Opened doors, Jesus disguised as an elderly woman

Dear friends,

I just want to share some stories from my adventures in serving the homeless.  If you remember last month, I talked about the new ladies shelter and how we weren't allowed to bring food and stuff in.  Well, last Sunday (December 12th) before we went out and in our prayer circle we prayed that God would open a door for us to come in and serve.  Darlene told everyone that we would have to prepare for not coming inside.  So we arrived to the shelter, talked to the guard.  Well, one of the staff members just happened to be in the lobby and she said this once she will let use in.  So, we came in and we never did this before.  It was chaotic ... but we were inside, however, we talked after and discussed asking if we could use the kitchen and use the serving window.  So we added that to the prayer list, if they would let us in and let us use the kitchen.

Well, now to December 19th ... we went to the shelter and the staff told us we could come in.  Well as Darlene went to the bus so we could back it into the drive and unload ... I went to the staff lounge and asked them to hang up signs for the Bible study next week.  I asked if we could use the kitchen and they told me we could.  The staff actually had me kind of take charge of things.  So what we did this time I numbered the 15 tables and had the ladies draw numbers and we ate a table at a time.  It was great!

As we were working, a lady came to me and said, "come with me" so I did ... she took me to the hallway where the sleeping rooms were and introduced me to Mary.  She is 84 years old, diabetic and is wilted down to nothing.  She was laying in her bed trying to keep warm.  My heart sank ... 84, no family and a sweet spirit.  I went to the bus and smuggled in a big blanket and covered her up.  I then smuggled a hat and gloves in.  I just put a hat on my head and walked out without one!  It was great!  I was reminded of the verse "Whatever you do to the least of these, you did to me" and I realized, this elderly woman is Jesus in disguise.  Pray for Mary.  A couple of the ladies told me she is forgotten a lot.  And it touched my heart to see that a few of the ladies are taking care of Mary.

God is moving ... I'm excited to see what is next!

Serving Him,

Becky
Published on Facebook profile, Becky Phillips on December 20, 2010

Obama honors CNN Hero who cooks meals for homeless people

Hot of the CNN Heroes Press!

Jorge Munoz is awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal at the White House on August 4.

A former CNN Hero who distributes free home-cooked meals to needy people in New York, was honored by President Obama on Wednesday.


Munoz was one of 13 everyday Americans who received the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest civilian honor, behind the Medal of Freedom.

Read about the award presentation by clicking  here.  Don't forget to check out the videos found in the left side navigation bar.

Read the March 20, 2009 CNN Hero post by clicking here.  Don't forget to check out the video tab here.

Bar Hunger

Help SNICKERS and Feeding America “Bar Hunger” in America.

Listen to actor David Arquette, GQ magazine on how YOU can get involved and make a difference.

http://www.facebook.com/snickers

Remember you can help us Bar Hunger in America!

Simply enter the code inside specially-marked SNICKERS wrappers at http://SNICKERS.com or by texting the code to 45495 and SNICKERS will donate an additional meal to Feeding America for every wrapper code that is collected – up to one million meals.

For more info check out the newsrelease from FeedingAmerica or the Mars Company.

You can also join the Feeding America FaceBook Fan page, follow the Feeding America Twitter page, or join the Snickers Facebook fan page.

Remembering who she is. . .

She is his daughter.  She isn’t his mother, his wife, his nurse, his social worker.  But it’s been years since she’s been just a daughter.  It’s been years since he’s acted anything like a father.

When she was 8, she became aware he was different from other daddies.  He was gone a lot.  He laughed too hard and at all the wrong times.  He always carried a bottle in his hand.  He never  came to school plays, never drove her to McDonald’s for a treat, never told her she was good at softball.

When she was 12, her mom said enough was enough and suddenly he wasn’t there at all.  She realized she missed him sometimes — discovered there were little things about him she’d never really thought about.  Like the way he always had a stick of gum for her in his pocket; like his silly grin, his spiky hair.

When she was 17, she got a job at Sonic.  Within a few weeks, he started coming around — usually drunk, smiling, hungry — looking for a free meal.  She would grab a break, bring him a hamburger and ask him where he had stayed the night before. She began to worry.  She and her mom sat together during the 10 o’clock news on channel 9 each night just in case…

When she was 18, it finally happened.  Stumbling along a busy street just after dark, he lurched into traffic and was hit by an SUV.  The driver waited with him until the ambulance and police arrived.  ”He came out of nowhere,” the driver said.  She and her mother saw the newscast and wondered as usual.  The police knocked on the door minutes later, directed by a phone number crumpled in his pocket.  He is alive, the cop told them, but he is seriously injured.  The two women prayed it was the wakeup call he needed.

When she was 21, she stopped believing his life would change.  She was deep into her junior year of college  — a major in social work, a minor in criminal justice — and didn’t want to think about him anymore. For a year after the accident, he’d been in rehab, trying to hold his memory together in a skull that was broken into what seemed like puzzle pieces.  Then he got kicked out of rehab for drinking and had circulated through a series of recovery centers, more for the warm bed and food than to overcome his addiction.

He showed up at Sonic one night, and she watched wearily as he crossed the parking lot, weaving and waving in her direction. She fed him a hamburger and watched again as he drifted back to the street.  Later she heard he was at a mission downtown — Kansas City Rescue Mission.  She shrugged and thought, “Here we go again,” and turned her attention to school.

When she was 22, she learned her dad was graduating the Mission’s recovery program.  She battled skepticism, and opted for hope.  ”Maybe it’s real,” she thought.  She watched his progress from a distance, then closed the distance mile by mile as her hope grew.  She stopped worrying about him and began to talk to him … about sports … about school … about God.  She hugged him.
When she was 23, she counted two years of sobriety then swept away her last dusty thoughts of worry and wonder.  He told her he was fine and screwed his face into a look of disgust when she asked him if he would ever drink again. As he prepared to leave KCRM and move to his own place, she hoped it would be close to the home she shared with her mother — maybe he’d could come for dinner once in a while.
He is still broken in so many ways, but she wants to be near him.  He has spiky hair and a silly grin and gum in his pocket.   He loves her and worries about her.  How is school? he asks.  Are you dating?  Is he good to you?  This is how she remembers and she thinks to herself, I am  his daughter.
MO


Read more stories like this one .at the Kansas City Rescue Mission's blog.

Empty schools housing the homeless?

That is just what may happen in Kansas City, Missouri! 

This past June,  the Kansas City, Mo's school district closed for good more than 20 schools to save money(sound familiar Cleveland and Detroit?), but members of Kansas City's Homelessness Task Force hope the buildings could soon re-open with a new purpose.

Read more by visiting  the Kansas City Press.

Join the Kansas City Rescue Mission in praying that the city uses these vacant schools to further God's kingdom in amazing ways!  Join We Care in prayer as we serve the homeless of Cleveland!

Abandoned by his family and left homeless. . .

. . . New York City youth, Orayne Williams earns college scholarship!

In less than two weeks, some 50,000 city high school seniors will graduate.

Few of them will have overcome as many obstacles as Orayne Williams.

Abandoned by his family and living alone in a homeless shelter, the 18-year-old immigrant has not just endured, but excelled.

With a 91 average and three Advanced Placement classes under his belt, he's headed for college with a fat scholarship and big plans.

"I've been through hell," said Williams, a senior at Bedford Academy in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. "School is my way out."

Born into poverty outside Kingston, Jamaica, Williams grew up with no water or electricity, scrounging food from the street and avoiding gangs.

He was 12 when his mother sent him to Florida with only the clothes on his back. He was taken in by relatives who he says abused him and dealt drugs.

He found refuge in school, arriving early and staying late.

"It was like my savior," he said. "The only thing I had."

In 2007, Williams was reunited in Brooklyn with his mother and an infant half-sister, who were homeless. The three lived in motels and shelters, sharing one bed.

"It was impossible to focus on school," Williams said. "My mom and I fought like crazy."

In November, Williams' mother kicked him out, and a social worker found him a spot at a shelter for young men in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where he lives now.

The young man gets up for school at 5:30 a.m. and studies on his bed because there is no desk. He brings to school a bagged lunch made by shelter staff.

He works hard to blend in with the students who have homes and families and support.

"When I tell people I'm homeless, they're surprised," he said. "Most of the kids at my school still don't know."

Cluny Lavache, assistant principal at Bedford Academy, said Williams' positive attitude in the face of adversity has spurred people to help him.

"He touches your heart," she said. "He has a lot of people looking out for him."

Wayne Harris, who works in the Department of Education's Office for Students in Temporary Housing, is one of those people.

He helped him apply for college and financial aid, and let him use the phones and computers in his office.

This fall, Williams will be a freshman at upstate Sullivan County Community College, paying for his first year with $15,000 in grants. He hopes to become a doctor.

"I feel blessed," he said. "So many good things are happening to me."

New york daily news, June 15, 2010

A testimony of HOPE

View Ray Harter's testimony and be blessed!




Click here for a video link.

Kansas city Rescue Mission is a Christ-centered community offering freedom and hope to the poor & homeless, empowering them to reach their full potential.

Learn more by visiting their website. 


Become a FAN of their FACEBOOK PAGE.

Connect with them via their TWITTER profile.


Read more about through one of the following mission education books--Ask your local NMI president if they still have copies.

CNN, Running and Homelessness: What do they have in common?

Check out the video update about CNN Hero, Ann Mahlem and the Back on My Feet program for the homeless.

Video Credit: CNN Heros 

Back on My Feet is a nonprofit organization that promotes the self-sufficiency of homeless populations by engaging them in running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem. Back on My Feet started in 2007.

At Back on My Feet, all members - regardless of race, education or socioeconomic status - join together to move their own lives forward as well as the lives of their teammates. There are currently chapters in Philadelphia, Baltimore and, officially as of Monday, March 22nd, in Washington D.C. The nonprofit is expanding to Boston in May 2010 and Chicago in fall 2010.

Photo Caption: Anne Mahlum and Back on My Feet members pose in their t-shirts outside Pacers Running Store

Photo Credit:  CNN HERO's  Photos on their Facebook Fan page

Back on My Feet  has plans to expand to FIVE ADDITIONAL CITIES IN 2011, but needs your help to determine where to launch the chapters next year.  Know of a city you think would be a good candidate?  Click here and nominate it today.

Did you know there are more hungry in NE OH than ever before?

Check out the survey below:


Credit--WKYC channel 3 news (Cleveland Ohio)
Last updated Feb 3, 2010


YOU CAN HELP!

• Every time the U.S. team wins a medal in Vancouver, Dollar Bank will donate $500 to the Foodbank directly to the Cleveland Food Bank. You can too.
• Harvest for Hunger--one of the largest annual, community-wide food and funds drives in the nation—provides critical resources to local hunger relief organizations in twenty-one counties in Northeast and North Central Ohio. Starts February 28 and continues through April 10.
  
• Pound for Pound--for every 1 pound you lose, $0.14 will be donated to your local food back via Feed America. Continues through June 30, 2010
  
• Volunteer your time, anytime with the Cleveland Foodbank.
• Volunteer your time serving the homeless one or twice a month with We Care Connection.

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If you are interested in helping out with this ministry, please contact Darlene Yeater through the following methods:

USPS: We Care Connection
C/o Darlene Yeater
3596 Fulton Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44109

Office Phone: 216-661-7379---Cell Phone: 440-567-7582--Email

What Does it Mean to "Look Homeless" ?

I'm sure you've heard it many times, people saying "that person looks homeless" or "he's dressed like he's homeless." What do people mean when they say someone looks homeless? I conducted a little experiment to help me figure out what looking homeless means.

Since Google's image search algorithm prioritizes images in part based on the number of times an image is clicked relative to a particular search term, I used Google's prioritization of images depicting homeless persons as a crowdsourced visual representation of what people believe homelessness looks like. My experiment was simple. I did a Google image search for the term "homeless" and tallied the demographic characteristics of the people depicted on the first results page (18 images in all). I then compared the search results to actual demographic data about homelessness nationwide to get a sense of how well Google's visual representation of homelessness matches reality.

Not surprisingly, the demographic characteristics of the people depicted on the first page of the Google image search differed dramatically with data about homelessness. Of the people represented as homeless in the Google image search, only 14 percent were female compared to a national estimate of 32 percent, only five percent were children compared to the more realistic estimate of 38 percent, none were pictured in families although 41 percent of those experiencing homelessness are part of families, and all were depicted as chronically homeless and unsheltered, mainly panhandling, when in reality 44 percent of the total homeless population are unsheltered and 23 percent are chronically homeless.

Of course, I am being tongue-in-cheek. We know full well what people usually think those experiencing homelessness look like, and we know they are wrong. Most people are wrong about what homelessness looks like because their perceptions of homelessness are constructed by encounters in their daily lives, usually limited to brief interactions on street corners with chronic homeless individuals. As homeless advocates, we know that the homeless population is far more varied. We know this because we rely on more than just what we see on the street; we rely on survey data and reasoned analysis.

However, as advocates we too must be careful not to let what we see in our daily work distort our understanding of the realities of homelessness. Too often in the comment forums here on Change.org I read that survey data is wrong because particular readers "see" more homelessness on the streets, or in a particular shelter. While this may very well be true, and perhaps is reason to perform more frequent, and better, statistical samplings, it is not in and of itself data.

If we are to end homelessness, we must demand a higher level of rigor and statistical discipline of ourselves. It is wrong for people to assume they know what homelessness looks like based on their personal experience with a chronically homeless person on their walk to work. It is equally wrong of us to let our subjectivity cultivate a mistrust of data just because it does not conform to our beliefs.

Photo credit: mark sebastian
Article reprinted from
End Homelessness | Change.org
URL of actual Article

Ministry & Mission Expo

This Sunday, plan on coming to BedNaz (365 Center Rd, Bedford OH) for two hours or more.

Devote one hour to worship and the other hour to walking through the Ministry and Mission Expo. There will be no Sunday school classes meeting this Sunday. Children in the first grade on up will join us for worship and the Ministry and Mission Expo. Preschoolers & Kindergartners will be cared for in Gym room 111, and the nursery will be open for the little ones all morning.

We Care Connection is one of the missions opportunities to have a expo table. Check us out!

Here is the schedule:

9:00-Noon A light breakfast will be served in the children's chapel for all

9:30 Family Worship (includes children 1st-6th grades)

11:00 Family Worship (includes children 1st-6th grades) round two

9:30-noon The Mission and Ministry Expo will be open

Can't Wait till Sunday!

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If you are interested in helping out with this ministry, please contact Darlene Yeater through the following methods:

USPS: We Care Connection
C/o Darlene Yeater
3596 Fulton Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44109

Office Phone: 216-661-7379---Cell Phone: 440-567-7582--Email