Blog Post Five

 

Today we visited Knoxville and we were overwhelmed and saddened at the homelessness and drug abuse that is so prevalent there. We have several stories from today but one of the most profound was another young homeless man around 20 years old that we found sleeping outside of an abandoned store. We asked him if he was cold and he said yes. He was clearly unsheltered, living on the streets and exposed to the elements. We handed him a coat and asked him if he was hungry and he said “Oh yes Mam!” So I went back to the van for a food/ hygiene bag. He said he had tried all day to figure out how he could get some food. We gave him the food bag and he started eating immediately. So we went back to the van and gave him nuts, and anything thing else we could find. We asked him his name and if he would like us to pray for him, and he said that he would love for us to pray for him, so we did. I am sure this young man has a history of drug abuse, and terrible circumstances, but today I saw a vulnerable young man much like those from the Bible that Jesus stopped to see, talk to and heal. As we bowed our heads in prayer together, I felt like I was witnessing one of those moments. A man with a mustard seed of faith, that Jesus saw.

-Gear For The Homeless