It was another awesome week serving the homeless in Austin TX. Shoulder the Cross was privileged to serve those on the annual Easter street retreat hosted by @MLFNOW - Mobile Loaves and Fishes. Rene came through the line this week and kindly said "Are you sure you can spare a sandwich for me?" We made 3 loaves of bread worth of sandwiches this week, so of course there were plenty to go around. Rene expressed interest in helping us with bus passes and socks. We also met Lamar this week. Lamar, @lamarstockton is a local artist who plays the bass guitar. Lamar fills in for the Justin Cofield Band, @justincofield from time to time and we know the JCB very well. Many of the members of the JCB have been out to "help Shoulder the Cross" in the past. There was a nurse who also stopped by for a sandwich and some hot cocoa. She also expressed her interest to help. One of the street retreaters needed a Band-Aid and some triple antibiotic cream. "You never know what you might need on the streets, then when you do need it, you find out how hard it is to get it" she explained. We were happy to help all those in need. Rene is a radio producer for a local Christian radio station, KLGO at klgo.net. She has invited Shoulder the Cross onto the show to bring widened awareness to homelessness in Austin Texas. Lamar plans on helping Shoulder the Cross real soon and I should hear from the nurse soon. I listened to Amy Dillon Live this morning. Alan Graham referred to a quote by Mother Teresa that really gets you thinking:
"It is very important that right from the beginning, we simply live the Gospel. Live the Gospel in prayer; live the Gospel in words. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t reach the height right away. The fullness of our heart comes in our actions: how I treat the leper, how I treat the dying person, how I treat the homeless. Sometimes it is more difficult to work with street people than with the people in our homes for the dying because the dying are peaceful and waiting; they are ready to go to God. You can touch the sick and believe, or you can touch the leper and believe, that is the body of Christ you are touching, but it is more difficult when these people are drunk or shouting to think that this is Jesus in that distressing disguise. How clean and loving our hands must be to be able to bring compassion to them!"
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta