In Greenville SC | Aug 20, 2009 | 4 Comments

Who are the homeless?

Every other Thursday, we’ve been going to downtown Greenville to feed the homeless. We go as a group called Summer of Love, started by some YWAMers, Jed and Melodie Aho (my bro-in-law and sister).

It’s been an eye-opening experience for Camille and I as we’ve met and befriended some of the homeless. During the time, I’ve had to change and re-change my views on who the homeless are. Before Summer of Love, I didn’t think too much about the homeless unless one asked me for money and I tried to ignore them as I awkwardly walked by. Once I started to meet them, I realized these are real people with real human souls just like you and I, but due to some addiction they have put themselves in this situation. Then again, some people we feed aren’t really homeless, just really poor. Some are very spirited Christians. I met more people and my definition had to expand. I discovered some are sadly stuck. It really hit me with a woman we prayed for.

She started to talk about the bruises on her hands and face. She was being beaten by her alcoholic boyfriend. She told me she prayed to Jesus every night and she’d feel better and her spirits were lifted by morning, but then it would happen again. She said she loved him. I told her to get out of there. She said she had no where to go, because she had a charge against her (probably a drug charge) so she couldn’t get into a shelter. I tried to encourage her and hugged her and said I loved her and that Jesus did to0. I could just see the sense of despair in her eyes as she spoke. That is what it is like to be truly stuck.

Please pray for the homeless, the poor, the beaten, the sick, the alcoholics, the drug addicts—Pray for my friends.

Check out the Brown Family Ministries at www.brownfamilyministries.org

Tags: In Greenville SC Preparing for YWAM Summer of Love

Author: Calvin

My wife and I are currently staffing a Discipleship Training School (DTS) through Youth with a Mission (YWAM). We both love God and are committed to following his will. I enjoys taking photographs of my travels as well as blogging about awesome things God does. To see more photos, visit our gallery. More about Calvin and Camille

4 Comments

calvin, i can haer it in the way that you talk about them, that you truely have a heart for the homeless and the down and out. its heartbreaking, but its eye opening to hear the stories like the one about the abused woman. these are people Jesus died for, they are souls, they are real and we need to look beyond our pride or apprehension and reach out to them! thank you for this!

chelsey

8/22/2009

You can get really overwhelmed by there situation but thats not what Jesus wants us to do. Being with them, encouraging them, praying for them and loving them is more valuable than having them win the lottery. Being Jesus to them and allowing them to be Jesus to us, is a pleasure not a burden! It has been a pleasure doing this with you guys. love you both!

Melodie

8/26/2009

Our church in conjunction with other churches help feed the homeless from this very parking lot on Monday nights. I got home a little while ago from there and am inspired after I met two new people tonite and had prayer with them.