During our time in Fort Lauderdale we worked with HOPE South Florida. It is an organization that provides housing and beds for the homeless. The branch we worked with mainly focuses on women and children. HOPE partners with several churches in the area and each church has a week or two and during their week they provide dinner and beds for them. HOPE also has a program that helps homeless get jobs and provide them their own house (a house is sometimes shared by a few families so each family has their own room) and eventually they are able to provide for themselves. We met a few people who used to be homeless but did the program and is now providing for themselves. It was cool to see that the programs works. It just takes time.
Team Blaze got involve by helping put together beds at the church, cleaning rooms at some of the houses, organizing donated goods, food pantry, interacting and having dinner with the homeless, playing with the kids at a daycare. Most of the kids there are from homeless families. We also helped serve dinner to the homeless at the church.
HOPE was also celebrating their 20th year anniversary while we were there and was invited to HOPE gala. It was a really cool opportunity for us to learn more of the background of HOPE and how they started.
We also had an opportunity to work with Miracle Messages. MM is a ministry that helps homeless find their long lost loved ones by recording short video messages from the homeless and using social media to connect them. Kevin is the founder and has been traveling across the USA recording videos. MM has reunited a father to his son whom he hasn’t seen in 37 years, there are several other stories like this. You can check their website out at miraclemessages.org. How they did this was to go to a homeless shelter and make an announcement about what they’re doing and then anyone who interested can come forward and share their story. Team Blaze had some really great opportunities to talk with the homeless and really just be someone who will listen.
I really enjoyed working with HOPE. The staff is super friendly and we always had a great time being with them. We were invited to one of the staff house for dinner and it was one of those nights where conversations got really funny and we all laughed so hard it hurt.
When I think of a homeless person I think of someone on the streets in dirty clothing, carrying a bag or two or pushing a shopping cart filled with who knows what and maybe not ‘all there’ mentally. But the homeless that I interacted with this past month were mothers and children. They were normal people just like us. They kids laughed, played, hugged and were kids. The mothers were like any other mothers out there. I don’t how they became homeless, but they despite the fact that they move around to different places every week and getting to their jobs or daycare every day and all of their earthly possession fits in two small backpack, they have so much joy. I loved watching the children faces as we served them ice cream cones topped with colorful sprinkles. They were so excited about it!
Another thing I didn’t realize is that a lot veterans are homeless too. They gave so much for this country and fighting for our freedom and they end up homeless. I find this hard to grasp. If they fought for our country, if they lose a limb, if they sacrifice time away from their family, then why are they homeless? I know each person has a different story in how they ended up homeless whether by the bad choices they made or by it being something out of their control. But I feel like they deserve more for fighting our freedom.
I don’t have any pictures from ministry because I wanted to respect and protect the homeless identity.
Going back a few months now- In Guatemala we had the opportunity to write a book and our host would publish it for us. Well, it’s finally publish and ready for purchase here- http://www.amazon.com/Blaze-Forth-Hope-AIM-Chapter/dp/1518894119/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1447874680&sr=1-1-fkmr2&keywords=blazing+forth+with+hope The money for the book goes toward helping the widows and orphans in Xencoaj Guatemala. Check it out cause it will most likey be the only published book I had a part in writing.
