our eyes and ears for downtown information. Many times if we had a concern about someone we could check them out with Eric. He could tell us if this person was a potential problem or not. Also, often people would ask us about other services that were available in Greenville for the homeless. Again we would turn to Eric and he could provide information such as where to get your clothes washed, how and when to get medical care, and any other organizations that was available.
We learned a great deal about living on the street from Eric. For instance, many carry all their clothes in a back pack. Others hide their clothes in different places and just retrieve them when they want to change clothes. This method prevents their things from getting stolen. We have a dresser to put our clothes into different drawers; they put theirs in different locations for storage.
Eric also taught us some of the slang on street. A “cat hole” is an abandoned building where one could stay for shelter. Another term used is “the Sally” which is the Salvation Army. We leaned that people predominately use nicknames such as “cornbread’ (Eric), “spirit” (not sure what spirit), “tiny’ who is not tiny, and many call Paul “Rev” which is short for Reverend.
Eric has shown himself very resourceful on finding places to stay. Many people have allowed him to stay in their home for short periods of time. This could be an actual room or he could sleep on the couch or even on the front porch. In between these short stays he may stay at the downtown mission in the winter or in a “cat hole” weather permitting. At times because of our relationship with him, Food for Life has provided short term housing for him as funds were available.
Eric earns money mostly from working at Labor Finders, which pays at the end of each work day. This seems to be the only option to earn money on the street. Applying for a job is not easy when you have no address or telephone number. Some even resort to selling their blood plasma to get money. It takes about 2 hours and you can earn about $25.00. The amount is doubled if you return the same week.
Eric gets along with everyone because he is so friendly. He hugs everyone. He loves to talk and eat sweets. We continually try to get him to attend our Bible study but he prefers to be in the kitchen for socializing and checking out what kind of food we are preparing.
He is as much a part of our ministry as anyone because we have developed a real relationship with him. He helps us and we help him. Each week we teach God’s Word and provide food for the hungry and pray for our downtown friends. I would like ask anyone reading this post to pray for Eric this week.
Because of Paul’s desire to help the less fortunate downtown and Eric’s continuous assistance during the week we served 92 meals with the assistance of 14 volunteers. We are very grateful for all who help each week and pray God’s blessings on them and their family. Without their help we could not proclaim the glorious gospel to those downtown. May God though Jesus Christ get all the glory.
~Marc
