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Houston
This month we’re heading on over to Houston! Be sure to visit our city's page for more information about serving with us in the “Space City”.
News from the Houston Team
Details in the fabric, knots in the bark…
Who are we that God should be mindful of us? That He should care for us? Surely I tell you, He knows every detail of your person. He counted the hairs that would grow and fall from your head, the flecks of color in your eyes He designed before you were born. Such a Mighty God is He that He lives in Spirit within the hearts of His followers, quietly leading us to each place He has prepared. He has spoken deeply into my desperate heart and shared with me stories of redemption. They are simple and short. They are quiet and colorful. They are shreds of fabric in the tapestry of this world’s life, but they are essential and woven of the richest and somehow most ordinary of cloths. This is a story that makes up the roots of my Redemption Tree; it is complex and frighteningly effortless. But it is mine, it is yours.
On the weekend of the celebration of the birth of 2010, I was playing host and leader to 18 adults from west Texas. They were in town specifically to work with the homeless of Houston, so I knew it would be an intense three days. Morning #1 was filled with anxiety, laughter, surprise, prayer, joy, “Happy New Year” and the face of Jesus. The afternoon graced us with excitement, curiosity, fresh fish, boba tea, adventure, Thai food, and 14 varieties of pears. In debriefing the day, we listened to tears expressing love – a girl’s heart crying out for the meal a stranger didn’t get to eat. Tears expressing fear and tears expressing joy – a man’s adventure seeking the face of Christ in a homeless brother.
We met Bill sitting in a wheel chair on the corner of LaBranch and Pierce in a patch of bright morning sunshine. I said hello and the four of us started talking together. We asked how his day was going so far and learned he had just been released from the hospital the night before. He wound up sleeping upright in his chair with nothing more than a cotton blanket, a thin coat and a wool beanie. His prized possessions included a can of Spam and ½ a can of beans. After chatting with him for a bit, we moved on to meet several other beautiful souls, and went to serve at Open Door Mission. Part of Open Door’s programming includes a healing dorm for men recovering from a hospital stay. Terry and Walt, who had met Bill earlier in the day put the puzzle pieces together and found that Open Door had a bed available for Bill to sleep in for the night. So after supper, they set off with four of their friends in search of Bill.
To be quite honest, I didn’t think there was even a chance that they would find him – it was after dark and more than eight hours had elapsed since we had met. But they had a fire in their belly and hope in their hearts and walked the streets of Downtown Houston looking for Bill. In a quiet black alley, our friend Bill sat shivering from the cold and hungry after eating no more than half of granola bar all day. In the dark, it would have been impossible to find him, but a single light lit up his wheelchair like a flashlight shining down from the hand of God. On Saturday, January 1, 2010, Bill ate a warm meal and slept in a bed at Open Door Mission.
How does this all weave together? What is the common thread running through each of our stories? I think it is simple. Biblical Justice. Loving people in a deeply compassionate, empathetic way that takes action against injustice and oppression. It is written throughout the Bible, and all over the walls of history. It has been painted in theology and philosophy, lived out in the lives of the wise and naïve alike. I read a quote today by Albert Schweitzer that talked about how at some point in all our lives, our inner spirits lose something and then, through a remarkable encounter with another human being, we are inspired and restored. I think Jesus is in the middle and all around those divine moments. He speaks into the depths of our souls and makes us different. I know because it happened to me through meeting Bill. The Jesus in me has cried out to the inner spirit of another and I have seen His face reflected in their eyes.
- Britani Wade, CSM Houston Associate City Director
Local Resources
- Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County
- Houston Coalition Against Human Trafficking
- Become a Facebook fan of CSM Houston!
Local News Links
- ‘Do 1 Thing’ to Help Homeless Youth February 12, 2010
- Lawyer drops suit over church's homeless center February 5, 2010
- For area children, hunger statistics called ‘alarming' February 3, 2010
CSM Urban Updates
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