Today was a hot one, around 97 degrees in the shade. The punch I brought was gulped down within 5 minutes of my arrival, and if it is the same temperature next week, I think I’ll need to bring more!

Today we gave out several pairs of shoes. One of the guys had slippers that didn’t fit him and he had to have his feet part way out of them just to wear them. Fortunately these fit like a glove and were good sturdy leather. Several shirts donated by Surprise Thrift were given out and they were a huge hit. We gave out more hats today and it’s the weather for a good baseball cap to keep the sun from blinding a guy or burning their face. I wouldn’t have thought shirts would go like that on a hot day such as this one (just because of the concept of carrying them around if nothing else!). The sandwiches were also gone quickly, but the sweets lagged a bit.

We gave the remainder to a local shelter and some of the bread to Starfish’s Monday ministry. It’s a great concept of sharing a meal with anyone who arrives. I think it is the closest thing to first century church I’ve seen. I think the ministries that share meals “on the mall” are very similar, but I like the shared table concept quite a bit.

Today I lost my cell phone. I was immediately panicked because I was several miles away when I realized it. I was not looking forward to the results of going back to find it. A few guys were still around and all pitched in looking high and low to help me find the cell phone. They were very worried about the same possibility I was stressed about, “What if someone took it?”

Fortunately we found my phone and one of the guys expressed how unfortunate it would have been for me to come and help out, only to have my phone stolen. But what might have been a major discouragement was, instead, one of those little things I think I’ll always remember. No one had to help me, but everyone was looking in bushes, over walls, along the sidewalks, everywhere to make sure I was taken care of and it touched me very deeply. We all want to reach out to others, and we long to have them reach out to us as well, and I think it was just the most perfect example of that that I’ve seen in awhile. I always get help to set things up and pack things up and that always makes me feel a sense of community with those we serve, and this is just a continuation of that.

One man said today that with God’s help, he has found a job and will be moving in to an apartment next week. Where else can I just talk to the guy next to me and hear such stories about how God moves in peoples lives? If this isn’t church, then I don’t think I’ll ever see one!

Today marks the end of our first year on the corner as Blue Dream Ministries! It’s been quite a year and well over $30,000 in food and personal care items donated from so many to those on the corner (and a few shelters) throughout our time together. So far we still maintain a ratio of 50 to 1, meaning that for every dollar donated, through our partnerships we are able to offer 50 dollars worth of assistance. This comes in various forms including soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, food, heat packs during the winter months, clothing (both light and heavy depending on the season), even some basic transportation help here and there, etc.

Sometimes this help has meant the difference between comfort and suffering, and during those cold winter months when some of our guys are outside all winter long, I’ve wondered if it meant the difference between life and death too. I’ve read reports of deaths in winters warmer than this last one, but God knows better than I do how things like that work.

I’m happy that people really do get that the help is a matter of others coming together and caring what happens to them and that I hear so many thanking God during the prayer and knowing God cares about them too. We’ve all known the difference between feeling alone and being comforted in our times of need.

I’ve been very blessed….when I first put up my little table on the corner, I’ve said before, I just felt silly as everyone watched me set up. Our ministry is so much smaller than some of the others that were setting up in years previous and I just felt like “What can we really do?”, but we’ve seen a tremendous amount of acceptance and support and I’m looking forward to another year!