Heart for the Homeless
Tough Love or Loving is Tough?
At our church, Oregon City Evangelical Church, Marion and I are part of a few groups, I am on the technology board, Marion is on the missions board, and we both sit on the A.C.T.S. board. A.C.T.S. stands for Action, Compassion, Truth & Sacrifice. We have the honor of serving God through serving our community, and one of our suggestions for our "Have a Heart Month" was Heart for the Homeless. This involved getting many of our church body from all different ages together on Saturday (2/26/11) to put together 125 sack lunches that had a PB&J sandwich, some chips, an apple, a juice pouch and some cookies. We had cases of water donated by Haggen Foods that we were able to pass out. We also put together a bunch of kits with dignity items in them, and Marion went out and bought blankets, tarps, socks, underwear, sleeping bags and hand warmers to also pass out to our community.
This is how my adventure today (2/27/11) proceeded...
Pastor Tom, Pastor LeRud, Nick and I went down to the Newell Creek area today looking for the two guys that Jim, Marion and I had previously chatted with and unfortunately did not find them, only their vacated tent, Marion and I will likely hike back down there in a few days and see if we can reach them again, we left a few items in their tent in case they do come back soon.
After we hiked back out, Pastor Tom dropped me off and I headed back out and started driving up 82nd and found plenty of people to give lunches to and talk to who were very appreciative. One I came across had a sign, and no one was stopping for him, as it turns out he and his wife were very hungry and more than happy to have the sack lunches that I offered them. Another man I met was huddled up under an awning with his shopping cart trying to stay warm, he was very happy to have a meal and a new blanket. On the way back home I felt like I needed to keep driving, so instead of getting on the freeway, I headed back by the Safeway in Gladstone. I didn't see anyone right away, but decided to park and walk down to the high rock area as I had never been down that way even though I drive by them on a regular basis. I was staring at the river when out of the corner of my eye I saw a flicker of a fire down the way. I made the short hike over to them and asked if they could use some socks and a tarp. They were very happy to recieve the items from me and I chatted with them for a few minutes afterward, at one point expressing that my ears, while very large, were not available for one of the men to have... It was a moment of brevity, as when I first walked up I think they were a little worried that I was going to ask them to vacate where they were. There were some younger people with them who were probably not "homeless", but were obviously running away from something in life. It will definitely be a good place to head back and chat with them some more. God definitely directed me there so I am glad I was listening...
After all was said and done, our group had passed out many lunches, plenty of blankets, and had prayed over more than a few people. We didn't change anyone's life today, but even if we made their day better, it was more than a successful day, and I am sure ACTS will put on others that will reach even further. It really doesn't take much to touch a person's life, and to view these people a little differently, as they aren't that different than us, maybe just in a bad situation, maybe lost a job, mostly just couldn't make ends meet and had no one to turn to. What if someone would have shown them a little love just at the right time? What isn't to say that any one of us couldn't end up in the same situation in this economy?
Take some time the next time you drive by someone holding a sign. They might just be trying to score a couple of bucks to get their next hit... but what if they aren't? Is it worth it to ignore them because of an assumption? Or is it better to serve them out of love and change their day. I've written a few times now about wanting to be a follower of Christ, to be more like Jesus, and today I got a little closer. Love others as Jesus loves us. It isn't an easy thing to do, but "loving" another rarely is.
God With Us...
~b
About the Author
Byron Olsen
Hi, I'm Byron, aka superbee! Who is Byron Olsen? At first glance....maybe you would describe me as a geek who you can relate to, athletic without being Mr. Sunday football, a man who adores his family and would do anything for them, and and a person who pursues new technology with vigor - so much so that any hobby I take on involves some sort of new gadget! If you want to get down to the typical 20 questions or adjective game, I am a Christian, husband, father, son, brother, brother in law, nephew, cousin, friend and business owner. I am human and imperfect, but Jesus died for my sins and I am trying my best to let Him shape my life to be like His. I have been married to my beautiful and strong wife for 10+ years and we have an energetic and affectionate six year old daughter together. My wife and I were married in the church in 2001 but never made God a priority in our family until 2009. We always believed in God and had personal relationships with him but we never let him have full control or made him the foundation of our life or our marriage until 2009. We were at the brink of divorce until we finally gave in and admitted what we were missing. Since then our lives have dramatically changed and have been very fulfilling and enriching. Everything we both grew up with and were missing was now being fulfilled. My wife Marion had achieved her MBA in Business and was Director of Marketing for a wellness company and I was a Network and Telephony Analyst for a national corporation. We both quit our corporate jobs in 2010 and launched our business, LightSpeed Designs - a marketing, web design, and graphic design firm. We had started the business as a side business in 2002. We had no idea God would ever turn it into our full time careers, until we felt his calling and followed it. Leaving our comfortable but unfulfilling corporate jobs was certainly a leap of faith! And God never turned his back on us. How is it possible we could both leap out on our own and leave the comfort of corporate America? No medical insurance, no 401k, no sick time, no vacation, no holidays....Yet, God provided. Every month, even in a terrible economy. God opened doors and provided. Allowing us time with our daughter in her first year of kindergarten, time together, time to serve our church and time to serve our community. We have enjoyed the most amazing year we've ever experienced.
Now, we're on to 2011 and we know God has amazing plans in store for us. We feel called to serve Him, whether that be through missions or ministry, using the gifts He's given us. We feel it deep in our souls and are letting Him lead. We hope you'll join us for the journey and watch God work in our humble and little lives 2011! We're just one of the many He loves. And so are you!
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