“When I am alone, I’m feeling blue, dreaming a dream of a world that’s lovely and true” lyrics from song, “In Search of the Peace of Mind” by Scorpions

Today we had the privilege of serving 33 people.

• The desperation of our friends is still high this Saturday.  We ran into our friends (Steve/Colleen).  (Steve) has become almost non-verbal with us, keeping his head down when we ask him questions mumbling to himself… he’s in a bad way.  (Colleen) was getting upset with him and was being difficult, not liking any clothes that we offered her.  We found ourselves getting frustrated, at least I was.  Claire was better with her than me.  We finally fixed her up with clothes, snacks, Gatorade, and our packet of $10 bill/$10 Dunkin Donuts card/prayer card.  This exchange, along with one of the married couples we see regularly, got me off the beam and temporarily made me forget what this street mission is really all about.  This temporary attitude will separate us from our primary purpose – to be a reflection of God’s love to our friends.

• We met two new friends (Jorge/Tina) who were curious to see what we were giving away in the large parking lot where we were parked.  We found clothes that fit them, along with snacks/water and they thanked us and they started to walk away and I shouted, “come back, you’re missing the most important part” and handed them our packet of $10 bill/$10 Dunkin Donuts card/prayer card.  Their eyes lit up.

• Our friend (Jose) was walking around without any shoes.  We asked what was going on.  He is usually upbeat and happy.  He said someone stole his sneakers.  We fixed him up with a pair that were a little too big, but we told him we will get him a pair for next Saturday.

• We met up with our friend (James) who has been ducking us for the last month because he had another failed attempt at recovery.  We told him to keep trying and Terry said “keep trying” also.  It’s sad a lot of our friends suffer from shame.  I read somewhere shame is the absence of self-love.  I hugged him and told him to keep trying and stay in touch with us.  As the morning progressed, I could feel myself moving from feeling frustrated to feeling compassion.  In times like these all we need to say is what was in this Sunday’s gospel – “Lord, save me!”  Matthew 14:22-33.

• As we continued driving around, we noticed a young girl (Katie) standing there looking nervously around.  We pulled up and asked her if she needed some help and gave her our packet.  She really didn’t want to have a conversation as she kept looking around, obviously being watched by her “man”.  The sad part is she looked to be in early pregnancy.  As she walked way, she thanked us.  God bless her.

“Do not let the oppressed retreat in shame, may the poor and needy praise your name.”  Psalm 74:21

Please Note:   We have changed our location for donations for On the Street Ministry from Holy Cross Retreat House to My Brother’s Keeper.  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, please change the delivery address to:

On the Street Ministry

c/o Shaun Teed

67 Turner Road

Scituate, MA 02066

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Thank you to all the people who support our ministry.  We are also grateful for the support of My Brother’s Keeper for allowing us to keep a donation box there.

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God Bless,

Claire and Shaun Teed and Tito

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