Cornerstone Baptist; Homeless Ministry Outreach

Salutations!

The holiday season is upon us and I find myself looking at everything very differently than I ever did in previous years. My experience on the streets of Austin has changed a lot for me. I don't say that to romanticize the experience (it was only a couple days after all), but it was one of those things that makes you realize that your days can never go back to how they were before the voyage. You can never be who you were before you left your every day comforts. My opinion of the homeless community, my opinion of the non-profit world, and my opinion of society in general, had to be reconciled with a new reality. The experience altered my frame of reference in the best way possible. For that I am thankful, both in a time when it's custom to sit around and think of such things, and for the rest of my life, I'll be thankful. Thanks to those who organized and joined me in the endeavor, thanks to anyone who has volunteered with me, thanks to all the lovely friends of mine living on the streets that have given me insight into life for them, thanks to everyone who has written me or called me with encouraging and inspiring stories of their own.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Two weeks ago, my friend, Melissa, helped put something together for a few of us to participate in Cornerstone Baptist's Homeless Ministry Outreach. Saturday morning, we arrived at a building that would never be guessed as a kitchen for the homeless by a passer-by. I later learned that it was once a liquor store and had been recently converted to what we knew it as. Liquor store, that's more like it. It looks like a liquor store. For obvious reasons, this is amusing to me. My favorite part, though, is how the inside starkly contrasted the outside. If you didn't know what you were walking into, you might think it was a bread and pastry shop. When the kitchen opened for the meal, those coming in to eat were allowed to dig through shelves and shelves of different bread and dessert products displayed on the opposing wall. The way Cornerstone chose to deliver the food was different than any other location where I have volunteered. The food and drinks were taken to the homeless instead of them standing in line. This allowed for much more interaction than the line-server format. While I was completely comfortable with this set-up due to the amount of time I've spent these last few months interacting with the homeless and at-risk individuals, it was clear that it was not the ideal setting for some of the volunteers. It's definitely something to keep in mind when checking out places to volunteer.

My favorite part, proved to be the conversations I had with Willy, Maile and Josh. We discussed many of the same things I had discussed with the homeless I'd befriended the week before in Austin. They told me things about Dallas that I didn't know. It made me sad for my city, just for the way some things have been handled. Mainly I was upset that I had no idea; it hurt to feel so unaware and powerless. Sometimes that makes this whole thing very difficult, but what I love about all of this is that I never get bored with it. I never get tired of the people that I meet. They never bore me with their lives and livelihood. They never moan about work or the stock market, of course not. That's not what I'm saying. What I appreciate about it, is that people are admittedly unsettled. No one is trying to pretend or present some kind of facade about how his or her life is perfect. They don't complain about the hardships of life out of mundaneness or fear of change. They willingly admit that they have failed or that someone else has failed them. It's always honest. It's always real. It's invigorating.

The last two weeks my other "projects" have consisted of delivering 20 baskets of Clementines to a street corner of Dallas with a bad reputation and volunteering to assist with Communion at a Catholic Church in Kansas City. I have some really heartfelt and humiliating, yet hysterical, moments to share with you all the next time I update. I also look forward to writing more about Cornerstone Baptist, as I'm sure to have future involvement with them- they have an incredible outreach throughout Dallas. I hope you are well. Thanks for being patient with me, I think we all know what kind of havoc the holidays can wreak on our schedules. Next time will be much sooner than last as I honestly get anxious to share with you all. Enjoy the pictures. Enjoy each other and enjoy life.

AMF



The outside of the kitchen/ ex-liquor store.





Bread available to those coming in for the meal.

Liss getting ready to don her apron

Alisha also helping to hand out aprons to volunteers



So excited for all these seats to be filled with fed people!



Maile and Josh- best friends.

Beautiful Maile.

Life-sharing at it's finest.

It was the first morning after a major cold front so people started gathering well in advance.
This is over an hour before the doors will open for breakfast.

That's Willy in the hat, letting his coffee settle.



Two precious sisters that were helping with the orange juice.



Chris Simmons, lead pastor of Cornerstone Baptist. Incredible, incredible human being.

Thanks again for visiting. Please continue with the e-mails, Facebook messages, phone calls, comments, etc., telling me all the ways you guys are changing the world around you. Those updates have quickly become one of my greatest joys. Keep changing minds and changing lives. Be remarkable, friends.