One of my goals in writing of my experiences in South Dallas is to present a different way to see God.
I would also like to create safe space in which people can question God -- does he exist at all? Is there ever even a way to know God is real?
I believe that as we leave our cultures-of-origin and enter other people's culture, we encounter God in new ways.
Read MoreToday I have nothing good or brave to say.
Today I just felt sad. I have been getting to know South Dallas and the homeless for 10 months now, and I'm starting to go deeper in relationships.
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Last Thursday felt like a deluge of people. Perhaps the weather getting nicer means more people hang around. Also, we have moved our "Corner" time down the block a little ways, as people were having to cross a four-lane road and not always paying great attention to the cars whizzing by. We are closer to the shelter now, so it seems more people gather and stay gathered than when we were down the block.
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Brave people have fears.
Bravery is not the absence of fear, but is about being afraid and still facing the fear.
Brave people have fear just like the rest of us, but instead of running or hiding from their fear, they walk towards it.
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Outside it was gray and cool. It seemed rain might at any moment pepper the area, and the wind blew through the tall green trees as I walked up to the 3-acre field.
My first meeting with this field came through my first homeless friend Bunny. It was her home, where she stayed. It was where she and Sheba slept, ultimately along with many other homeless men and women.
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Imagine with me for a moment...
This is your life:
Have you ever heard of "people first" language?
It is language that puts the person first, and then their characteristic you are trying to describe, second.
For instance, rather than saying "homeless people," I would say "people who are homeless."
Read MoreHere are two different perspectives as to why the homeless are, well, without homes. Which is your perspective?
Before I began working with the homeless, I fit into the first perspective. I believed people were homeless primarily because they did not want to work, were lazy, or had addictions and/or mental illness. I also believed they made lots of only bad choices. (As if any of us are that one dimensional!)
Read MoreThere are days in South Dallas where words to describe it are hard to come by.
Today is one such day.
My experience of the day was that God carried me. I had a radio interview this morning, which was terrifying (it was my first ever—also, not about South Dallas but about a Run benefiting adoption that my husband and I are co-chairing). From there, I went to a new, small Bible study my friend Jonathan from CitySquare has started. These beautiful people stood outside and we opened the Bible, a little rain sprinkled on top of us, and we read from John chapter 3..."[God] must become greater; I must become less." Another version says, "[God] must increase; I must decrease."
our beautiful little hodge-podge study
That is my story of today...it is one in which I was weak, tired, frail, busy, darting from place to place, filled with emotion from the lives I encountered. It is one in which God proved that he is the strong one, that my weakness is not a liability but rather, it is there that his power, his strength can rest.
How do we hold onto God? I believe it is he that holds onto us.
Haven't you felt it? Those days you cannot hold yourself up, but you make it through, and you even look back with joy realizing that something else, someone else was giving life to you...?
By the time I got to the Corner, I was so tired. I thought, "God, I don't have the energy today."
But as I walked over, crossed the 4 lanes of traffic, and saw the smiles on three men's faces as I walked up, I knew God would carry me. We shook hands, exchanged names, and so began the fantastic roller coaster ride that can be the Corner. It's a time where people's hearts and needs come flowing out, where people who perhaps aren't often heard get to be heard.
the women from our study. my friend Nancy (far left) came. anyone from anywhere is welcome!
One man, his hands shaking, pulled me aside. He nearly whispered, "Can I talk to you?"
"Of course," I replied.
We walked over by the big tree, away from the others, and he spoke quietly about a medical issue he has. I can't explain it to you, but it was like this man took out his heart and gave it to me on a platter. I could tell sharing that he was physically weak was incredibly hard for him to do.
As a matter of fact, I came to learn that he has dealt with this medical issue for years and hasn't seen a doctor. By the grace of God and the hands and feet of CitySquare, we are going to be able to get him the medical attention he needs.
Before he left for the shelter, we got close again, arms wrapped around each other, and I spoke quietly, "Thank you so much for telling me what was going on with you. I know it can be so scary when we don't understand what is happening with our bodies. You were so courageous to say something. I'm so glad you did."
Even if I never see this man again, a bond formed between us that will never be broken. What a big moment we shared on a little corner in South Dallas...
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Please please come with me anytime! Email me elisabeth19@gmail.com. Options are Bible study from 9-10:30 a.m. or Corner from 2-4 p.m. every Thursday.
People often say to me, "I see homeless men and women on the side of the road. They beg for money or food. I don't know how to help them. What should I do?"
Let me start by saying I am NO expert on this subject. In many ways, I know just as much as you do. Second, I do not think there is a perfect formula
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It was a normal day on the Corner. We had given out lots of meals, hugged lots of people, heard lots of stories. We were winding down...and then, a man took off.
One of our homeless friends suddenly got up and ran across the street, as though he was running from something. At that exact time, a bus pulled up in front of where he had headed, so I couldn't see where he went.
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Last Thursday on the Corner brought familiar faces and unfamiliar, strengthened old relationships and forged new ones.
Bridging North Dallas & South Dallas is a primary goal of my work on the Corner, in South Dallas, and with the homeless. I believe that the more we interact and build relationships, the stronger we become. Truly, each side has something unique to offer the other!
Read MoreMy sister, Helen Hill, decided to find a creative way to help get the Reading Glasses need met.
She created a CrowdTilt page. Are you familiar with CrowdTilt?
Read MoreLast week on the Corner, I gave away $7. While I do not normally give away money, this was a special case, and it wasn't my $7 to give. Let me tell you the story...
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Yesterday on the Corner CitySquare's Keith Ackerman heard about a need! This time, it's not an individual's need but rather a collective need.
Our friends on the Corner need reading glasses!
Read MoreMy mom came with me to the Corner last week. It was absolutely delightful to have her there. She is a natural. Everyone loved her. I think it was fun for my friends on the Corner also to see that I have a mom. They think we look alike, and couldn't tell who was younger ;).
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I grew up in a majority white neighborhood. I didn't get out much either. I didn't really have a need to—everything that I needed, from food to shopping to friends to school, was all in just a couple of square miles.
I didn't have the privilege of having friends of other ethnicities as a kid. To me, that was normal, and it was surprising to enter the world and realize that there were people who were not like me. When I went to college in North Carolina, I began realizing that not everyone was like me, but even then I did not have any significant friendships with someone of a different race or ethnic origin.
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Duck is my mom’s name. Well, sort of. Her mother’s maiden name was “Quackenbush”—that’s right, “Quack—en—bush” and so her friends growing up affectionately called her “Duck” from the “Quack” of “Quackenbush.
That’s why when I met Donald on the Corner and he told me he went by “Duck,” I couldn’t help but feel we were meant to be friends.
Read MoreFundraising has forced me to take a hard look at myself. What do I believe about money? What about materialism?
Before going through this process, I thought I was above other people because I wasn’t materialistic. Growing up in a community like Highland Park and city like Dallas means that materialism is everywhere. From the time I was young, I didn’t like it, and began early on identifying myself as “not that,” i.e. not materialistic.
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