For months now my husband (Matt) and I have served every Saturday at the Grab N’ Go at BCDC on Jackson St. across from Shelby Park. Sometimes even stopping by during the week to help out where needed. We have connected with the homeless as we learn their names and the circumstances that they are living in. As we walk with Jesus, He prepares each of us for another season in our lives. This past Saturday we finally committed to serve along side our brothers and sisters at the Salvation Army on Brook St. at 6am for breakfast. God had been preparing us for a time such as this. We began in the kitchen helping to put hash browns on pans and cracking more than 520 eggs to be cooked. Soon we were shuffled out into the outer room so that we could share with those that were coming out of the cold for warmth and a hot meal.  My heart began to grow heavy as I saw the brokenness amongst those entering. Men, women, and young ladies with babies carrying all of the worldly possessions behind them filed in. I began to try to connect with them, introduce myself, share, and allow them to share with me. We seem to have such a stigma for the homeless. I stood and spoke with a gentleman for some time and asked him to share with me his story. He spoke of how he kept employment at the same place for 12 years then found himself in a divorce. Not knowing how to deal with the pain he began to drink, which led him to become unemployed and then he got behind on his child support. This led him to jail and once released, he was homeless. He now only owns a bicycle and finds himself sleeping under bridges and on this morning was happy to have woken up on the floor of the Salvation Army. Homelessness becomes a full time job for some of these individuals. As a servant to Christ I am called to serve and not to judge others (Matthew 7:1 Do not judge, or you too will be judged). This was such a deeper experience than what I have even experienced at Bates on Saturday mornings (see the calendar for more information) and I feel so blessed that God had prepared me for this time. When the word of God had been shared, six individuals came to the front with no hesitation and four more souls came to Christ Saturday morning. These are souls that God has called me to pray for to continue to be in relationship with Him. We have all been called to serve, where we are each serving is the question (Matthew 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in).

How is God preparing you to embrace his special concern for the poor?  Have you considered joining seed’s mission of loving God and neighbor in the city of Louisville?  You may be more prepared than you think…

Hope Garze, the writer of this blog, can be reached by email at vivify598@yahoo.com.

Every week, Sojourner’s gather on Saturday afternoon with Bates Memorial Baptist Church in Shelby Park to serve meals to poor families.  Not only do they serve meals, but there is ample opportunity to get to know these families and share laughs or perhaps more often, share their tears.

Saturday was a special Saturday at Bates CDC on Jackson Street. God transformed a heart of stone in a gentleman that Brother Gill had been sharing Christ with for quite some time, praise be to God!  We celebrated with this gentleman as he has put his trust and hope in Jesus Christ.

It was a fresh reminder of the power of God at work in the lives of the overlooked. Many of the families that we minister to feel invisible as many people pass by without acknowledging their presence. Families tell me that they experience more pain and frustration in their loneliness, isolation and rejection than the difficulties of figuring out how to afford healthcare, get meaningful employment, and find adequate shelter.  What they tell me is that they need meaningful friendships and relationships more than a handout and a warm meal.

So it is in this case.  A man we have been journeying with for some time now knows God personally.  He stopped being a stranger to us long ago.  As we got to know him – his struggles, his fears – we came to love him.  And huge part of loving him was not only to feed him, but to help him see his need for Christ.  So yesterday we celebrated! It is truly the Holy Spirit alone that could prompt such a suffering soul to receive God’s grace. There is a harvest to be had on Saturday afternoons! If you’re eager to share Good News in Word and deed, come check it out.

David Taliaferro, the writer of this blog, can be reached at david.taliaferro@summitenergy.com.  Join him and a team of Sojourner’s every Saturday morning at 11:30am-2:00pm at Bates Memorial CDC located at 1228 S. Jackson Street.