Tonightmy family joined a group of about thirty folks on a journey to experience the face of homelessness. We journeyed with an organization in Atlanta called SafeHouse (http://www.safehouseoutreach.org/). Here are some of my thoughts:
* Homelessness has a face: Christian, four years old. Him and his mom sleep on the street every night and if they are lucky they can get into a shelter. He ran up to Jaden started hugging him and said we are going to be "cousins."
* I am proud to serve a church where a challenge to go to downtown Atlanta and walk among the homeless can be given on Sunday morning during a sermon and thirty people show up ready to go.
* I am proud to serve a church where students and elderly are ready to serve
* I am proud to serve a church where the staff understand that ministry happens on the streets and what we do in the office is preparation. When it comes to walking the streets the division of church staff and church member is stripped away and we just become brothers and sisters.
* The truth is my children learned more about Jesus and missions through their experience tonight and the conversations leading up to and after the experience then they would sitting in five years worth of Sunday School lessons. We learn through experience. The stories of Jesus are real and not something we just find cute and cuddly in a classroom.
God revealed a powerful truth to me as I walked the streets of Atlanta tonight. God said, "There is a difference between "sheltering" and protecting your children. A lot of parents don't get the difference. I never want to shelter my children from the hurts and pains of the world because that is where God is. We are not protecting our children if we shelter them from the experience of life. As a parent I am to protect. We have had our children pray for kids who don't have homes, food, or a mommy or daddy. Because tonight we chose not to shelter our children, the prayer was real.
"Dear God give Christian, my new cousin, a home, a daddy, food, and help Christian know Jesus" - Jaden Prickett, 6 yrs old.
You only get this kind of good stuff when the church hits the road!
Still Believing,
Jamey
1 comment:
Jamey, what an awesome thing to do! I'm sure this is something Jaden is not likely to ever forget!
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