In the last month I have encountered quite a few homeless
people in our lovely city. I have
interacted with them, and in the way that only God can do, I have come to love
them as I pray for their safety and salvation. I have also felt overwhelmingly that I must do more. I hope that you too feel this desire
and will join me in reaching out to the homeless of Chicago!
This began with a man that lives in my neighborhood. He has a significant hunch and only
walks around at night. He doesn’t
ask for anything, nor does he bother anyone. I stopped to talk to him once and I was heartbroken by the
look in his eye. It was a look you
can’t forget, it’s was a questioning look that almost said, “Why, why would you
bother to talk to me?” We
co-existed for quite some time and I didn’t bother to do anything to make his
life any better, and I regret that.
He went missing in late November during a frigid cold front, his cart
and jacket were abandoned under the Metra tracks and he was nowhere to be
found. I checked with the local
shelters and he was not there, I called the police, they thought I was crazy
but he was also not there. I knew
nothing more to do but ask my neighbors and pray for him. Through this process, I learned more
about him. He is a strong believer
in Jesus Christ and he does talk to people, just not me. He shares his faith with the bartenders
down the street, and he showed up again a few nights ago after being gone for
nearly a month.
So now I come to the question that often gets asked and I
frequently ask myself. If I were
to find him, what would I do? I
must do something; Christ calls me to do something! The most tangible way I can think to help this man and
others is to buy him a sleeping bag and a bible. He will be both warm and be enabled to spread the gospel. God is using this man in the midst of
his suffering and my hope is that in some way together we can be a blessing to
him.
The next man that I ran across was Robert, he is a
streetwise vendor and he lives over by the Southport corridor where I
work. My coworkers and I were at
Starbucks one morning, and the coffee was purchased by lululemon for those who
came in. I went outside to talk to
Robert and give him a cup of coffee.
He was such a jovial man, and was so incredibly shocked and thankful for
a simple cup of coffee. The cup of
coffee that we all have daily and take for granted was a blessing to his life.
A few days before Christmas I was driving on Damen and I was
stopped at a light when a man walked up to my window. I was surprised to see that he looked to be my age or even
younger. I didn’t have any cash in
my car and I searched for something to give him as we talked. He told me it was ok, that Jesus loved
me! I was able to find a single
dollar but I just wish there was something more I could have done!
The final story I have for you really hit me hard, and I’m
going to have a hard time going back to a BP gas station and I will run my car
completely out of gas before I will return to the station on Orleans. I was pumping gas on Christmas Eve and
a man walked over towards me, and he wasn’t begging and he wasn’t a
bother. I’m not entirely sure how
we got where we did but I asked him if I could go inside and buy him a
meal. It was 13 degrees outside
and he came inside with me and we stood in line talking. He was really a sweet man. The manager of the BP approached him
and raised his voice and told him to get out and that he couldn’t have any
food. I interjected telling the
manager that he was with me and I had offered to buy him the food and it was my
choice not his request. The manager
began to argue with me and continued to yell at the man. I continued to insist that I was going
to buy this man a meal. The
manager let out one final scream banning the man from the store and stormed
off. The man embarrassed asked if
it was ok if he waited outside. The
man in front of me overheard this exchange and also bought the man a meal and
asked me to give it to him. What I
don’t understand is how anyone can treat someone like they are so
insignificant, like they are so worthless.
We have a large homeless population in the city of Chicago
and it is easy to see them and think that there is nothing that can be done and
that there is no way that we can have an impact but that just isn’t the
case. We can have an impact simply
by taking the time to notice people, by buying them a meal or by doing
more. I feel the need to do
more. The winter has just started
and it has been one of the coldest winters that I remember in a long time. This cold puts the city’s homeless
population at great risk of death.
We can make a difference by providing warmth to these individuals. The most tangible way to do this is to
provide a sleeping bag. I found sleeping bags for $23, that isn’t very much to
potentially save a life. But we
can’t stop there, it is also important to take care of their spiritual
needs. With each sleeping bag
there will be a bible, at a cost of $3.75 each. I’m trusting God big here and I’m expecting to raise enough
money to purchase and distribute at least 20 sleeping bags and bibles.
So here’s where you come in…
Pray that God would take care of
our city’s homeless population, and use them to build His kingdom!
Contribute to the purchase of
sleeping bags and bibles. It will
cost about $30 per care package.
The best way I can figure out how to do this is through chase quick pay
or PayPal. My email is camilleandress@gmail.com - write
Sleeping Bags & Bibles in the memo line. If you want to go about this another way, feel free to send
me an email and we can figure it all out!
Join me in distributing the
sleeping bags and bibles and showing the homeless that they are not forgotten
and that they are loved.
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Thank you my friends for reading, praying and joining me in
showing the love of Christ to those in need.
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