OK, how many of you have not felt uncomfortable by the never ending appearance of apparently homeless individuals asking for money, food, and every now and then even for a job? In our neck of the woods (Dundalk/Middle River/White Marsh) we see them often at the stop light intersections where we come face to face with their signs for assistance. Most of their handmade cardboard signs remind me how good we really do have it. And some are rather humorous. Recently we saw a man in DC holding up his sign that stated “The truth is I need money for booze”! But, haven’t we sometime even rationalized that's why we don’t help, because we don't what to contribute to their further down fall, right? Being the son of two alcoholic parents I’m sorry to say, that I have… :-(So Marlene and I are starting a new project in and around our community called LoveBags. We will be putting a little bit of love into some plastic bags. Today we purchased enough non-perishable food items to fill thirty-two one gallon zip locked bags with a variety of items, in hopes that we can make a small difference. All together we only spent $1.50 per LoveBag! So at least for awhile we will not be looking away at those intersections. Instead we will be looking for opportunities to share our LoveBags with others. And of course being Christians we will be also be adding a little spiritual food in our LoveBags also!
We will be posting addition info here to keep anyone interested in our efforts.
Together iHs,
~ keith & marlene
PS: Today, Sunday 8/2 four couples gathered to begin building 8 LoveBags each (total of 32 LoveBags). Our next step is to add some spiritual (love) food, and distribute them. Check back soon the see our experiences and the fruits of our efforts. Our Team consists of (left to right) John & Chris Mason, Sylvia & Keith Goodson, Bill & Elaine Eaton, and Marlene & Keith (behind the camera) Wawrzyniak.
UPDATE 4/2/10 Good Friday
A new set of helpers for our second batch of LoveBags
~~~ Brady & Amber ~~~
...and let us consider how to stimulate one another
to love and good deeds, (Hebrews 10:24)
10 comments:
They call me Sarg[ent] he said, as I handed out my first love bag today at the corner of Middle River Rd and US RT 40. I must say this is one of the few times I looked forward to making eye contact with a homeless person, and we even exchanged names. Then Sarg immediately said upon accepting our LoveBag -- Thank you very much sir and God Bless you. Just then the light changed and off I went, but this time leaving a homeless man I now know, Sarg with a bit of a smile in my own heart.
Did I do anything all that special today - No not really. But perhaps Sarg thought so.
This morning before meeting Sarg I added a Four Spiritual Law tract and a yellow Smilly Face that said – SMILE! God Loves You, to our LoveBags. One LoveBag down and seven to go.
Please pray that Sarg already knows the Jesus of the Bible, or is well on that road to that personal relationship that God want with each of us. (John 3:16)
~keith
Wow! The distribution of our LoveBags has gone much slower than I thought. Perhaps it summer.
Gave our first love bag away at Middlesex Friday. Name was Sam. Thanked us and was grateful.
Bill & Elaine
Well for some unknown reason our project has only met with limited success. Yesterday we discussed our next steps and decided to continue our current path, and also to go help out at the Helping Up Mission on October 18th.
http://community.helpingupmission.org
I forgot to tell you I gave away my second Love Bag on Monday. I'm sorry to say I didn't get his name, the light changed and I almost had to throw the bag to him. Not really, but it was that quick. The guy at Hawthorne, who has some sort of issue with his legs. He thanked me and said God bless you.
Marlene
Consider the extra deed of stimulating others to good works also done! What a great idea.
It’s time to partially close the book on this project for now. We will still be prepared to handout our Love Bags into the future as we look for other ways to work Together in His service.
Having been involved in LoveBags in South Florida for about a year now, I can say that one of the keys to the success is making connections with the homeless.
I always have a LoveBag in my car, and I give it away when the opportunity arises..but the random encounters havn't been as good as planned events. We would meet up once a week, in the evening, and go to the encampments where the homeless hang out. You have to be more careful, because you are on their turf - their home..but you also have time to stop and chat, and get to know the people.
This lets you learn what else they might need - someone may need a belt..or a clean shirt for an interview. You also get a feel for people who are happy in their spot on the street, and people who are trying to return to productive society, and just need a few breaks along the way.
As great a feeling as it is to see a hungy man walk away with some food..it's even more rewarding to have a friend who started as a homeless man with little hope..and is now under a roof with a completely different attitude.
One of the biggest things I learned is that we all need to help in our own way..because there is so much need out there. I wish you luck in your path.
Jeff,
Thanks for your posting and the tip on making planned events -- That sounds like an excellent idea. I'll check with the others and see what they think.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Together < ~keith
4/2/10 - With the help of our grandchildren (Amber & Brady) we've made up our second batch of Love Bags. Let's see where God leads us this time.
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