“So much is going on, but you can always come around, why don’t you sit with me for just a little while? Tell me, what’s wrong?” lyrics from song “Gimme All Your Love” by Alabama Shakes

Between today and Wednesday we had the privilege of serving 42 people.

• Today we were taught a lesson of “contempt prior to investigation” with two new friends.  Our first new friend (Tucco) pulled up to us on a motorized scooter which immediately gets us on the defensive because we have had people approach us driving scooters and cars.  We ask ourselves, “why would they need anything from us if they can afford these vehicles”?  Well (Tucco) stood off to the side while we took care of our regular friends with clothes, socks, underwear, sneakers, snacks, drinks and our packet of $10 bill/$10 Dunkin Donuts card/prayer card.  I finally turned to him and asked, “do you need clothes”?  He replied, “no”.  So, I handed him our packet, and he looked confused and said, “is this a Dunkin Donuts card”?  We told him yes and we told him it’s value of $10.  He asked if he had to scratch off the back to activate it and we told him no it’s good to go.  He was very soft-spoken.  He then turned to us and handed me back the $10 bill and said, “I will take the DD card but give the $10 to someone who really needs it”.  God has many faces and we never know when he will reveal himself.  This exchange with (Tucco) left us both speechless.

• We ran into our friend (Shane) who is still mourning the loss of his wife and our friend (Carrie).  He told us he was at L Street Mission looking at coats when he noticed one of Carrie’s coats was hanging on a rack.  He pulled it off the hanger and smelled it and could still smell her on the coat.  He started crying about how much he missed her and we said so do we.

• Our friend (Dave) was at his usual spot at a sheltered bus stop, along with (Sharon) and (Tom).  (Dave) was complaining the police want to arrest him even though he has not committed a crime.  He doesn’t realize that occupying the bus stop will keep people from waiting for the bus there.  It’s hard to rationalize with some of our friends when they can’t see that their addiction has everything to do with their living situation.

• On our last stop we met our new friend (Rich) who was a very large gentleman and looked a little intimidating with a tattoo on his face.  We were talking to a bunch of our friends when he walked over to us.  I introduced myself and asked if he needed any clothes and he replied, “yes”.  He was just released from jail after serving 18 years.  We fixed him up with stuff that luckily fit him.  When I gave him our packet of $10 bill/$10 Dunkin Donuts card/prayer card, he looked at the prayer card and said, “but I am a Muslim”.  I replied, “so take the card anyway”.  He explained he was trying to find a job and get back on his feet.  We wished him well.  Another lesson for us – contempt prior to investigation.

“Come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts” Jeremiah 3:22

God bless and thank you to all the people who have left clothing, Dunkin Donuts cards and financial support at My Brother’s Keeper for On the Street Ministry.  We currently have a box in the main stairway on the 1^st floor of MBK.  If you have recurring orders through Amazon or any other retail website, the delivery address is:

On the Street Ministry

c/o Shaun Teed

67 Turner Road

Scituate, MA 02066

‍

God Bless,

Liz Londergan

Shaun Teed and Tito

‍