GE Day

Volunteers from General Electric came in force last night. They were all in green company shirts filling every space in the kitchen. Many of the homeless had not seen them before and one asked me if it was St Patrick’s Day which I replied that it was just GE day. It is good to have volunteers but it can be difficult to coordinate that many new volunteers. But the food was prepared on time although the banana pudding was made without the pudding but no one seemed to notice.

Zak preached for Paul tonight. He brought a powerful message and didn’t seem to be distracted by the comings and goings of people in the room. That can be difficult at times unless you stay focused on the message. There were a few disturbances but most were resolved although one individual was sent packing.

As usual there were many requests such as rides every where, money, socks, shirts, gasoline, electric bills to be paid, medication, and two stamped envelopes. One individual wanted us to take some legal action against the police for harassment. We did as much as we could for the resources available.

We had a smaller crowd last night. We served 68 meals with the assistance of 18 volunteers.
~Marc

What's His Story?

I have had many volunteers say to me “what’s his story”. What they mean is why is he homeless or what happened to him that resulted in his situation. Of course there is no one answer. We all end up in our current situations because of the influence of others and our own personal decisions. But most of the time nothing turns out like you would expect it. Most would not choose homelessness. Although there are a few that has learned to live with it and probably would not give up this life style. Many have had terrible family situations more varied than I have time or space to write about. Then there are many that just make bad choices i.e. drinking, drugs, or crime to name a few. Then it can be a combination of both problems. All of this can devastate anyone and the street is the result.

Many of the volunteers are reading a book titled “When Helping Hurts” (short title). The authors premise is that the poor is a result of brokenness of foundational relationships. Everyone was created to live in a right relationship with God, self, others, and the rest of creation. But the fall was a problem for everyone. So the first thing is to realize there is no difference between them (homeless) and us (volunteers). We all have the same problem. So when we say what’s his or her story, we could just as easily say what is our story.

Our story last Tuesday night included serving 68 meals with the assistance of 18 volunteers. We were blessed to have a group from East North Street Baptist Church. They jumped right in helping in the kitchen, serving, and spending time with the homeless. We are always grateful for active volunteers. There are always a lot of needs and no one person can possibly help everyone. ~Marc

Flying a Sign

I was in the bathroom last night at the Homeless Ministry and this guy came in singing:

It’s wonder I’m not a criminal. It’s wonder I’m not in jail. It’s wonder I’m not insane. I’ve got too much time on my hands.

I never heard the song but it’s a captivating tune that keeps rolling around in my head. I guess there are songs for any situation in life including the homeless.

Last night my friend Homeless Eric and some of the volunteers were talking about some of the different terms that the homeless use like “Flying a Sign”. Everyone knows what that is if they have seen anyone holding a sign asking for food or work (it really means give me some money). Eric said he has tried it few times but without much success. It seems he is too friendly and happy. A colleague told him he should look sad and hungry. Eric can look hungry but not sad. One of the volunteers said they had read about an individual that did that for a living. He put on some dirty clothes and drove his fancy car to crowded intersection and collected more money than he could make working. Of course, there are always draw backs on a good thing; it’s against the law. Panhandling can get you a fine of $250 and possibly jail if you have had a bad day and had not collected enough to pay the man. But as one volunteer said, “you do what you got to do” to survive.

Our numbers were down last night. We served 55 meals with the assistance of 12 volunteers. We had two first time volunteers who attend Heritage Bible Church and Brittney who is a returning volunteer after some time off for school. All of them have a real heart to see the homeless and volunteers transformed by the power of the God. We have fun every Tuesday night but no one losses sight of why we are there. It is for the Gospel.
~Marc

Donations Needed for Families

Thank you to everyone who recently donated to the woman in need. She is still in need of a dresser and a twin bed.
Also, we have two other families in need that we have been trying to reach out to through Food for Life. One is a couple who have had a difficult path but are trying to live for God now, as far as we can tell thus far. They just had a baby and have just moved into a new house and have very little. They have no beds, but they do have a crib. They need baby boy items and other various furniture.
There is also another lady that is a single mom who has been living with her sister and just got accepted for section 8 housing. She has absolutely nothing for her house. No furniture at all and no kitchen utensils, plates, shower curtains or rugs, etc.
We would love it if you all could look through any items you are not using and would be willing to donate and help us give to these people. It is a big help if you can also drop it off at the necessary locations or at least at Streetside. Paul and I have had our plates rather full with getting the items to the people; however if you cannot do that, we will make a way to pick it up.
Could you please pass it on to your churches as well!

Obviously please also pray for these people to have spiritual strength and the Holy Spirit power to do what is right.

Thank you all for your generosity.
Charity and Paul