Ministering to the homeless and poor can be rewarding and at the same time can be discouraging. It is rewarding when we see individuals get off the street and lead a productive life. Usually these kinds of folks are the ones we provide assistance on a weekly basis in the form of medication refills, gas for their car, phone cards, or a hot meal on Tuesday night. This takes care of some of their problems for that particular day. Other days they may rely on other ministries for their necessities. Many of these individuals are living in temporary shelters and some times are families with small children. They have hope.
Ministering can be discouraging when you see the over whelming abuse of alcohol. Last Tuesday we had a number of individuals who had been drinking and were either totally drunk, or in between drinks and just had the shakes. One individual told me that alcohol had stole his life. He said that alcohol is the first thing he thinks about when he wakes up on the street. It seems to be their medication for dealing with their situation and it just consumes them. Sure there are some who may use illegal drugs, but by far alcohol is the number one drug of choice for the homeless because it is cheap and legal. I always wonder what road these folks took to get where they are now. I am sure it was slowly one day at a time. Just having few drinks then over time finding out they could not do without a drink every day. Then from there to losing their jobs and then their families which mean they have no support. To climb out of that hole it must be done slowly through intensive therapy which many are not willing to do. Most just give up and accept their situation. We know that the Gospel can transform their lives through His Spirit. So that is our and their only hope. That is why we come down town every Tuesday night.
Tuesday night we served 95 hot meals with the assistance of 18 volunteers. We had some first time volunteers from Springwell Church in Greenville. As always, we had many of our faithful volunteers show up and work in the kitchens and spend time with the homeless. It definitely is their Ministry too.
~Marc
Ministering can be discouraging when you see the over whelming abuse of alcohol. Last Tuesday we had a number of individuals who had been drinking and were either totally drunk, or in between drinks and just had the shakes. One individual told me that alcohol had stole his life. He said that alcohol is the first thing he thinks about when he wakes up on the street. It seems to be their medication for dealing with their situation and it just consumes them. Sure there are some who may use illegal drugs, but by far alcohol is the number one drug of choice for the homeless because it is cheap and legal. I always wonder what road these folks took to get where they are now. I am sure it was slowly one day at a time. Just having few drinks then over time finding out they could not do without a drink every day. Then from there to losing their jobs and then their families which mean they have no support. To climb out of that hole it must be done slowly through intensive therapy which many are not willing to do. Most just give up and accept their situation. We know that the Gospel can transform their lives through His Spirit. So that is our and their only hope. That is why we come down town every Tuesday night.
Tuesday night we served 95 hot meals with the assistance of 18 volunteers. We had some first time volunteers from Springwell Church in Greenville. As always, we had many of our faithful volunteers show up and work in the kitchens and spend time with the homeless. It definitely is their Ministry too.
~Marc
