I was passing through Atlanta when I met with an unfortunate welcoming committee that mugged me at the bus station. I lost cash, my laptop, 2 cameras and many important papers. For the next 6 weeks I lived at a shelter trying to figure out what I was going to do. In efforts to assist, the shelter sent me here and there, but being Canadian no one seemed able to help. I felt like a piece of meat being shuffled from one venue to another. My mental well being from being mugged as well as my frustration level of not being able to get help weighed heavily on me. I heard of an opportunity to move into a cleaner and better organized shelter at the Salvation Army, it provided 2 weeks of free shelter if they had room. I prayed and asked God to let me get in quickly as they usually have a waiting list. I was the first one in line at 6:00AM the next day hoping to get a bed. Another fellow named John and I got beds that day. We then had to find a way to keep warm and safe until we could enter the shelter at 3:30PM. I told John that I felt in my heart that God was going to lead us to a place with hot coffee. John laughed and said “ya that sounds good.” We started on a very long walk in a direction that I had not ever gone before and it was like God was placing Angels at each corner saying “turn here”, “go straight.”

About 45 minutes later we walked up to a red brick Church. God said to me, “This is it.” So I said to John, “This is where we need to go.” There were 3 men standing in the parking lot. John said, “No! This is not a place for homeless people.” I said, “John, I feel this is where we are to be” and started walking towards the 3 men. John was holding onto my jacket saying, “No, don’t go.” I replied, “John, it is okay let me talk to them.” I went up and said, “Excuse me, but I feel in my spirit that you are serving hot coffee here, is that right?” The men all looked at each other and one man said, “Yes, but I am afraid you are too late.” I said, “Oh, I guess I was not listening to God soon enough.” The man asked where we had come from. I explained to him how we had found our way there. He looked at me and said, “Come on in, we will make a new pot of coffee.”

 The place God led us to is called “Retreat,” operated by Church on the Street. I have been here for 3 months and God has shown me a lot of things. I have grown in my faith, knowledge and love of people more than in any other ministry I have been involved with in over 30+ years. The difference I see is in how they choose to build relationships with people and try to be a friend to the friendless, rather than “help” or “fix” people. It is not about handouts, it is about caring for friends. Here they do not act or feel like anyone is homeless, instead they treat all as family members who are in a state of transition. The Bible studies, the heart of the staff, and the ministry are all aligned with scripture and speak volumes of the active vision at work in Church on the Street.

In a matter of a few days I will be back on my way to Venezuela where I had previously served.  I will be serving God by teaching ESL, sharing my testimony, and supporting families who have lost their children through abduction into the sex trade. Thank you Pastor Andy, Gary, and Harry for all your support in getting me back on my feet and back on my way. May God bless you all richly!

“Mine is a world of incomprehensible shadows”. Severely retarded mentally and physically, she never spoke, was stunted and probably never walked. She was one of a quarter of the world’s children at risk of iodine deficiency, known to be the world’s leading cause of preventable mental retardation. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was down at Church on the Street today gathering information for our social media outreach.  During lunch I was walking around to the various tables just to say hello and see how everyone was doing.

As I was going around one of the young ladies, who is homeless, was looking at me to make sure that I said hello to her.  She is quite obviously mentally retarded, I hope this is the correct description.  I did make sure I said hi to her, but her face stuck with me today.

It’s easy, although wrong, to judge a homeless person.  We think that they are on the street because it’s there fault, or they’re lazy, or they just like it there.  It may be true that for a small, very small, portion this may be true.

But for this young lady who looked at me with the eyes of a child, it’s not her fault.  She does not have the ability to change her station in life.  She is a victim of a fallen world and it is up to us as representatives of Christ to reach those who can’t stand up on their own.

God help us if we turn a blind eye.

Brodie

Midtown and Downtown Atlanta as seen from Vinings, Cobb County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The weather guys are reporting some severe weather coming through the Atlanta area this afternoon.  Most people will pay a little attention to these kinds of warnings.  We don’t spend a whole lot of time worrying about it because we’re typically at home or going from work(shelter) to home(shelter).

But what happens if there is no shelter to go to?  Hid under a tree maybe?  Run really fast between rain drops?  Nah.  If you’re homeless you either find shelter or you weather the storm.  I don’t know what the answer is to this problem anymore than you do.  Just food for thought I guess.

Brodie

Find us on twitter @cotsatl

Related articles

• Severe Weather Closing Out the Weekend (thesurvivalplaceblog.com)

The two computers we have are rather old and have come to a point where they’re basically useless. In order to continue doing the part of our ministry that requires computer use, we desperately need two new units.

I know this is asking a lot, but I definitely wouldn’t ask if items were not needed. If can help or know someone that can all of our contact info is on our website at church on the street

Here’s his request from today if you would like to help:

Pepper
Vanilla extract
Beef broth
Chicken broth
Parsley flakes
Season salt

English: Putting toothpaste on a toothbrush. The toothpaste is Crest Pro-Health Clean Cinnamon, 0.454% stannous fluoride, 0.16% w/v fluoride ion. Deutsch: Zahnpasta auf eine Zahnbürste auftragen. Русский: Выдавливание зубной пасты из тюбика на зубную щётку (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You know those little dental kits you get when you go to the dentist?  It’s usually a toothbrush, tooth paste and floss.  If you don’t use those then we definitely can.  We give them to people living on the street as they have need.

The dentist I go to puts them in a plastic resealable bag which makes it really nice if you live outdoors.

Related articles

• When Should You Replace Your Toothbrush? (online.wsj.com)
• Dental TIPS (smilesjust4u.wordpress.com)

Saint John the Baptist Sees Jesus from Afar (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In John 1:23 John the baptist said “I am a voice shouting in the wilderness, “Clear the way for the Lord’s coming!”  Holy Bible, NLT.

I read this a few mornings ago and the question came to me, “am I doing as John the Baptist did?”  Am I letting people know about Jesus?  What He did for me, for all of us?  Am I letting people know through words and actions that Jesus is still alive, still at work, and still coming back?

I’m not sure I can say an absolute yes to the questions.  But it’s also important to understand that apart from Christ, I can do nothing.  So we are to be telling the good news of Christ, ‘and’ He will empower us to do so.  We just have to be willing servants, with the courage and faith that is ours through his spirit.

So I’ve already admitted that I’m falling short in this command.  So how about you?  Are you shouting it out in words, deeds, and actions?  I think we all do well in some areas and fall short in others.  In what ways do you show Christ to those around you?  We can all learn from each other.

Brodie

Clothes for sale at the Greenwich market. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Have you ever wondered why we are always accepting clothing donations at Church on the Street?

It’s a fairly simple answer, but it does take a little explaining.  Most of us really don’t think about running out of clothes.  We wear clothes, they get dirty, we put them in the washer/dryer and viola!!!  The once dirty clothes are almost like new and we start over.

But living on the street presents different challenges.  With no way to wash clothing, they must simply be discarded at some point.  There’s just no way around it.  It would be awesome if we had a way to provide laundry facilities, but at this point we don’t.

So we go through a lot of clothing on a weekly basis.  Our community members that are in need sign up for a visit to the clothing closet.  We pass out what we have and rinse and repeat.

Feet in white socks compared (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I overheard yesterday in the office that we are running very low on men’s and women’s socks for the homeless.  Socks are a precious commodity on the street.  Without a way to wash them, they simply have to be discarded after a certain period of time.  I know from my days in the army that frequent sock changes are a must to keep your feet healthy.

If you would like to help by donating socks our physical and mailing address are on our website at http://www.churchonthestreet.com .

Even one pair is greatly appreciated.