It was a GREAT day at the outreach! We had Kareen, a pastor with Mount Christian Church who has a heart for serving the unhoused, a good friend of his from Durham who also has a nonprofit helping the unhoused, and Corey with Home Transitional Network who has a passion for housing and serving the unhoused join us for our bible study at Bojangles and to hand out sandwich bags and talk with those we all serve. We brought 32 sandwich bags and many bins of women’s and men’s clothing, jackets, toiletries and blankets with us. It was quite the frenzy when we first arrived!
We were able to reconnect with some we have known for over a year, and some new friends we just met last week. We were exited to learn that the outreach at Mount Christian Church on Monday’s has been growing! A few weeks ago, a handful of people came for lunch (they prepare a wonderful hot meal!) and were offered prayer. Last week, over a dozen people came asking for prayer BEFORE going to get their meals and they told them that this week, they wanted to come and pray for those working as part of the outreach! This was such wonderful news – and a wonderful way to grow!
A woman who came to the outreach last week asking for prayer for a friend, came back and brought pumpkin bread and some other items to share with those we serve. She is such a wonderful woman with an amazing smile that lights up the space she is in! One of the visions we have had for not just our outreach, but has been discussed with those we partner with, is that those we serve get touched in a way that they turn around and serve others. This has been happening and it is so wonderful to see!
We have others that are unable to come out each week, but have a passion for the outreach and utilize their gifts and talents to reach out to those we serve. Melissa O’Neil is a wonderful and talented artist who donates her paintings in exchange for a donation to the outreach. We are so, so grateful for her as her talent and generosity has allowed us to continue to serve the unhoused and those who are struggling through life’s challenges each week!
Folks at a camp not far from where we meet each Saturday have been heavy on our hearts. We went after the outreach to visit them. It was so nice to see them and catch up! They continue to be in our hearts and prayers each day!
One of the guys we have known and visited each week for the past two years received a huge blessing yesterday! The weather and circumstances of being unhoused have taken a toll on him. We have jumped in and connected him with resources and advocated heavily for him for the past year. Over that timeframe, we have seen walls go up and doors close each time. As bad as things felt at the time, there was a small sense of progress. As wonderful as it was to see the hint of progress, watching someone get their hopes up and then smashed over and over was very hard. It is very hard for me not to interfere in God’s plans and take over and do things “my” way. It breaks my heart to see someone struggle, and my heart has broken many, many times over the past year when things didn’t work out the way “I” wanted them to, or in the timeframe “I” wanted them to be done.
As hard as it was for me to take him back to “the street” each time a wall went up, or a door closed, he would point his fingers up to the sky and say “God.” Over the many weeks and months that kept going by, I saw his desire to make a change and to get back on his feet grow. At times, that would make watching the walls go up and the doors close even harder, but he would point up at the sky and say, “God.” It reminds me of a song I really like: “Thy Will” by Hillary Scott:
Yesterday after the outreach, I was so honored to take him and two others out of the elements and into a hotel room for the rest of the month – and purchase a good amount of food for them to enjoy while surrounded in a beautiful and comfortable hotel room. The whole check in process was just wonderful! Corey from the Home Transitional Network was there as well loving on and supporting them! We brought them a warm meal of chicken, sides and biscuits to enjoy in their room and it warmed my heart to see them sharing with each other with great big smiles and full hearts! This is an image and a moment in time that will stay with me!