UNFORGETTABLE!

I slept among 100+ homeless! Not until I was there myself did I realize the depth of their needs...

Last October, while driving through downtown Dallas with a homeless lady, the Lord spoke in my heart to spend a night with them to get a glimpse of what they continually experience so that I will understand more their way of life.

It became a reality on November 3rd when I took a big step and drove to downtown in a wig, an old t-shirt and pants, a tote where I had my pen, camera, phone, wallet and notebook.

My experiences with them:

• Fun with the homeless young people.
• Falling in line for food and clothing.
• Love, concern and protection from our homeless young friends.
• Walking aimlessly - no purpose - no direction!
• Being offered protection by 2 men in exchange for physical returns.
• Marriage proposal from a homeless man.
• Getting cardboard boxes from a dumpster for my bed.
• Cold, hard cement under by back.
• Slept right next to a snoring woman high on drugs.
• A drug dealer came at 2:30 a.m. and handed a woman some drugs.
• Fear of being burned, stabbed, robbed and raped - fear for my life!
• Using portable potty with "floating stuff" in it.
• Sleepless cold night, longing for my bed and staring at the stars.
• Ordered to get out of our "sleeping camp" at 5:15 a.m.!
• Grateful for daylight. Morning has broken!
• Shower with black mold on the ceiling.
• Waited for food and hoping it will come soon.
• The best part was the coming of a church young adult group at 12:30 a.m.
• They brought sandwiches and prayed with us! They become the Light in that dark place.

IT CHANGED MY LIFE!

The first part of the evening was all fun! But listening to the stories of their individual "journeys" was both interesting and heartbreaking. I suddenly realized that there are much, much deeper troubles and tribulations that these homeless ones are tackling in their daily walk. Though I faced laughing countenances, I saw in their eyes loneliness, pain, suffering, and fears of what is to come. Now I have more respect for them. I want to reach out even more and help them choose a different route in life - a life with JESUS, a life filled with HOPE and LOVE.

Friends, I need YOU to help make this a reality. Open your HEARTS and reach out. HELP OUR HOMELESS! Operation Care + YOU = Number that matters to Dallas and Jesus!

Operation Care - Houston?

God gets the attention of His people in a host of different ways. I was reminded of one recently when I received a special email from a nurse in Houston.

"Is there anything like this happening in Houston? Is there anything that you know of like your program in Houston? If not, do you offer training for starting up a program as effective as yours is? I have been reading about all the good that you are doing and we coulld use some of that down here! I am in Pearland, south of Houston. I read about your work in Advance for Nurses. I cried. God gave you an amazing heart for people! The first thing I thought was how could I do something like that here in Houston?! There are many organizations here, ie: Star of Hope, that are transitional living or church run soup kitchens or health clinics run by physicians. Nothing that goes out to where the people are and ministers to them there or nothing where nurses with a heart for God can help. I just am amazed by the heart of your organization and want to say thank you to you for doing all you are doing!"

One of the dreams of Operation Care - Dallas, Inc. is to expand. My response:
"We have not started in any other areas, but the vision is that we will be able to go to other cities and with God's help will be able to start Operation Care - Houston or California, New York or etc... We want God's name proclaimed all over the nation, celebrating Jesus' birthday wherein the guests of honor are the outcasts and the forgotten of society."