During our visits last week, we were able to bless several folks with warm socks, gloves, hats, and a bag of food all wrapped up in a Christmas bag with a Christmas card. Thank you so much to the Sunday School group of Green Pines Baptist Church in Knightdale for blessing them with warm clothing and bins to store clean blankets and clothes in, and to Tanya Santana of Green Pines for the beautifully decorated bags she creates each week for them! As Gene was heading over to Bojangles, an awesome friend handed him funds to purchase the folks we would be visiting a cup of coffee. We found out Bojangles sells large boxes of coffee. When the ladies at Bojangles found out what we were doing, they were so excited to put everything together for us – the coffee, cups, and all the accessories. One of the ladies ran to the back to get fresh, cold creamer packets for us!
Just before we left Bojangles, two men walked in and sat down. They were hungry and looking for a place to come in and warm up for awhile. As we were talking with them, we found out they were father and son. They had been homeless for awhile and looking for work. The father had experience with flooring, so we took down their information to put them in contact with someone who may be hiring in his area of expertise. We had a wonderful conversation with them, learning about how they got to where they are and what avenues they have taken to try to get back on their feet. They were very grateful for the items in the Christmas bags, putting the gloves and hat on and eating all that was in the bag.
We headed over to the bus stop with the presents and coffee, and had an amazing time visiting with the folks who were there. When they saw the bags, their faces lit up. It was a very cold day and they kept commenting on how much they loved the gloves as they quickly put them on, the Turkey sandwiches and the coffee! We were able to have many wonderful conversations over a cup of coffee. They thanked us for the gifts and the conversation as they headed out to find out where they would be sleeping that night. It looks like we will be adding coffee to our visits. It’s wonderful getting to know folks over a cup of coffee! We are very thankful for the wonderful friend who donated money for this treat!